14:9 aspect ratio

The red outline frames an approximately 16:9 picture. The yellow outline, not including the black bars at top and bottom, shows the same picture cropped to 14:9, while the whole yellow box frames a 4:3 picture.

14:9 (1.5:1) is a compromise aspect ratio between 4:3 and 16:9.[1][2] It is used to create an acceptable picture on both 4:3 and 16:9 TV, conceived following audience tests conducted by the BBC. It has been used by most UK,[3] Irish, French, Spanish, Colombian and Australian terrestrial analogue networks, and in the US on Warner Bros. Discovery' HD simulcast channels with programming and advertising originally compiled in 4:3. Note that 14:9 is not a shooting format; 14:9 material is almost always derived from either a 16:9 or 4:3 shot.[1][2]

  1. ^ a b BT.1379 - Framing of wide-screen 16:9 and standard 4:3 aspect ratio productions to achieve a common production format during a transition period to wide-screen 16:9 production and broadcasting (PDF). ITU Radiocommunication Assembly. 1998.
  2. ^ a b R93-1998 - Compromise Scanned Area Dimensions for Television from 35 mm Wide-Screen Films (PDF). EBU. 1998.
  3. ^ "BBC - Commissioning - A Guide to Picture Size". Archived from the original on 26 August 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)