Ultrawide formats

Photo and video display formats

"Ultrawide" redirects here. For the type of camera lens, see Ultra wide angle lens.

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Comparison of common display resolutions

Ultrawide formats refers to photos, videos,[1] and displays[2] with aspect ratios greater than 2. There were multiple moves in history towards wider formats, including one by Disney,[3] with some of them being more successful than others.

Cameras usually capture ultra-wide photos and videos using an anamorphic format lens, which shrinks the extended horizontal field-of-view (FOV) while saving on film or disk.[4]

## Historic Ultrawide Cinema

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Main article: List of motion picture film formats

Historically ultrawide movie formats have varied between ~2.35 (1678:715), ~2.39 (1024:429) and 2.4. To complicate matters further, films were also produced in following ratios: 2.55, 2.76 and 4. Developed by Rowe E. Carney Jr. and Tom F. Smith, the Smith-Carney System used a 3 camera system, with 4.6945 (1737:370) ratio, to project movies in 180°.[5] Disney even created a 6.85 ratio, using 5 projectors to display 200°. The only movie filmed in Disney's 6.85 ratio is Impressions de France.[3]

## Wide aspect ratios

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Suggested by Kerns H. Powers of SMPTE in USA, the 16:9 aspect ratio was developed to unify all other aspect ratios. Subsequently it became the universal standard for widescreen and high-definition television.

Around 2007, cameras and non-television screens began to switch from 15:9 (5:3) and 16:10 (8:5) to 16:9 resolutions.

## Extra-wide aspect ratios

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Univisium is an aspect ratio of 2:1, created by Vittorio Storaro of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) originally intended to unify all other aspect ratios used in movies.

It is popular on smartphones and cheap VR[clarification needed] displays. VR displays halve the screen into two, one for each eye. So a 2:1 VR screen would be halved into two 1:1 screens. Smartphones began moving to this aspect ratio since late 2010s with the release of Samsung Galaxy S8, advertised as 18:9.

## Ultra-wide aspect ratios

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21:9 is a consumer electronics (CE) marketing term to describe the ultra-widescreen aspect ratio of 64:27 (211⁄3:9) = 1024:432 for multiples of 1080 lines. It is used for multiple anamorphic formats and DCI 1024:429 (21.482517:9), but also for ultrawide computer monitors, including 43:18 (211⁄2:9) for resolutions based on 720 lines and 12:5 (213⁄5:9) for ultrawide variants of resolutions based either on 960 pixels width or 900 lines height.

The 64:27 aspect ratio is the logical extension of the existing video aspect ratios 4:3 and 16:9. It is the third power of 4:3, whereas 16:9 of widescreen HDTV is 4:3 squared. This allows electronic scalers and optical anamorphic lenses to use an easily implementable 4:3 (1.33) scaling factor.

4 3 ⋅ 4 3 ⋅ 4 3 = 64 27 {\displaystyle {\tfrac {4}{3}}\cdot {\tfrac {4}{3}}\cdot {\tfrac {4}{3}}={\tfrac {64}{27}}}

21:9 movies usually refers to 1024:429 ≈ 2.387, the aspect ratio of digital ultrawide cinema formats, which is often rounded up to 2.39:1 or 2.4:1

Ultrawide resolution can also be described by its height, such as "UW 1080" and "1080p ultrawide" both stands for the same 2560×1080 resolution.

Ultra-wide (UW) resolutions  common name | aspect ratio | resolution

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WFHD | 64∶27 | 2560×1080
WFHD+ | 12∶5 | 2880×1200
WQHD | 43∶18 | 3440×1440
WQHD+ | 12∶5 | 3840×1600
UW4K | 12∶5 | 4320×1800
UW5K (WUHD) | 64∶27 | 5120×2160
UW5K+ | 12∶5 | 5760×2400
UW6K | 12∶5 | 6144×2560
UW6K+ | 43∶18 | 6880×2880
UW7K | 12∶5 | 7680×3200
UW8K | 12∶5 | 8640×3600
UW10K | 64∶27 | 10240×4320
Ultra-wide (UW) aspect ratios  decimal | simple | n∶9

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2.370 | 64∶27 | 211⁄3∶9
2.38 | 43∶18 | 211⁄2∶9
2.4 | 12∶5 | 213⁄5∶9

## Super-wide aspect ratios

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In 2016, IMAX announced the release of films in Ultra-WideScreen 3.6 format,[6][failed verification] with an aspect ratio of 18:5 (36:10).[7] A year later, Samsung and Phillips announced 'super ultra-wide displays', with aspect ratio of 32:9, for "iMax-style cinematic viewing".[8] Panacast developed a 32:9 webcam with three integrated cameras giving 180° view, and resolution matching upcoming 5K 32:9 monitors, 5120x1440.[9] In 2018 Q4, Dell released the U4919DW, a 5K 32:9 monitor with a resolution of 5120x1440, and Phillips announced the 499P9H with the same resolution. 32:9 Ultrawide monitors are often sold as an alternative to dual 16:9 monitor setups and for more inmersive experiences while playing videogames, and many are capable of displaying 2 16:9 inputs at the same time.

