Q:What is CMOS camera. What is it different from CCD camera.

A: CMOS sensor is a kind of sensor that is normally 10 times less sensitivity  then CCD sensor.As human eye can see object under 1 lux illumination ( full moon night ). CCD sensor normally will see better or as good as human eye in the range of 0.1 ~3 lux and are 3 to 10 times more sensitive then CMOS sensor.

More: CMOS sensor's  sensitivity are normally in the range of 6 to 15 lux. CMOS sensor have 10 times more fix pattern noise then CCD sensor. Fixed pattern noise is the kind of noise that stay on screen as if there is a patterned. As CMOS sensor will become useless under 10 lux. All camera for serious application are using CCD sensor. CMOS sensor are normally using on  toy or very low end home security.There 2 exception.  CMOS sensor can be made very big and have same sensitivity as CCD sensor. CMOS sensor are very fast , it is 10 ~100 times faster then CCD sensor, so it is very good for special application such as high ens DSC camera ( Cannon D-30 ) or fast frame camera.CMOS sensor can have all the logic and control circuit be build on the same silicon wafer dice so as to make the camera simple and easy to handle. Hence CMOS camera can be very small in size.CMOS camera though consume same or more power then CCD sensor but CMOS sensor use less peripheral circuit such as  CDS, TG and DSP circuit, so the total power consumption is 1/2 to 1/4 less then a CCD camera on same size.There is only one exception that Mintron C series camera is using only 12V/65 mA power which is almost same as CMOS camera but having much better image quality. C series camera using 0.35um 3.3v DSP hence consume very small power  ( 54C0,54C1,54C2,54C1,54C5,54C6) . All other CCD camera making by other company are consuming 12V/150~300mA, hence is 2 to 4 times more then CMOS camera that is on 5~12v and 35~70 mA

Ironically, although CCD stand for  "Charge Couple Device" and CMOS stand for "Complementary Metal Oxide Silicon"  but actually neither CCD nor CMOS have anything to do with image sensing. The actuarial sensor is a device called "Photo Diode"  Both CCD sensor and CMOS sensor ( as so called ), are actually using same kind of sensor called Photo diode. Photo diode is a P N junction diode that will convert photon of the light that is bombing the junction into proportional amount of electron. The amount of electron are them calculated and read as voltage of signal. The more the light that entering the photo diode the more the electron generated and the higher the voltage out put from the sensor. CCD stand for  "Charge Couple Device" , CCD actually is only the technology to store the electron charge and the method to move these charge out of photo sensor in and organized way.CMOS stand for "Complementary Metal Oxide Silicon" . CMOS actually is only a technology to make transistor on silicon wafer, and have no further meaning. Sensor being called CMOS sensor was a

convenient way to discriminate it from CCD sensor and have nothing to do with the real ways that the sensor handling image. CMOS sensor convert electron generated by photo diode into voltage signal immediately without complicate process. hence it is much faster. This good point makes CMOS sensor very useful for fast frame camera, the frame speed can be as high as 400 ~2000 frame/sec. This point makes it very good for high speed moving object survey. however due to lack of good fast speed DSP there are little high speed camera on the market and are normally very expensive $3000 ~ 300,000 per unit. Mintron makes  75 frame CCD camera which is 3 times faster then PAL TV standard on 25 frame/sec. and it is the physical limit for a CCD device.

Image sensorFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search

A CCD image sensor on a flexible circuit board

Image sensor on the motherboard of a Nikon Coolpix L2 6 MP

An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image into an electronic signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices. Early sensors were video camera tubes but a modern one is typically a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) active pixel sensor.

Contents

[hide]

1 CCD vs CMOS 2 Performance 3 Color separation 4 Sensors used in digital cameras 5 Specialty sensors 6 Companies 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

Image sensors: CCD vs. CMOS

LiteratureWhite paper:

CCD and CMOS sensor technology

More white papers

The image sensor of the camera is responsible for transforming light into electrical signals. When building a camera, there are two possible technologies for the camera's image sensor: - CCD (Charged Coupled Device) - CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) 

See placement of an image sensor in a network camera

CCD sensors are produced using a technology developed specifically for the camera industry, while CMOS sensors are based on standard technology already extensively used in memory chips, inside PCs for example.

