ASPECT RATIO

The relationship between the image width and height

The aspect ratio is a term which describes the shape of rectangle. It is normally expressed in terms of how many times (the ratio) the height of the rectangle fits into the width of the rectangle.

For example a rectangle where the width is 2.4 times greater than the height would be said to have an aspect ratio of 2.40:1

In video systems several different aspect ratios may need to be considered at the same time:

The aspect ratio of the screen
The aspect ratio of the projector
The aspect ratio of the content being displayed

There is every chance that these aspect ratios are different from each other. Handling this variance correctly is a key challenge in cinema design.