32:9 aspect ratio is derived from 16:9 being twice as large. Some manufacturers therefore refer to the resulting total display resolution with a D prefix for dual or double.

Super wide resolutions refers to that with aspect ratio greater than 3.

Super-wide (SW) resolutions  common name | aspect ratio | resolution

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DWXGA+ | 16∶5 | 2880×900
DFHD | 32∶9 | 3840×1080
DFHD+ | 16∶5 | 3840×1200
SWFHD+ | 18∶5 | 4320×1200
DQHD | 32∶9 | 5120×1440
DQHD+ | 16∶5 | 5120×1600
SWQHD+ | 18∶5 | 5760×1600
16:5 5K | 16∶5 | 5760×1800
32:9 6K | 32∶9 | 6400×1800
18:5 6K | 18∶5 | 6480×1800
DUHD | 32∶9 | 7680×2160
DUHD+ | 16∶5 | 7680×2400
18:5 8K | 18∶5 | 8640×2400
Super-wide (SW) aspect ratios  decimal | simple | n:9

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3.2 | 16∶5 | 28+4⁄5∶9
3.5 | 32∶9 | 32∶9
3.6 | 18∶5 | 32+2⁄5∶9

Ultra-WideScreen 3.6 video never spread, as cinemas in an even wider ScreenX 270° format were released.[10]

## 4:1 (36:9)

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Abel Gance experimented with ultrawide formats including making a film in 4:1 (36:9). He made a rare use of Polyvision, three 35 mm 1.3 images projected side by side in the 1927 film Napoléon.

AT NAB 2019, Sony introduced a 19.2-metre-wide by 5.4-metre-tall commercial 16K display.[11][12] It is made up of 576 modules (48 by 12) each 360 pixels across, resulting in a 4:1, 17280x4320p screen.

## Multi-Screen Theaters

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Developed by CJ CGV in 2012, ScreenX uses three (or more) projectors to display 270° content,[10] with an unknown aspect ratio above 4. Walls on both sides of a ScreenX theatre are used as projector screens.

Developed by Barco N.V. in 2015, Barco Escape used three projectors of 2.39 ratio to display 270° content, with an aspect ratio of 7.17. The two side screens were angled at 45 degree in order to cover peripheral vision. Barco Escape shut down in February 2018.

## Comparison

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Decimal value | Aspect ratio | Format name | Resolutions | Lens & Film

