Display Standard - Veritas et Visus

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Veritas et Visus Display Standard February 2009 Well, if indeed, the Golden Ratio is somehow aesthetically pleasing, it should come as no surprise that there have been numerous psychological experiments to identify if indeed there is an aesthetically pleasing proportion. The German physicist and psychologist Gustav Fechner conducted pioneering experiments in this field in the 1860s. Fechner's experiment was simple: ten rectangles varying in their length-to-width ratios were placed in front of a subject, who was asked to select the most pleasing one. The results showed that 76% of all choices centered on the three rectangles having ratios of 1.75, 1.62, and 1.50, with a peak at the “Golden Rectangle”. Fechner went further and measured the dimensions of thousands of rectangular-shaped objects (windows, picture frames in the museums, books in the library), and claimed to have found the average ratio to be almost identical to the Golden Ratio. Many psychologists have repeated similar experiments since then, and obtained similar results. In particular, British psychologist Chris McManus concluded in 1980 that: “There is moderately good evidence for the phenomenon which Fechner championed.” Note: these surveys have been disputed and whether the Golden Ratio is truly the most aesthetically pleasing aspect ratio is still in dispute. Origins of the 4:3 aspect ratio: With all of the history behind the “Golden Ratio”, one can’t help but wonder how the 4:3 aspect ratio came into being. Many historians date the origin of the motion picture industry’s 4:3 aspect ratio to Thomas Edison, sometime around 1889. In what may be more legend than fact, the story goes that one of Edison’s associates, William L.K. Dickson, was working with a new 70mm celluloid-based film stock supplied by photographic entrepreneur George Eastman. Edison reportedly thought that the 70mm format was too expensive and so he asked Dickson to cut it in half. The result was 35mm film, which translated to frames that were 33% wider than they were tall, (a 4:3 aspect ratio), and which was then used by Edison for his first movie-making efforts. Whatever the story may be, Edison’s 4:3 aspect ratio was officially adopted in 1917 by the Society of Motion Picture Engineers as their first engineering standard, and the film industry used it almost exclusively for the next 35 years. The 4:3 standard later became known as the Academy Aperture, and nearly every film made from 1917 to 1952 used this aspect ratio. Note that in 1931 the Academy Aperture was modified to 1.37:1 to accommodate sound. In the early 1950s, both European standards groups and the US’s National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) formally adopted the 4:3 aspect ratio for TV broadcasting. The standards groups wanted to be able to be compatible with the motion picture industry and existing camera lenses. Origins of the 5:4 aspect ratio: In the early days of television in the late 1930s, the original aspect ratio of the 405-line television system was 5:4. The 5:4 aspect ratio was chosen in large part because it was technologically difficult at the time to build CRTs in anything much wider, and in fact the some of the very first CRTs were round. Obviously, changing TVs from 5:4 to 4:3 to accommodate the new NTSC standard could not be implemented immediately, as it would take some time for all the domestic receivers to be adjusted to the wider signals. In practice, however, the stability of the circuitry of that day meant that the height and width would vary considerably in a typical viewing session, so the precise aspect ratio didn’t really matter to most viewers. Interestingly, many TVs continued to be manufactured to the old 5:4 aspect ratio until the mid-1970s. Throughout the ‘60s and early ‘70s, most TV sets had to be adjusted either to give the correct width and reduced height, or the correct height and excessive width. In order to avoid black bars appearing at the top and bottom of the screen, the latter approach was typically used. 4 Inventors George Eastman and Thomas Edison operate a motion picture camera together – at which time the 4:3 aspect ratio was defined.
Veritas et Visus Display Standard February 2009 Enter wide cinematographic aspect ratios… Meantime, as television's popularity increased during the early 1950s, Hollywood began to see TV as a threat. In addition to trying smell-o-vision, 3D-glasses, and various audio and color technologies, Hollywood studios experimented with the aspect ratio. In September 1953, 20th Century Fox premiered The Robe using a “new” technique they called Cinemascope, which show an image at an aspect ratio of 2.55:1, (later revised to 2.35:1). The reasoning in Hollywood that led to wide-screen formats is simply that the wider view is closer to the human field of vision. Because the viewer is visually immersed into the action with widescreen, the enjoyment level is enhanced. And based on the success of The Robe, soon, most studios started making their own versions of 'Scope' films: WarnerScope, TechniScope, Panavision, PanaScope, and others, (see accompanying figure). By about 1955, virtually all movie production had shifted to one widescreen format or another to differentiate from the emerging TV market. Since the human visual system is based on two eyes, which are conditioned for peripheral views (and not well-trained for up-and-down views), Hollywood successfully differentiated their big-screen content with wide aspect ratios. Note that all cinematographic widescreen formats are wider than the 16:9 aspect ratio adopted by the TV market – perpetuating the problem of “black bars” when viewing the original cut of movies at home. � The most common theatrical presentations today are 1.85:1 and 2.39:1, (which is frequently mistakenly called 2.35:1). Less commonly used, but still prevalent in Europe are 1.66:1 and 1.75:1. � 1.66:1, 1.75:1, and 1.85:1 are usually shot in a process called 35mm spherical, (also known as “flat”). To achieve a wide-screen image, the top and bottom portions of the frame are masked in the projector. Sometimes the same film is shown at 1.85:1 in North America and at 1.66:1 in Europe, which can lead to confusion as to which is creatively “correct”. � Most current films show at an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 are produced in one of two formats, (35mm anamorphic or Super 35). In the anamorphic process, (popularly called “scope”), the camera lens compresses images on a 35mm film. When projected, the image is expanded horizontally by the same factor. The Super 35 process uses spherically symmetrical lenses, which results in an undistorted image on the 35mm negative. These frames have a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which is optically converted to an anamorphic image which is projected as if it were a “scope” film. � Another popular format is known today as “70mm”. This was once used commonly for big budget films, but fell out of favor in about 1970. This format 2.21:1. Most films projected since 1970 in 70mm format were actually blow-ups from 35mm anamorphic. Enter the PC… In 1981, IBM introduced its Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), which enabled 320x200 pixels in 4 colors, (a 16:10 aspect ratio). IBM’s Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA) emerged in 1984, at 640x350 pixels in 16 colors, (a 1.83 aspect ratio). The Video Graphics Adapter (VGA) was introduced in 1987, which at 640x480 began the series of 4:3 graphics standards, thereby leveraging picture tubes used for the TV industry. SVGA (800x600) 5
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