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Ultrawide formats refers to photos, videos, [1] and displays [2] with aspect ratios greater than 2. There were multiple moves in history towards wider formats, including one by Disney, [3] with some of them being more successful than others.
Cameras usually capture ultra-wide photos and videos using an anamorphic format lens, which shrinks the extended horizontal field-of-view (FOV) while saving on film or disk. [4]
Historically ultrawide movie formats have varied between ~2.35 (1678:715), ~2.39 (1024:429) and 2.4. To complicate matters further, films were also produced in following ratios: 2.55, 2.76 and 4. Developed by Rowe E. Carney Jr. and Tom F. Smith, the Smith-Carney System used a 3 camera system, with 4.6945 (1737:370) ratio, to project movies in 180°. [5] Disney even created a 6.85 ratio, using 5 projectors to display 200°. The only movie filmed in Disney's 6.85 ratio is Impressions de France . [3]
Suggested by Kerns H. Powers of SMPTE in USA, the 16:9 aspect ratio was developed to unify all other aspect ratios. Subsequently it became the universal standard for widescreen and high-definition television.
Around 2007, cameras and non-television screens began to switch from 15:9 (5:3) and 16:10 (8:5) to 16:9 resolutions.
Univisium is an aspect ratio of 2:1, created by Vittorio Storaro of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) originally intended to unify all other aspect ratios used in movies.
It is popular on smartphones and cheap VR[ clarification needed ] displays. VR displays halve the screen into two, one for each eye. So a 2:1 VR screen would be halved into two 1:1 screens. Smartphones began moving to this aspect ratio since late 2010s with the release of Samsung Galaxy S8, advertised as 18:9.
21:9 is a consumer electronics (CE) marketing term to describe the ultra-widescreen aspect ratio of 64:27 (211⁄3:9) = 1024:432 for multiples of 1080 lines. It is used for multiple anamorphic formats and DCI 1024:429 (21.482517:9), but also for ultrawide computer monitors, including 43:18 (211⁄2:9) for resolutions based on 720 lines and 12:5 (213⁄5:9) for ultrawide variants of resolutions based either on 960 pixels width or 900 lines height.
The 64:27 aspect ratio is the logical extension of the existing video aspect ratios 4:3 and 16:9. It is the third power of 4:3, whereas 16:9 of widescreen HDTV is 4:3 squared. This allows electronic scalers and optical anamorphic lenses to use an easily implementable 4:3 (1.33) scaling factor.
21:9 movies usually refers to 1024:429 ≈ 2.387, the aspect ratio of digital ultrawide cinema formats, which is often rounded up to 2.39:1 or 2.4:1
Ultrawide resolution can also be described by its height, such as "UW 1080" and "1080p ultrawide" both stands for the same 2560×1080 resolution.
common name | aspect ratio | resolution |
---|---|---|
WFHD | 64∶27 | 2560×1080 |
WFHD+ | 12∶5 | 2880×1200 |
WQHD | 43∶18 | 3440×1440 |
WQHD+ | 12∶5 | 3840×1600 |
UW4K | 12∶5 | 4320×1800 |
UW5K (WUHD) | 64∶27 | 5120×2160 |
UW5K+ | 12∶5 | 5760×2400 |
UW6K | 43∶18 | 6880×2880 |
UW7K | 12∶5 | 7680×3200 |
UW8K | 12∶5 | 8640×3600 |
UW10K | 64∶27 | 10240×4320 |
decimal | simple | n∶9 |
---|---|---|
2.370 | 64∶27 | 211⁄3∶9 |
2.38 | 43∶18 | 211⁄2∶9 |
2.4 | 12∶5 | 213⁄5∶9 |
In 2016, IMAX announced the release of films in Ultra-WideScreen 3.6 format, [6] [ failed verification ] with an aspect ratio of 18:5 (36:10). [7] A year later, Samsung and Phillips announced 'super ultra-wide displays', with aspect ratio of 32:9, for "iMax-style cinematic viewing". [8] Panacast developed a 32:9 webcam with three integrated cameras giving 180° view, and resolution matching upcoming 5K 32:9 monitors, 5120x1440. [9] In 2018 Q4, Dell released the U4919DW, a 5K 32:9 monitor with a resolution of 5120x1440, and Phillips announced the 499P9H with the same resolution. 32:9 Ultrawide monitors are often sold as an alternative to dual 16:9 monitor setups and for more inmersive experiences while playing videogames, and many are capable of displaying 2 16:9 inputs at the same time.
32:9 aspect ratio is derived from 16:9 being twice as large. Some manufacturers therefore refer to the resulting total display resolution with a D prefix for dual or double.
