16:9 aspect ratio

16:9 is a widescreen aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9 units.

A 16:9 rectangle in which rectangles visualize the ratio. The groupings are not square.

A television set with the 16:9 image ratio

Once seen as an "exotic" aspect ratio,^[1] since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for televisions and computer monitors, and is also the universal standard image format for the universal 1080p, 2160p and 4320p formats.

16:9 or "sixteen-nine" is the universal widescreen standard format^[2] and Wide-aspect Clear-vision.^[3] Japan's Hi-Vision originally started with a 15:9 ratio but converted when the international standards group introduced the wider ratio 16:9. Many digital video cameras have the capability to record in 16:9, and this is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by Blu-ray Disc. It is also the native aspect ratio of the Blu-ray Disc, but Blu-ray Disc producers can also choose to show even a wider ratio such as 2.40:1 within the 16:9 frame adding Letterbox black bars within the image itself.^{[citation needed]}

History

Derivation of the 16:9 aspect ratio

The main figure shows 4:3 and 2.40:1 rectangles with the same area A, and 16:9 rectangles that covers (black) or is common to (grey) them. The calculation considers the extreme rectangles, where m and n are multipliers to maintain their respective aspect ratios and areas.

Kerns H. Powers, a member of the SMPTE Working Group on High-Definition Electronic Production, first proposed the 16:9 (1.77:1) aspect ratio in 1984.^[4] The popular choices in 1980 were 4:3 (based on TV standard's ratio at the time), 15:9 (5:3) (the European "flat" 1.66:1 ratio), 1.85:1 (the American "flat" ratio) and 2.35:1 (the CinemaScope/Panavision) ratio for anamorphic widescreen.

Powers cut out rectangles with equal areas, shaped to match each of the popular aspect ratios. When overlapped with their center points aligned, he found that all of those aspect ratio rectangles fit within an outer rectangle with an aspect ratio of 1.77:1 and all of them also covered a smaller common inner rectangle with the same aspect ratio 1.78:1.^[5] The value found by Powers is exactly the geometric mean of the extreme aspect ratios, 4:3 and 2.40:1, $\textstyle {\sqrt {\frac {47}{15}}}$ ≈ 1.77 which is coincidentally close to 16:9. Applying the same geometric mean technique to 16:9 and 4:3 yields an aspect ratio of around 1.54:1, sometimes approximated as 14:9 (1.55:1), which is likewise used as a compromise between these ratios.^[6]

While 16:9 (1.77:1) was initially selected as a compromise format, the subsequent popularity of HD broadcast has solidified 16:9 as perhaps the most common video aspect ratio in use.^[7] Most 4:3 (1.33:1) and 21:9 video is now recorded using a "shoot and protect" technique that keeps the main action within a 16:9 (1.77:1) inner rectangle to facilitate 16:9 conversion and viewing.^[8] Conversely it is quite common to use a technique known as center-cutting, to approach the challenge of presenting material shot (typically 16:9) to both an HD and legacy 4:3 audience simultaneously without having to compromise image size for either audience. Content creators frame critical content or graphics to fit within the 1.33:1 raster space. This has similarities to a filming technique called open matte.

In 1993, the European Union instituted the 16:9 Action Plan,^[9] to accelerate the development of the advanced television services in 16:9 aspect ratio, both in PALplus (compatible with regular PAL broadcasts) and also in HD-MAC (an early HD format). The Community fund for the 16:9 Action Plan amounted to €228,000,000.

