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.

Comparison of common display resolutions

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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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 (2113:9) = 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 (2112:9) for resolutions based on 720 lines and 12:5 (2135:9) 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.

 

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
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 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
2.370 64∶27 2113∶9
2.38 43∶18 2112∶9
2.4 12∶5 2135∶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
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
3.2 16∶5 28+45∶9
3.5 32∶9 32∶9
3.6 18∶5 32+25∶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
1.185 32:27 DVCPRO HD 640×540, 1280×1080 1x
1.25 5:4 DV PAL 720×576, 1280×1024, 1500×1200 1x
1.3 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, 1440×1080, 1600×1200 SDTV
1.5 3:2 DV NTSC / laptops 720×480, 1920×1280, 2160×1440, 2256×1504, 2400×1600, 3000×2000 1x
1.6 8:5 16:10 widescreen (PC only) 1280×800, 1440×900, 1680×1050, 1920×1200, 2560×1600, 2880×1800, 3072×1920, 3840×2400 -
1.6 5:3 European Widescreen 400×240, 800×480, 1280×768 Super 16 mm
1.7 16:9 Widescreen 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
2.0 2:1 VistaVision / Univisium 2160×1080, 2400×1200, 2880×1440, 3200×1600, 3600×1800, 3840×1920, 4320×2160, 4800×2400, 5760×2880 VR cameras (most)
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, 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
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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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
  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.