CCD technology

CCD sensors have been used in cameras for more than 20 years and present many advantageous qualities; among them, better light sensitivity than CMOS sensors. This higher light sensitivity translates into better images in low light conditions.

1/3-inch CCD sensor

CCD sensors are, however, more expensive as they are made in a non-standard process and more complex to incorporate into a camera. In addition, when there is a very bright object in the scene (such as a lamp or direct sunlight), the CCD may bleed, causing vertical stripes below and above the object. This phenomenon is called a smear.

CMOS technology

Recent advances in CMOS sensors bring them closer to their CCD counterparts in terms of image quality. CMOS sensors provide a lower total cost for the cameras since they contain all the logics needed to build cameras around them. They make it possible to produce smaller-sized cameras. Large-sized sensors are available, providing megapixel resolution to a variety of network cameras. A current limitation with CMOS sensors is their lower light sensitivity.

[edit] CCD vs CMOS

Today, most digital still cameras use either a CCD image sensor or a CMOS sensor. Both types of sensor accomplish the same task of capturing light and converting it into electrical signals.

A CCD image sensor is an analog device. When light strikes the chip it is held as a small electrical charge in each photo sensor. The charges are converted to voltage one pixel at a time as they are read from the chip. Additional circuitry in the camera converts the voltage into digital information.

A CMOS imaging chip is a type of active pixel sensor made using the CMOS semiconductor process. Extra circuitry next to each photo sensor converts the light energy to a voltage. Additional circuitry on the chip may be included to convert the voltage to digital data.

Neither technology has a clear advantage in image quality. On one hand, CCD sensors are more susceptible to vertical smear from bright light sources when the sensor is overloaded; high-end frame transfer CCDs in turn do not suffer from this problem. On the other hand, CMOS sensors are susceptible to undesired effects that come as a result of rolling shutter.

CMOS can potentially be implemented with fewer components, use less power, and/or provide faster readout than CCDs. CCD is a more mature technology and is in most respects the equal of CMOS.[1][2] CMOS sensors are less expensive to manufacture than CCD sensors.

Another hybrid CCD/CMOS architecture, sold under the name "sCMOS", consists of CMOS readout integrated circuits (ROICs) that are bump bonded to a CCD imaging substrate – a technology that was developed for infrared staring arrays and now adapted to silicon-based detector technology.[3] Another approach is to utilize the very fine dimensions available in modern CMOS technology to implement a CCD like structure entirely in CMOS technology. This can be achieved by separating individual poly-silcion gates by a very small gap. These hybrid sensors are still in the research phase, and can potentially harness the benefits of both the CCDs and the CMOS imagers.[4]

[edit] Performance

1/4-inch CMOS sensor

See also: EMVA1288

An infrared-blocking filter removed from a Canon EOS 350D DSLR.

There are many parameters that can be used to evaluate the performance of an image sensor, including its dynamic range, its signal-to-noise ratio, its low-light sensitivity, etc. For sensors of comparable types, the signal-to-noise ratio and dynamic range improve as the size increases.

[edit] Color separation

There are several main types of color image sensors, differing by the means of the color separation mechanism:

Bayer sensor , low-cost and most common, using a color filter array that passes red, green, or blue light to selected pixel sensors, forming interlaced grids sensitive to red, green, and blue – the missing color samples are interpolated using a demosaicing algorithm. In order to avoid interpolated color information, techniques like color co-site sampling use a piezo mechanism to shift the color sensor in pixel steps. The Bayer sensors also include back-illuminated sensors, where the light enters the sensitive silicon from the opposite side of where the transistors and metal wires are, such that the metal connections on the devices side are not an obstacle for the light, and the efficiency is higher.[3][4]

Foveon X3 sensor , using an array of layered pixel sensors, separating light via the inherent wavelength-dependent absorption property of silicon, such that every location senses all three color channels.