Super wide resolutions refers to that with aspect ratio greater than 3.
common name | aspect ratio | resolution |
---|---|---|
DWXGA+ | 16∶5 | 2880×900 |
DFHD | 32∶9 | 3840×1080 |
DFHD+ | 16∶5 | 3840×1200 |
SWFHD+ | 18∶5 | 4320×1200 |
DQHD | 32∶9 | 5120×1440 |
DQHD+ | 16∶5 | 5120×1600 |
SWQHD+ | 18∶5 | 5760×1600 |
16:5 5K | 16∶5 | 5760×1800 |
32:9 6K | 32∶9 | 6400×1800 |
18:5 6K | 18∶5 | 6480×1800 |
DUHD | 32∶9 | 7680×2160 |
DUHD+ | 16∶5 | 7680×2400 |
18:5 8K | 18∶5 | 8640×2400 |
decimal | simple | n:9 |
---|---|---|
3.2 | 16∶5 | 28+4⁄5∶9 |
3.5 | 32∶9 | 32∶9 |
3.6 | 18∶5 | 32+2⁄5∶9 |
Ultra-WideScreen 3.6 video never spread, as cinemas in an even wider ScreenX 270° format were released. [10]
Abel Gance experimented with ultrawide formats including making a film in 4:1 (36:9). He made a rare use of Polyvision, three 35 mm 1.3 images projected side by side in the 1927 film Napoléon .
AT NAB 2019, Sony introduced a 19.2-metre-wide by 5.4-metre-tall commercial 16K display. [11] [12] It is made up of 576 modules (48 by 12) each 360 pixels across, resulting in a 4:1, 17280x4320p screen.
Developed by CJ CGV in 2012, ScreenX uses three (or more) projectors to display 270° content, [10] with an unknown aspect ratio above 4. Walls on both sides of a ScreenX theatre are used as projector screens.
Developed by Barco N.V. in 2015, Barco Escape used three projectors of 2.39 ratio to display 270° content, with an aspect ratio of 7.17. The two side screens were angled at 45 degree in order to cover peripheral vision. Barco Escape shut down in February 2018.
Decimal value | Aspect ratio | Format name | Resolutions | Lens & Film |
---|---|---|---|---|
1.185 | 32:27 | DVCPRO HD | 640×540, 1280×1080 | 1x |
1.25 | 5:4 | DV PAL | 720×576, 1280×1024, 1500×1200 | 1x |
1.3 | 4:3 | Video Graphics Array | 320×240, 640×480, 960×720, 1440×1080, 1600×1200 | SDTV |
1.5 | 3:2 | DV NTSC / laptops | 720×480, 1920×1280, 2160×1440, 2256×1504, 2400×1600, 3000×2000 | 1x |
1.6 | 8:5 | 16:10 widescreen (PC only) | 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600, 2880×1800, 3072×1920, 3840×2400 | - |
1.6 | 5:3 | European Widescreen | 400×240, 800×480, 1280×768 | Super 16 mm |
1.7 | 16:9 | Widescreen | 1920×1080, 2560×1440, 3840×2160, 7680×4320 | Anamorphic 1.5x on 32:27, HDTV |
1.618 | 16:10 | 16:10 Tallboy | 640×400, 960×600, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600, 3840×2400 | - |
1.85 | 37:20 | "Flat" DCI | 1998×1080, 3996×2160 | 1x |
1.8962 | 256:135 | "Full" DCI | 2048×1080, 4096×2160 | 1x |
2.0 | 2:1 | VistaVision / Univisium | 2160×1080, 2400×1200, 2880×1440, 3200×1600, 3600×1800, 3840×1920, 4320×2160, 4800×2400, 5760×2880 | VR cameras (most) |
2.3468531 | 1678:715 [13] | Cinemascope (1950s–1970s) | analog | Anamorphic 2x on 35 mm with optical audio |
2.370 | 64:27 | "21:9" ultrawide | 2560×1080, 5120×2160, 7680×3240, 10240×4320 | Dashcam, Anamorphic 1.33x on 16:9, 1.25x on DCI 256:135, 2x on 32:27 |
2.386946 | 1024:429 | "Scope" DCI cinema format | 2048×858, 4096×1716, 8192×3432 | 1x |
2.38 | 43:18 | "21:9" ultrawide (PC only) | 3440×1440, 5160×2160, 6880×2880 | - |
2.4 | 12:5 | 24:10 ultrawide | 2880×1200, 3840×1600, 4320×1800, 5760×2400, 7680×3200 | - |
2.55 | 51:20 | Cinemascope 55 | analog | Anamorphic 2x on 35 mm without optical audio |
2.6 | 8:3 | Cinerama / 24:9 ultrawide (PC only) | 240×640, 2880×1080, 3840×1440, 5120×1920, 5760×2160, 7680×2880, 10240×3840 | - |
2.76 | 69:25 | Ultra Panavision | analog | Anamorphic 1.25x on 70 mm |
3.2 | 16:5 | 32:10 super wide (PC only) | 2880×900, 3840×1200, 5120×1600, 5760×1800, 7680×2400, 10240×3200 | - |
3.5 | 32:9 | 32:9 super wide (PC only) | 3840×1080, 5120×1440, 7680×2160, 10240×2880 | - |
3.6 | 18:5 | 36:10 super wide (ultra-widescreen 3.6) | 4320×1200, 5760×1600, 6480×1800, 8640×2400 | 1x |
4.0 | 4:1 | Polyvision | analog / 3 images 4:3 projected side by side | 3x |
Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown in fullscreen proportions of a standard-definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects.
Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than 4:3 (1.33:1).
70 mm film is a wide high-resolution film gauge for motion picture photography, with a negative area nearly 3.5 times as large as the standard 35 mm motion picture film format. As used in cameras, the film is 65 mm (2.6 in) wide. For projection, the original 65 mm film is printed on 70 mm (2.8 in) film. The additional 5 mm contains the four magnetic stripes, holding six tracks of stereophonic sound. Although later 70 mm prints use digital sound encoding, the vast majority of existing and surviving 70 mm prints pre-date this technology.
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio and steep stadium seating, with the 1.43:1 ratio format being available only in few selected locations.
Anamorphic widescreen is a process by which a comparatively wide widescreen image is horizontally compressed to fit into a storage medium with a narrower aspect ratio, reducing the horizontal resolution of the image while keeping its full original vertical resolution. Compatible play-back equipment can then expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen image. This is typically used to allow one to store widescreen images on a medium that was originally intended for a narrower ratio, while using as much of the frame – and therefore recording as much detail – as possible.
16:9 is a widescreen aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9 units.
The display resolution or display modes of a digital television, computer monitor, or other display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by different factors in cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, flat-panel displays and projection displays using fixed picture-element (pixel) arrays.
Negative pulldown is the manner in which an image is exposed on a film stock, described by the number of film perforations spanned by an individual frame. It can also describe whether the image captured on the negative is oriented horizontally or vertically. Changing the number of exposed perforations allows a cinematographer to change both the aspect ratio of the image and the size of the area on the film stock that the image occupies.
High-definition video is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for high-definition, generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines or 576 vertical lines (Europe) is considered high-definition. 480 scan lines is generally the minimum even though the majority of systems greatly exceed that. Images of standard resolution captured at rates faster than normal, by a high-speed camera may be considered high-definition in some contexts. Some television series shot on high-definition video are made to look as if they have been shot on film, a technique which is often known as filmizing.
Open matte is a filming technique that involves matting out the top and bottom of the film frame in the movie projector for the widescreen theatrical release and then scanning the film without a matte for a full screen home video release. It is roughly equivalent to an uncropped version of the film.
Super Panavision 70 is the marketing brand name used to identify movies photographed with Panavision 70 mm spherical optics between 1959 and 1983. It has since been replaced by Panavision System 65.
Anamorphic format is the cinematography technique of shooting a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. It also refers to the projection format in which a distorted image is "stretched" by an anamorphic projection lens to recreate the original aspect ratio on the viewing screen. The word anamorphic and its derivatives stem from the Greek anamorphoo, compound of morphé with the prefix aná.
The technology of television has evolved since its early days using a mechanical system invented by Paul Gottlieb Nipkow in 1884. Every television system works on the scanning principle first implemented in the rotating disk scanner of Nipkow. This turns a two-dimensional image into a time series of signals that represent the brightness and color of each resolvable element of the picture. By repeating a two-dimensional image quickly enough, the impression of motion can be transmitted as well. For the receiving apparatus to reconstruct the image, synchronization information is included in the signal to allow proper placement of each line within the image and to identify when a complete image has been transmitted and a new image is to follow.
The display aspect ratio (DAR) is the aspect ratio of a display device and so the proportional relationship between the physical width and the height of the display. It is expressed as two numbers separated by a colon (x:y), where x corresponds to the width and y to the height. Common aspect ratios for displays, past and present, include 5:4, 4:3, 16:10, and 16:9.
"21:9" is a consumer electronics (CE) marketing term to describe the ultrawide aspect ratio of 64:27, designed to show films recorded in CinemaScope and equivalent modern anamorphic formats. The main benefit of this screen aspect ratio is a constant display height when displaying other content with a lesser aspect ratio.
4K resolution refers to a horizontal display resolution of approximately 4,000 pixels. Digital television and digital cinematography commonly use several different 4K resolutions. In television and consumer media, 3840 × 2160 with a 16:9 aspect ratio is the dominant 4K standard, whereas the movie projection industry uses 4096 × 2160.
A display resolution standard is a commonly used width and height dimension of an electronic visual display device, measured in pixels. This information is used for electronic devices such as a computer monitor. Certain combinations of width and height are standardized and typically given a name and an initialism which is descriptive of its dimensions.
The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of its width to its height. It is expressed as two numbers separated by a colon, width:height. Common aspect ratios are 1.85:1 and 2.40:1 in cinematography, 4:3 and 16:9 in television, and 3:2 in still photography.
In first person video games, the field of view or field of vision is the extent of the observable game world that is seen on the display at any given moment. It is typically measured as an angle, although whether this angle is the horizontal, vertical, or diagonal component of the field of view varies from game to game.