Over a long period in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the computer industry switched from 4:3 to 16:10 (1.60:1) and then to 16:9 as the most common aspect ratio for monitors and laptops. A 2008 report by DisplaySearch cited a number of reasons for this shift, including the ability for PC and monitor manufacturers to expand their product ranges by offering products with wider screens and higher resolutions, helping consumers to more easily adopt such products and "stimulating the growth of the notebook PC and LCD monitor market".^[10] By using the same aspect ratio for both TVs and monitors, manufacturing can be streamlined and research costs reduced by not requiring two separate sets of equipment, and since a 16:9 is narrower than a 16:10 panel of the same length, more panels can be created per sheet of glass.^[11]^[12]^[13]

In 2011, Bennie Budler, product manager of IT products at Samsung South Africa, confirmed that monitors with a native resolution of 1920 × 1200 were not being manufactured anymore. "It is all about reducing manufacturing costs. The new 16:9 aspect ratio panels are more cost-effective to manufacture locally than the previous 16:10 panels".^[14]

In March 2011, the 16:9 resolution 1920 × 1080 became the most common used resolution among Steam's users. The previous most common resolution was 1680 × 1050 (16:10).^[15] By July 2022, 16:9 resolutions are preferred by 77% of users (1920 × 1080 with 67%; 2560 × 1440 with 10%).^[16]

Properties

16:9 is the only widescreen aspect ratio natively supported by the DVD format. An anamorphic PAL region DVD video frame has a maximum resolution of 720 × 576p, but a video player software will stretch this to 1024 × 576p.

Producers can also choose to show even wider ratios such as 1.85:1 and 2.4:1 within the 16:9 DVD frame by hard matting or adding black bars within the image itself. Some films which were made in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, such as the U.S.-Italian co-production Man of La Mancha and Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing, fit quite comfortably onto a 1.77:1 HDTV screen and have been issued as an enhanced version on DVD without the black bars. Many digital video cameras also have the capability to record in 16:9.

Common resolutions

Common resolutions for the 16:9 ratio:

Width	Height	Name
640	360	nHD
854	480	FWVGA
960	540	qHD
1024	576	WSVGA
1280	720	HD
1366	768	FWXGA
1600	900	HD+
1920	1080	Full HD
2560	1440	QHD
3200	1800	QHD+
3840	2160	4K UHD
5120	2880	5K
7680	4320	8K UHD

Countries

The second iteration of ended fullscreen become a widescreen format from the second 2009–2029 iteration. From the ended fullscreen become on widescreen on first 2009 iteration, 2010s iteration and 2020s iteration.

Africa

Country	Year of ended-fullscreen	Year of complete	Channel
Algeria	2014		Algérie 3 Echourouk TV
Angola	2020	2024	All channels.
Benin	2022		All channels.
Botswana	2021	2024	All channels.
Burkina Faso	2021		All channels.
Burundi	2022		All channels.
Cameroon	2018	2020	All channels.
Cape Verde	2019		All channels.
Central African Republic	2021		All channels.
Chad	2019		All channels.
Comoros	2019		All channels.
Congo	2022		All channels.
Democratic Republic of the Congo	2020	2021	All channels.
Djibouti	2021		All channels.
Egypt	2009	2017	All channels.
Equatorial Guinea	2019	2020	All channels.
Eswatini	2022		All channels.
Ethiopia	2016	2018	All channels.
The Gambia	2022		All channels.
Gabon	2019	2024	All channels.
Ghana	2018	2022	All channels.
Guinea	2019	2022	All channels.
Guinea-Bissau	2020		All channels.
Ivory Coast	2018	2024	All channels.
Kenya	2015	2017	All channels.
Lesotho	2017	2024	All channels.
Liberia	2018		All channels.
Libya	2019	2020	All channels.
Madagascar	2016	2017	All channels.
Malawi	2023		All channels.
Mali	2017	2021	All channels.
Mayotte	2022		All channels.
Morocco	2011	2016	All channels.
Mozambique	2021	2024	All channels.
Mauritania	2021		All channels.
Mauritius	2019	2021	All channels.
Namibia	2020		All channels.
Niger	2015	2019	All channels.
Nigeria	2010	2014	All channels.
Rwanda	2020		All channels.
Sao Tome and Principe	2021		All channels.
Senegal	2019	2020	All channels.
Seychelles	2021		All channels.
Sierra Leone	2022		All channels.
Somalia	2020		All channels.
South Africa	2011	2013	All channels.
South Sudan	2022		All channels.
Sudan	2017	2019	All channels.
Tanzania	2014	2016	All channels.
Togo	2019		All channels.
Tunisia	2010	2015	All channels.
Uganda	2018	2024	All channels.
Zambia	2017	2019	All channels.
Zimbabwe	2018		All channels.

