Aspect ratios and why some films show black bars on TV

A practical guide for Ridents readers, written from everyday experience.

The aspect ratio is the relationship between the width and height of an image. Most modern televisions use a ratio of sixteen to nine, but many cinema films are shot in wider formats to fill a large screen. When such a film is shown on a television, black bars appear above and below the picture so that the whole frame remains visible without cropping.

The aspect ratio is the relationship between the width and height of an image.

Older television programmes were made for nearly square screens and may show bars at the sides instead. Stretching or zooming the picture to remove the bars cuts off part of the image or distorts faces, losing what the director intended. Setting the television to its original or automatic picture mode usually shows each programme in the shape it was made.