3CCD , using three discrete image sensors, with the color separation done by a dichroic prism. Considered the best quality, and generally more expensive than single-CCD sensors.

[edit] Sensors used in digital cameras

Width Height Aspect ratio Actual pixel

count

MegapixelsCamera examples

320 240 76,800 0.07 Steven Sasson Prototype (1975)

640 480 307,200 0.3 Apple QuickTake 100 (1994)

832 608 505,856 0.5 Canon Powershot 600 (1996)

1,024 768 786,432 0.8 Olympus D-300L (1996)

1,280 960 1,228,800 1.3 Fujifilm DS-300 (1997)

1,280 1,024 5:4 1,310,720 1.3 Fujifilm MX-700, Fujifilm MX-1700 (1999), Leica Digilux

(1998), Leica Digilux Zoom (2000)

1,600 1,200 1,920,000 2 Nikon Coolpix 950, Samsung GT-S3500

2,012 1,324 2,663,888 2.74 Nikon D12,048 1,536 3,145,728 3 Canon PowerShot A75, Nikon

Coolpix 9952,272 1,704 3,871,488 4 Olympus Stylus 410, Contax i4R

(although CCD is actually square 2,272x2,272)

2,464 1,648 4,060,672 4.1 Canon 1D2,560 1,920 4,915,200 5 Olympus E-1, Sony Cyber-shot

DSC-F707, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717

2,816 2,112 5,947,392 5.9 Olympus Stylus 600 Digital

3,008 2,000 6,016,000 6 Nikon D40, D50, D70, D70s, Pentax K100D

3,072 2,048 6,291,456 6.3 Canon EOS 10D, Canon EOS 300D

3,072 2,304 7,077,888 7 Olympus FE-210, Canon PowerShot A620

3,456 2,304 7,962,624 8 Canon EOS 350D3,264 2,448 7,990,272 8 Olympus E-500, Olympus SP-

350, Canon PowerShot A720 IS3,504 2,336 8,185,344 8.2 Canon EOS 30D, Canon EOS-1D

Mark II, Canon EOS-1D Mark II N

3,520 2,344 8,250,880 8.25 Canon EOS 20D3,648 2,736 9,980,928 10 Olympus E-410, Olympus E-510,

Panasonic FZ50, Fujifilm FinePix HS10

3,872 2,592 10,036,224 10 Nikon D40x, Nikon D60, Nikon D3000, Nikon D200, Nikon D80, Pentax K10D, Pentax K200D, Sony Alpha A100

3,888 2,592 10,077,696 10.1 Canon EOS 40D, Canon EOS 400D, Canon EOS 1000D

4,064 2,704 10,989,056 11 Canon EOS-1Ds4,000 3,000 12,000,000 12 Canon Powershot G9, Fujifilm

FinePix S200EXR, Nikon Coolpix L110

4,256 2,832 12,052,992 12.1 Nikon D3, Nikon D3S, Nikon D700, Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro

4,272 2,848 12,166,656 12.2 Canon EOS 450D4,032 3,024 12,192,768 12.2 Olympus PEN E-P1

4,288 2,848 12,212,224 12.2 Nikon D2Xs/D2X, Nikon D300, Nikon D90, Nikon D5000, Pentax K-x

4,900 2,580 16:9 12,642,000 12.6 RED ONE Mysterium

4,368 2,912 12,719,616 12.7 Canon EOS 5D7,920 (2,640 × 3)

1,760 13,939,200 13.9 Sigma SD14, Sigma DP1 (3 layers of pixels, 4.7 MP per layer, in Foveon X3 sensor)

4,672 3,104 14,501,888 14.5 Pentax K20D, Pentax K-74,752 3,168 15,054,336 15.1 Canon EOS 50D, Canon EOS

500D4,928 3,262 16,075,136 16.1 Nikon D7000, Pentax K-54,992 3,328 16,613,376 16.6 Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, Canon

EOS-1D Mark IV5,184 3,456 17,915,904 17.9 Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 60D,

