What is Aspect Ratio? (16:9, 1:1, 4:3) Briefly Explained

Have you ever pondered upon the size of images or video frames while watching a movie or playing games on screens? Probably not, unless you’re someone from the film-making or streaming services industry!

Whatever the case, it is no big issue if you aren’t aware of it. Here we have jotted down a brief yet comprehensive guide, that’d help you explore quite some facts about what is aspect ratio, and what exactly is its role in monitors, TVs, or images.

Apart from that, the concept of aspect ratio is also used to determine tire sizes. So make sure to read it till the end, so that you get to know what actually aspect ratio is, from all perspectives.

On that note, let’s get straight to the discussion without making any further ado.

What is Aspect Ratio? An Introduction

Aspect ratio is generally referred to as the ratio of the width and height of the screen or image that you are viewing. Typically, it’s the image projection attribute that decides the exact width and height of your screen or computer graphics – and is represented by two numbers separated by a colon; for instance, 16:9, 4:3, etc.

Having said that, this proportional relationship between the width of any image and its height is crucial for various purposes. So much so that there are a lot of aspect ratios, which are in common use nowadays. For instance: a screen, sensor, or image’s aspect ratio; or else a tire’s aspect ratio as well.

On that note, let’s dig a little deeper to explore what is aspect ratio of tyre. That said, here we begin:

What is Aspect Ratio Tires?

To get it straight, the aspect ratio in tires depicts the size of them. When you are thinking of replacing your vehicle’s tires with new ones, then you’d be needing information regarding the size of the tire.

Hence, you should pay more attention to the numerical information mentioned on the tires.

Having said that, you need to know how to read that information. Apart from that, the first number that appears there is about the width – whereas the aspect ratio of the tire is mentioned right after the slash mark, which is simply a single number instead of two separated by a colon.

So that’s how you know what is aspect ratio of tyre, in order to choose the right size of it. Now that we are done here, let’s have a recap of what is aspect ratio of image, so that we can wind it all up.

What is Aspect Ratio in Computer Graphics?

Coming to the computer graphics, the aspect ratio has a say here as well, for it determines the screen size or display settings in which you’ll be viewing images or videos. It is again the ratio of width and height respectively.

Apart from that, for the gamers as well as video editors or content creators, aspect ratio is quite essential as it depicts many compelling factors. In addition to that, aspect ratios are used for live streaming as well.

Now, with that being said, let’s have an overview of some of the most common types of aspect ratios so that comparing them with one another would make it easier to find the difference.
On that note, let’s begin with that:

16:9

First and foremost, we have the standard aspect ratio of most of the videos, images, or screens that is 16:9. The reason it is considered to be the standard is that it is the default setting on many video capture devices.

Adding to this, it is common for video players as well. So overall, this is the international standard for different formats like TV, cinema, and other video streaming platforms. Having said that, this wide rectangular display setting is quite cost-effective as well, when compared to other options.

1:1

Another common aspect ratio is none other than the perfect square setting 1:1, which was used with square TVs. However, it is not that popular anymore, except for its presence on social media apps like Instagram or Facebook.

4:3

4:3 was once very commonly used in TVs and computer monitors, until the advent of HDTVs. With the recent invention, the demand for aspect ratio of 16:9 or 16:10 was becoming higher, as they give higher resolution. Hence, the use of 4:3 gradually came to an end.

What is Aspect Ratio in Video?

Video aspect ratio is defined as the orientation of a video by its width and height in proportion and measured in pixels. Having said that, the numbers that we write in ratio, i.e. the width and height, are not essentially the same in pixels.

So for instance, if you have a video aspect ratio of 4:3, then it wouldn’t represent the pixel quality of the video of 4px in width and 3px in height. That being said, if you are wondering what aspect ratio in film is, then know that the same concept applies there as well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Some Final Words

Aspect ratio is a wide term that can be applied in different fields, but here, in particular, we talked about it with reference to display tech. Adding to this, a slight mention of what aspect ratio in tires is, was also there.

So here we wrap up with our discussion on a note that aspect ratio defines the width and height of an image or video, in order to bring variation to it, as well as to have perfect screen resolution.