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1.1 | 1:1 | Square | 512×512, 768×768, 864×864, 960×960, 1024×1024, 1080×1080, 1280×1280, 1440×1440, 1920×1920, 2048×2048, 2160×2160 | monitors
1.185 | 32:27 | DVCPRO HD | 640×540, 1280×1080 | 1x
1.25 | 5:4 | DV PAL | 720×576, 800×640, 960×768, 1200×960, 1280×1024, 1500×1200, 1600×1280, 1920×1536, 2160×1728, 2560×2048 | 1x
1.33 | 4:3 | Video Graphics Array | 320×240, 480×360, 512×384, 576×432, 640×480, 704×528, 720×540, 800×600, 960×720, 1000×750, 1024×768, 1152×864, 1280×960, 1366×1024, 1400×1050, 1440×1080, 1600×1200, 1920×1440, 2048×1536, 2304×1728, 2400×1800, 2560x1920, 2732×2048, 2800x2100, 2880×2160, 3072×2304, 3200×2400 | SDTV
1.4 | 7:5 | 7:5 displayes | 1600×1152, 1920×1366, 2408×1728, 3000×2120, 3392×2400 | tablets
1.5 | 3:2 | DV NTSC / laptops | 720×480, 1152×768, 1280×864, 1440×960, 1536×1024, 1728×1152, 1800×1200, 1920×1280, 2160×1440, 2256×1504, 2400×1600, 2880×1920, 3000×2000, 3072×2048 | 1x, tablets
1.5625 | 25:16 | 25:16 widescreen | 1000×640, 1200×768, 1600×1024, 1800×1152, 2400×1536, 3200×2048 | monitors
1.6 | 8:5 | 16:10 widescreen (PC only) | 640×400, 768×480, 960×600, 1024×640, 1152×720, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1536×960, 1640×1024, 1680×1050, 1728×1080 1920×1200, 2048×1280, 2304×1440, 2560×1600, 2880×1800, 3072×1920, 3280×2048, 3360×2100, 3456×2160, 3840×2400 | tablets, monitors
1.66 | 5:3 | European Widescreen | 400×240, 800×480, 1280×768, 1440×864, 1600×960, 1704×1024, 1920×1152, 2000×1200, 2560×1536 | Super 16 mm
1.77 | 16:9 | Widescreen | 854×480 , 960×540, 1024×576, 1152×648, 1280×720, 1366×768, 1536×864, 1600×900 , 1920×1080, 2560×1440, 3840×2160, 7680×4320 | Anamorphic 1.5x on 32:27, HDTV
1.618  | 16:10  | 16:10 Tallboy  | 640×400, 960×600, 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600, 3840×2400  | \-
1.85 | 37:20 | "Flat" DCI | 2000×1080, 4000×2160 | 1x
1.8962 | 256:135 | "Full" DCI | 2048×1080, 4096×2160 | 1x
1.95 | 39:20 | Wide 39:20 | 1053×480, 1404×720, 2106×1080 | \-
2.0 | 2:1 | VistaVision / Univisium | 1440×720, 1536×768, 1728×864, 1920×960, 2160×1080, 2400×1200, 2880×1440, 3200×1600, 3600×1800, 3840×1920, 4320×2160, 4800×2400, 5760×2880 | VR cameras (most), smartphones
2.05 | 37:18 | Wide | 1480×720, 2220×1080, 2960×1440 | smartphones
2.11 | 19:9 | Wide | 1520×720, 2280×1080, 3040×1440 | smartphones
2.16 | 39:18 | Wide | 1560×720, 2340×1080, 3120×1440 | smartphones
2.22 | 20:9 | UltraWide 20:9 | 1600×720, 2400×1080, 3200×1440 | smartphones
2.27 | 41:18 | UltraWide | 1640×720, 2460×1080, 3280×1440 | smartphones
2.33 | 21:9 | UltraWide, True 21:9 | 1680×720, 2520×1080, 3360×1440, 5040×2160 | smartphones, monitors
2.3468531 | 1678:715[13] | Cinemascope (1950s–1970s) | analog | Anamorphic 2x on 35 mm with optical audio
2.370 | 64:27 | "21:9" ultrawide | 2560×1080, 5120×2160, 7680×3240, 10240×4320 | Dashcam, Anamorphic 1.33x on 16:9, 1.25x on DCI 256:135, 2x on 32:27
2.386946 | 1024:429 | "Scope" DCI cinema format | 2048×858, 4096×1716, 8192×3432 | 1x
2.38 | 43:18 | "21:9" ultrawide (PC only) | 3440×1440, 5160×2160, 6880×2880 | \-
2.4 | 12:5 | 24:10 ultrawide | 2880×1200, 3840×1600, 4320×1800, 5760×2400, 6144×2560, 7680×3200 | \-
2.55 | 51:20 | Cinemascope 55 | analog | Anamorphic 2x on 35 mm without optical audio
2.6 | 8:3 | Cinerama / 24:9 ultrawide (PC only) | 1280×480, 2880×1080, 3840×1440, 5120×1920, 5760×2160, 7680×2880, 10240×3840 | 2х
2.76 | 69:25 | Ultra Panavision | analog | Anamorphic 1.25x on 70 mm
3.2 | 16:5 | 32:10 super wide (PC only) | 2880×900, 3840×1200, 5120×1600, 5760×1800, 7680×2400, 10240×3200 | \-
3.5 | 32:9 | 32:9 super wide (PC only) | 3840×1080, 5120×1440, 7680×2160, 10240×2880 | \-
3.6 | 18:5 | 36:10 super wide (ultra-widescreen 3.6) | 4320×1200, 5760×1600, 6480×1800, 8640×2400 | 1x
4.0 | 4:1 | Polyvision | analog / 3 images 4:3 projected side by side | 3x

## See also

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* 14:9 aspect ratio
* Display resolution standards
* Angle of view
* Field of view in video games
* Dot pitch
* Pixel density

## References

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1. ^ A History of Widescreen and Wide-Film Projection Processes
2. ^ All About Ultrawide Monitors, the Latest Trend in Gaming and Productivity
3. ^ a b p20, Sherlock, Daniel J. "Wide Screen Movies" Corrections, 1994–2004
4. ^ Red Camera: Anamorphic lens intro
5. ^ Smith-Carney System
6. ^ "Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience in Ultra-Widescreen". IMAX.com. Dec 7, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
7. ^ Kristopher Tapley (Dec 5, 2016). "'Ultra Widescreen' Version of Terrence Malick's 'Voyage of Time' Set for Release". variety.com. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
8. ^ super ultra-wide -Samsung News
9. ^ "Panacast". Archived from the original on 2020-10-27. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
10. ^ a b Introducing Screen X, Cinema in 270 Degrees
11. ^ Waniata, Ryan (2019-04-10). "Sony's massive new MicroLED display stands 17 feet tall and packs 16K resolution". Digital Trends. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
12. ^ Dent, Steve (2019-09-13). "Sony's Crystal cinema display supports 16K, but could cost millions". Engadget. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
13. ^ "Wide Screen Apertures and Aspect Ratios". The American WideScreen Museum. October 17, 2000. Retrieved November 2, 2018.