Americas

Country/Territory	Year of ended-fullscreen	Year of complete	Channel
Antigua and Barbuda	2019		All channels.
Argentina	2013	2015	All channels.
Bahamas	2021		All channels.
Barbados	2019	2024	All channels.
Belize	2022		All channels.
Bermuda	2014	2015	All channels.
Bolivia	2017	2018	Always on 16:9: PAT and ATB. Often on 16:9: Bolivia TV.
Brazil	2011	2015	Channels change between 16:9 and 4:3 pillarbox depending on what's airing.
British Virgin Islands	2021		All channels.
Canada	2010	2014	All channels.
Cayman Islands	2019		All channels.
Chile	2012	2015	All channels. Expect Telecanal in 4.3 in ident 4:3 letterboxed in commercials.
Colombia	2016	2018	All channels.
Costa Rica	2015	2024	All channels.
Cuba	2015	2018	All channels.
Curaçao	2019		All channels.
Dominica	2022		All channels.
Dominican Republic	2015	2016	All channels.
Ecuador	2014	2016	All channels.
El Salvador	2018		All channels.
Grenada	2019	2024	All channels.
Guadeloupe	2019		All channels.
Guatemala	2015	2016	All channels.
Guyana	2020		All channels.
Haiti	2019		All channels.
Honduras	2015	2016	All channels.
Jamaica	2018	2020	All channels.
Mexico	2010	2013	Free-to-air television: Las Estrellas, FOROtv, Canal 5, NU9VE, Televisa Regional, Azteca Uno, Azteca 7, a+, adn40, Imagen Televisión, Excélsior TV, Canal Once, Canal 22, Una Voz con Todos, Teveunam, Milenio Televisión, Multimedios Televisión, Teleritmo, and some local HD stations. Pay television: U, Golden, Golden Edge, TL Novelas, Bandamax, De Película, De Película Clásico, Ritmoson Latino, TDN, TeleHit, Distrito Comedia, Tiin, Az Noticias, Az Clic!, Az Mundo, Az Corazón, Az Cinema, 52MX, TVC, TVC Deportes, Pánico, Cinema Platino, and Cine Mexicano.
Montserrat	2022		All channels.
Nicaragua	2019	2024	All channels.
Panama	2015	2017	All channels.
Paraguay	2016	2024	Almost all channels on free-to-air television, especially HD feeds (ex.: RPC, NPY, Unicanal, channel 7 HD). SD feeds (usually found on pay television) are usually letterboxed and downscaled to 4:3 (ex.: SNT and Paravisión).
Peru	2011	2017	All channels.
Saint Kitts and Nevis	2021`	2023	All channels.
Saint Lucia	2021	2024	All channels.
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	2020		All channels.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	2021		All channels.
Suriname	2019	2024	All channels.
Trinidad and Tobago	2018	2020	All channels.
United States	2009	2010	All HD channels. SD feeds are usually letterboxed and downscaled to 4:3.
U.S. Virgin Islands	2019	2020	All channels.
Uruguay	2020	2024	All channels.
Venezuela	2012	2016	All channels.

