What Is Widescreen and Why Is Widescreen Format Better?

What Is Widescreen?

Definition of Widescreen

What is widescreen? Widescreen images are images that are displayed within a set of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In the film, the widescreen film refers to any standard 1.37: 1 academy aspect ratio film provided by any film with an aspect ratio greater than 35 mm. Then, this post from MiniTool will provide more information about widescreen.

For TV, the original screen ratio of the broadcast is full screen 4: 3. From the 1990s to the early 2000s, 16: 9 widescreen TV monitors became more and more common at different paces in different countries. They are often used in conjunction with high-definition television (HDTV) receivers or standard definition (SD) DVD players and other digital television sources.

The aspect ratio (16: 9) supported by typical widescreens is different from traditional displays (4: 3) allowing them to display many movies and HD (1080p) videos in their original format. There is also a display style called UltraWide (21: 9), whose viewing area is about 33% wider than a traditional widescreen screen.

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Types of Widescreen

This part is about the widescreen’s types. It is divided into six types. The details are as follows:

Masked (or flat) widescreen – It was introduced in April 1953. Negatives were shot using spherical lenses to darken the academy scale, but in the projector, the top and bottom of the image are covered or covered by a metal aperture plate, which is cut to the specifications of the theater screen.

35 mm anamorphic – This type of widescreen is used for CinemaScope, Panavision, and several other equivalent processes. The film is essentially “squeezed”, so the actors appear to be stretched vertically on the actual film. A special lens inside the projector squeezes the image to make it look normal

Super gauges – The entire negative, including the area traditionally reserved for the soundtrack, was shot with a wider door. Then shrink and/or crop the photo to make it fit back on the published photo. For example, the aspect ratio of the Super 35 can be set to virtually any projection standard.

Large gauge – 70 mm film frame is not only twice as wide as the standard frame but also larger.

Multiple lens cameras – The Cinerama system originally involved shooting with the three-lens camera, and projecting the three resulting films on a curved screen with three synchronized projectors, resulting in an ultrawide aspect ratio of 2.89.

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Anamorphic 70 mm – 70mm Anamorphic Lens (commonly known as “Ultra Panavision” or “MGM Camera 65”) produces wider, high-quality pictures.

History of Widescreen

Widescreen was first used in “Corbet”-Battle of Fitzsimmons in 1897. This is not only the longest film released in 100 minutes to date but also the first widescreen film to be taken with a 63mm Eastman film with five perforations per frame. Then it was first widely used in some short and news and feature films in the late 1920s.

The experimental Natural Vision widescreen process developed by George K. Spoor and P. John Berggren uses a 63.5 mm film with an aspect ratio of 2: 1. On May 26, 1929, Fox Pictures released the Fox News Junhong and 1929 Fox Movietone Song and Dance Troupe in New York City.

On August 21, 1930, RKO Broadcasting Films released Danger Lights with Jean Arthur, Louis Wolheim and Robert Armstrong. The film pioneer George K. Spoor invented a 65mm widescreen process called NaturalVision. In 1930, after trying the Fanthom Screen system (1928) called “The Trail of 98”, MGM launched a system called Realife.

Why Is the Widescreen Format Better?

Why is the windscreen format better? If the two monitors are the same height, a wider screen offers more viewable space. This space is useful for productivity in that it offers users the ability to view multiple programs at once.

Additionally, if you want to play games with a wider field of view, it will give both a more immersive experience and in some instances a tactical advantage over their opponents.

Final Words

In conclusion, this post has introduced some information about widescreen such as the definition, the types as well as the history of it. In addition, you can learn why the widescreen format is better.