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An aspect ratio is the proportion of width to height for a screen or image. It is directly related to the resolution of your presentation source material, your source device and your output display.

You’ve probably heard of 4/3 “standard” and 16/9 “widescreen” aspect ratios; since sometime in the past few years you sent your boring old TV (4/3 aspect ratio) to the trash and replaced it with a sleek new wide screen flat panel (16/9 aspect ratio). Well, that old TV was 480 lines of resolution high. For computer display on a “standard” monitor this was equal to 640×480 graphics resolution; and matured to become the scaled-up 1024×768 resolution of computer monitors and large screen displays we all see frequently today. Your widescreen, on the other hand, probably has a resolution of 1280×720, 1366×768 or some more high definition up to “the holy grail” of 1920×1080.

With this transition from “standard” to “widescreen” displays, the aspect ratio has been an important consideration in the design of presentation environments. Proper coordination of source-to-display results in an improved perception of image quality and the success of the viewers’ experience. We’ve all witnessed the consequences of poor aspect ratio coordination: an image from a video conference is stretched to fill your local wide screen and appears to add about 25lbs to your (maybe already a bit husky) associate in Chicago…distracting black bars are applied to an otherwise impressive and colorful new advertising presentation…or, someone chooses to apply “zoom mode” to make an image fill a screen but inadvertently crops away the “bottom line” from the CEO’s annual report to shareholders.

What display aspect ratio do I choose for a particular environment? Should I use electronic manipulation of aspect ratio to “fix” pictures? How do I integrate a certain resolution projection system and select the appropriate screen? And, ultimately, how do I cover all the bases to optimize image quality?

The answers rely on the examination of the aspect ratio of the anticipated source devices (such as laptops) and source materials (such as DVD’s) to be used in the environment. It is critical for the designer to work with the end user to list and analyze the sources that will be displayed; addressing how each will transfer visually from their native formats to the display device selected for a facility. Often there must be compromise. Its typically best to settle on an aspect ratio for the most commonly used source(s). But, all of the other possible content must be addressed up front too-including those that might be used in the future. And, what about all the variables within a certain source type? You can’t just say “we need to display a laptop” anymore*. Even DVD’s have multiple formats to deal with.

In the end, talking through the issues related to aspect ratio, understanding how manufacturers are addressing it in their systems, making informed decisions and assisting the user with the development of graphic standards for their presentation materials will reduce the impact of the all the possible variations and make a world of difference in the quality of the final image.

*Next time…16/9, 16/10 and 15/9…are they really different enough to worry about?