Asia

Country/Territory	Year of ended-fullscreen	Year of complete	Channel
Afghanistan	2018		All channels.
Bahrain	2019	2024	All channels.
Bangladesh	2015	2018	RTV SA TV Somoy TV
Bhutan	2021		All channels.
Brunei	2021	2024	All channels (Radio Television Brunei).
Cambodia	2021	2022	All channels.
China	2010	2016	CCTV channels 1–15, CCTV-5+, all CGTN channels. Older contents in 4:3 and news contents are stretched on SD variants of these channels as stretching on SD channels is common.
Hong Kong	2013	2018	All channels.
India	2014	2015	All HD channels. Most SD channels are still broadcasting in 4:3, either fullscreen or letterboxed.
Indonesia	2012	2016	All channels.
Iran	2014	2019	All channels.
Iraq	2019	2024	All channels.
Israel	2011	2015	All channels.
Japan	2010	2013	All channels. Japan pioneered its analogue HDTV system (MUSE) in 16:9 format, which started in the 1980s. There were also analog NTSC-compatible widescreen broadcasts using the Clear-Vision system. Currently all main channels have digital terrestrial television channels in 16:9. Many satellite broadcast channels are being broadcast in 16:9 as well.
Jordan	2017	2018	All channels.
Kuwait	2018		All channels.
Kyrgyzstan	2017		All channels.
Laos	2021	2024	All channels.
Lebanon	2015		All channels.
Malaysia	2014	2020	All channels.
Maldives	2017	2018	All channels.
Mongolia	2018		MNB MN2 TM Television TV5 TV6 TV8 Channel 25 Эx Орон SBN ETV MNC Eagle News TV Edutainment TV Star TV SPS Sportbox SHUUD TV
Myanmar	2017	2021	All channels.
Nepal	2015	2018	Kantipur Television Network AP1 TV News 24 TV Filmy Nepal Television
North Korea	2020		All HD channels. Most SD channels are still broadcasting in 4:3, either fullscreen or letterboxed.
Oman	2017	2024	All channels.
Pakistan	2015	2017	All HD channels. Most SD channels are still broadcasting in 4:3, either fullscreen or letterboxed.
Palestine	2021		All channels.
Philippines	2017	2024	16:9 native:^[a] PTV, ANC (both SD and HD),^[b] Kapamilya Channel (both SD and HD),^[b] A2Z, RPTV (both SD and HD), Aliw 23, One PH, One News (both SD and HD),^[b] One Sports+,^[b] Hope Channel Philippines, CCTN, CLTV36, Congress TV, 3ABN, Bilyonaryo News Channel, Cinema One, Hope International, INCTV, Net 25, Front Row Channel, Living Asia Channel, all Solar Entertainment channels (Shop TV, Solar All Access, Solar Sports, SolarFlix, and Solar Learning), DZRH News Television, TeleRadyo Serbisyo, Truth Channel, all TAP DMV channels (TAP TV, TAP Edge, TAP Movies, TAP Action Flix, TAP Sports, Premier Sports, Premier Tennis, and Premier Football), BuKo, NBA TV Philippines, PBA Rush, UAAP Varsity Channel, One Media Network, Metro Channel (both SD and HD), Myx, Prime TV, all BEAM TV subchannels (except Knowledge Channel), Sari-Sari Channel, SMNI, SMNI News Channel, IBC, All TV, GMA, GTV and its other subchannels, TV5 (both SD and HD), One Sports (both SD and HD), UNTV,^[c] RJ DigiTV and its other subchannels, and TV Maria. 4:3 upscaled/stretched to 16:9:^[d] Light TV, Cine Mo!, Jeepney TV, Knowledge Channel, and all Viva Communications channels (Celestial Movies Pinoy, Pinoy Box Office, Tagalized Movie Channel, and Viva Cinema).
Qatar	2017		All beIN Sports channels, Al Jazeera Arabic, Al Jazeera English, Al Jazeera Mubasher, Qatar TV HD, and all Alkass channels.
Saudi Arabia	2018	2020	All channels.
Singapore	2015	2021	All channels. 16:9 contents are stretched because the format appears vertically stretched on older 4:3 sets. All 4:3 contents including news clips are also stretched.
South Korea	2014	2022	All channels.
Sri Lanka	2015	2019	All channels
Syria	2017	2020	All channels.
Taiwan	2011	2021	All channels.
Tajikistan	2020		All channels.
Thailand	2012	2016	All channels.
Timor-Leste	2021		All channels.
Turkey	2011	2014	All channels.
Turkmenistan	2017	2020	All channels.
United Arab Emirates	2020	2023	All channels.
Uzbekistan	2017	2024	All channels.
Vietnam	2014	2019	All channels.
Yemen	2020	2022	All channels.

