Difference Between Widescreen and Full Screen

Widescreen vs Full Screen

Due to the introduction of HDTVs, there are now two basic types of TV screens; the widescreen format and the full screen. The main difference between the two is the aspect ratio that they use. Full screen uses an aspect ratio of 4:3, which means that it is 1.33 times wider than it is high. The old CRT TVs are an example of the full screen format with its square screen. In contrast, widescreen TVs use an aspect ratio of 16:9 (1.77 wide compared to its height) or greater. It is easy to spot widescreen TVs as they are a lot wider than standard CRTs.

One of the reasons that pushed the adoption of widescreen TVs is to match the display aspect ratio that is used in movie theaters, which are pretty wide. Previously, watching movies on a full screen TV usually meant that the black lines were present on the bottom and on top of the screen in order to fit the frame into the screen. This is very wasteful of screen space. With widescreen TVs, you get minimal or no black bars thereby maximizing the use of the screen.

One way to work around the black bars is to fit the height of the screen and extend the width of the display beyond the screen. This lets you have a bigger view, but you lose roughly a third of the movie. So if the important part happens on the edge of the screen, you won’t be able to see it.

When showing a full screen format on a widescreen TV, the usual solution is to stretch the frame in order to fit the TV screen. This method introduces a noticeable amount of distortion but is fairly acceptable.
It is now widely accepted that the widescreen format is the better of the two. It lets you watch both TV programs and movies at the largest possible display size. As more and more widescreen TVs are appearing in people’s homes, even TV networks are adopting the widescreen format. The widescreen format for TVs is only available, though, when you subscribe to a digital transmission format and not via the standard cable or over-the-air transmissions.

Summary:

1.Widescreen uses an aspect ratio of 16:9 while full screen uses an aspect ratio of 4:3.
2.Widescreen is better for viewing movies than full screen.
3.Widescreen movies can still be played in full screen TVs and vice versa.

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