What is Widescreen?

Widescreen usually refers to the aspect ratio of an image. In general terms, most images are considered to be in widescreen format when they have an aspect ratio larger than 4:3.

When talking about widescreen, generally, most people are referring to the aspect ratio or shape of their TV set, monitor or digital image. One of the best ways to understand widescreen is to compare it with the most common type of aspect ration, 4:3 which is the aspect ratio or shape of a standard TV set.

A standard TV set is pretty much boxy in shape. The aspect ratio is 4:3, this means that the TV screen is 4 times wide by three times high. Because this ratio is almost equal to each other, it is considered similar to a box or square. A perfect square would be 4:4, which is really a ratio that is to 1:1.