^ Channels that are squeezed/letterboxed to 4:3 on analog terrestrial transmissions nor no letterbox on widescreen-produced programs
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 16:9 versions available on pay-TV services only
^ Some programs are aired in true 16:9 formatting
^ channels that are originally broadcasting in 4:3 on analog terrestrial, but upscaled or stretched to 16:9 for digital terrestrial television, cable and satellite

Europe

Country	Year of ended-fullscreen	Year of complete	Channel
Albania	2016	2024	All channels.
Andorra	2016		All channels.
Armenia	2015	2018	All channels.
Austria	2011	2017	All channels.
Azerbaijan	2016	2019	All channels.
Belarus	2013	2020	All channels.
Belgium	2010	2014	All channels.
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2018	2024	All channels.
Bulgaria	2014		All channels.
Cyprus	2016		All channels.
Croatia	2012	2014	All channels.
Czech Republic	2012	2024	All channels.
Denmark	2010	2013	All channels.
Estonia	2011	2012	All channels.
Finland	2010	2011	All channels.
France	2010	2015	All channels.
Germany	2010	2012	All channels.
Georgia	2011	2024	All channels.
Gibraltar	2015		All channels.
Greece	2010	2012	All channels.
Hungary	2014	2018	All channels.
Iceland	2013	2018	All channels.
Ireland	2010	2013	All channels.
Italy	2010	2011	All channels.
Kazakhstan	2018	2024	All channels.
Kosovo	2019	2023	All channels.
Latvia	2012	2014	All channels.
Lithuania	2012	2015	All channels.
Luxembourg	2013	2018	All channels.
Malta	2011	2012	All channels.
Moldova	2010		All channels.
Monaco	2013	2015	All channels.
Montenegro	2015	2018	All channels.
Netherlands	2010	2014	All channels.
North Macedonia	2016	2018	All channels.
Norway	2010	2012	All channels.
Poland	2011	2014	All channels.
Portugal	2010	2014	All channels.
Romania	2014	2015	All channels.
Russia	2009	2012	All channels.
San Marino	2016	2024	All channels.
Serbia	2014	2019	All channels.
Slovakia	2018		All channels.
Slovenia	2015		All channels.
Spain	2011	2015	All channels.
Sweden	2009	2013	All channels.
Switzerland	2011	2015	All channels.
Ukraine	2018	2020	All channels.
United Kingdom	2009	2011	All channels.

Oceania

Country/Territory	Year of ended-fullscreen	Year of complete	Channel
American Samoa	2013	2015	All channels.
Australia	2009	2013	All channels.
Cook Islands	2021	2024	All channels.
Federated States of Micronesia	2021		All channels.
Fiji	2015	2017	All channels.
French Polynesia	2018		All channels.
Guam	2016		All channels.
Kiribati	2022		All channels.
Marshall Islands	2021		All channels.
Nauru	2024		All channels.
New Caledonia	2022		All channels.
New Zealand	2012	2014	All channels.
Niue	2022		All channels.
Palau	2021	2024	All channels.
Papua New Guinea	2019	2021	All channels.
Samoa	2016	2018	All channels.
Solomon Islands	2018		All channels.
Tonga	2021		All channels.
Tuvalu	2022		All channels.
Vanuatu	2022		All channels.
Wallis and Futuna	2021		All channels.