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Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 1 Introduction
10
When the standards were being developed for television broadcasting in
1941 by the NTSC (the National Television Standards Committee), it made
sense to adopt the 4 x 3 aspect ratio that the film industry was using at
that time.
As TVs dropped in price and people prospered in the 1950s, the movie
industry had to find a way to get people out of their living rooms and
back to the movie theatres. That’s when they created the 16 x 9 (also
written 16:9) aspect ratio (also called widescreen format). When the
standards for HDTV were being developed by the ATSC (Advanced
Television Standards Committee) the 16 x 9 aspect ratio was chosen as
the format for HDTV.
This widescreen format makes sense because it’s much closer to the way
we see. Our field of vision is actually much wider than tall because of our
peripheral vision.
Digital Signal and Sound
Digital signals can be compressed, enabling a much more robust signal
with no variation in quality. Digital signals, in contrast to analog signals
that are used with regular TVs, can be reproduced precisely.
Another requirement of HDTV is the ability to reproduce 5.1 Dolby
Digital sound. Connect a home theatre system to your LCOS and you’ll
never “go out” to a movie or sporting event again — watching at home
will be better than the real thing!
A 4:3 aspect ratio shows less of the image
than the widescreen, 16:9 apsect ratio
that is part of the HDTV standards.