16:9 aspect ratio

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.

[citation needed] 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.

[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.

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).

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.

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.

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