Canon EOS 600D, Canon EOS 550D

5,270 3,516 18,529,320 18.5 Leica M95,616 3,744 21,026,304 21.0 Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, Canon

EOS-5D Mark II6,048 4,032 24,385,536 24.4 Sony α 850, Sony α 900, Nikon

D3X7,500 5,000 37,500,000 37.5 Leica S27,212 5,142 39,031,344 39.0 Hasselblad H3DII-39

7,216 5,412 39,052,992 39.1 Leica RCD100

7,264 5,440 39,516,160 39.5 Pentax 645D

7,320 5,484 40,142,880 40.1 Phase One IQ140

8,176 6,132 50,135,232 50.1 Hasselblad H3DII-50

11,250 5,000 9:4 56,250,000 56.3 Better Light 4000E-HS (scanned)8,956 6,708 60,076,848 60.1 Hasselblad H4D-60

8,984 6,732 60,480,288 60.5 Phase One IQ160, Phase One P65+

10,320 7,752 80,000,640 80 Leaf Aptus-II 12

10,328 7,760 80,145,280 80.1 Phase One IQ180

9,372 9,372 1:1 87,834,384 87.8 Leica RC3012,600 10,500 6:5 132,300,000 132.3 Phase One PowerPhase FX/FX+

(scanned)18,000 8,000 9:4 144,000,000 144 Better Light 6000-HS/6000E-HS

(scanned)21,250 7,500 17:6 159,375,000 159.4 Seitz 6x17 Digital (scanned)18,000 12,000 216,000,000 216 Better Light Super 6K-HS

(scanned)24,000 15,990 2,400:1,599 383,760,000 383.8 Better Light Super 8K-HS

(scanned)30,600 13,600 9:4 416,160,000 416.2 Better Light Super 10K-HS

(scanned)62,830 7,500 6,283:750 471,225,000 471.2 Seitz Roundshot D3 (80 mm lens)

(scanned)62,830 13,500 6,283:1,350 848,205,000 848.2 Seitz Roundshot D3 (110 mm

lens) (scanned)38,000 38,000 1:1 1,444,000,000 1,444 Pan-STARRS PS1

157,000 18,000 157:18 2,826,000,000 2,826 Better Light 300 mm lens Digital (scanned)

[edit] Specialty sensors

Special sensors are used in various applications such as thermography, creation of multi-spectral images, video laryngoscopes, gamma cameras, sensor arrays for x-rays, and other highly sensitive arrays for astronomy.

[edit] Companies

The largest companies that manufacture imaging sensors include the following:

Agilent Aptina Canesta Canon Cypress Semiconductor Eastman Kodak ESS Technology Fuji MagnaChip Matsushita Micron Technology Mitsubishi Nikon OmniVision Technologies PixArt Imaging Pixim Samsung Sharp Sony STMicroelectronics Toshiba TransChip Trusight

Main article: Aspect ratio (image)

From left to right:

1.3 = 4:3: Some (not all) 20th century computer monitors (VGA, XGA, etc.), standard-definition television

1.414… = √2:1: International paper sizes (ISO 216) 1.5 = 3:2: 35 mm film 1.6 = 16:10, widely used widescreen computer displays (WXGA) 1.618…: Golden ratio, close to 16:10 1.6 = 5:3: super 16 mm, a standard film gauge in many European countries 1.7 = 16:9: widescreen TV

Film gauges

8   mm  · 9.5   mm  · 16   mm  · 35   mm  · 70   mm

Film formats

35 mm

CinemaScope (1953) · VistaVision (1954) · Modern anamorphic (1957) · Super 35 (1982)

70 mm

Todd-AO (1953) · IMAX (1970)

35 mm × 3

Cinerama (1952) · Kinopanorama (1958) · Cinemiracle (1958)

Aspect ratio standards

4:3 · 16:9 · 14:9

Video framing issues

Widescreen · Anamorphic widescreen · Letterbox · Pan and scan (Fullscreen) · Open matte · Shoot and protect

WidescreenFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article needs additional citations for verification.Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008)

The Wikipedia main page as viewed with a widescreen monitor.

Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film.

For television, the original screen ratio for broadcasts was 4:3 (1.33:1). In the 2000s, 16:9 (1.78:1) TV displays came into wide use. They are typically used in conjunction with high-definition television (HDTV) receivers, or Standard-Definition (SD) DVD players and other digital television sources.

With computer displays, aspect ratios wider than 4:3 are also called widescreen. Widescreen computer displays are typically of 16:10 aspect ratio.

Contents

[hide]

1 Film o 1.1 History o 1.2 Types

2 Television 3 Computer displays

o 3.1 Transition to widescreen o 3.2 Conversion

4 Notes 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Film

[edit] HistoryWidescreen was first widely used in the late 1920s in some short films and newsreels, including Abel Gance's film Napoleon (1927) which had a final widescreen sequence in what Gance called Polyvision. Paramount Pictures released Old Ironsides (1927) in a widescreen process called Magnascope, and MGM released Trail of '98 (1928) in a widescreen process called Fanthom Screen.

On May 26, 1929, Fox Film Corporation released Fox Grandeur News and Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 in New York City in the Fox Grandeur process. Other films shot in widescreen were the musical Happy Days (1929) which premiered at the Roxy Theater, New York City, on February 13, 1930, starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell and a 12 year old Betty Grable as a chorus girl; Song o’ My Heart, a musical feature starring Irish tenor John McCormack and directed by Frank Borzage (Seventh Heaven, A Farewell to Arms), which was shipped from the labs on March 17, 1930, but never released and may no longer survive, according to film historian Miles Kreuger (the 35mm version, however, debuted in New York on March 11, 1930); and the western The Big Trail (1930) starring John Wayne and Tyrone Power, Sr. which premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on October 2, 1930,[1] all of which were also made in the 70mm Fox Grandeur process.

RKO Radio Pictures released Danger Lights with Jean Arthur, Louis Wolheim, and Robert Armstrong on August 21, 1930 in a 65mm widescreen process known as NaturalVision, invented by film pioneer George K. Spoor. United Artists released The Bat Whispers directed by Roland West on November 13, 1930 in a 70mm widescreen process known as Magnafilm. Warner Brothers released Song of the Flame and Kismet (both 1930) in a widescreen process they called Vitascope. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, after experimenting with the system called Fanthom Screen for The Trail of '98 (1928), came out with a system called Realife in 1930. MGM filmed The Great Meadow (1930) in Realife—however, it's unclear if it was ever released in the widescreen process due to declining interest of the movie-going public.

By 1932, the Great Depression had forced studios to cut back on needless expense and it was not until 1953 that wider aspect ratios were again used in an attempt to stop the fall in attendance due, partially, to the emergence of television in the U.S. However, a few producers and directors, among them Alfred Hitchcock, have been reluctant to use the anamorphic widescreen size featured in such formats as Cinemascope. Hitchcock alternatively used VistaVision, a non-anamorphic widescreen process developed by Paramount Pictures and Technicolor which could be adjusted to present various flat aspect ratios.[2]

[edit] TypesMasked (or flat) Introduced in April 1953. The negative is shot exposing the Academy Ratio using spherical lenses, but the top and bottom of the picture are hidden or masked off by a metal aperture plate, cut to specifications of the theater's screen, in the projector. Alternatively, a hard matte in the printing or shooting stages may be used to mask off those areas while filming for composition purposes, but an aperture plate is still used to block off the appropriate areas in the theater. A detriment is that the film grain size is thus increased because only part of the image is being expanded to full height. Films are designed to be shown in cinemas in masked widescreen format but the full unmasked frame is sometimes used for television. In such an instance, a photographer will compose for widescreen, but "protect" the full image from things such as microphones and other filming equipment.

Super gauges The full negative frame, including the area traditionally reserved for the sound track, is filmed using a wider gate. The print is then shrunk and/or cropped in order to fit it back onto release prints. The aspect ratio for Super 35, for example, can be set to virtually any projection standard.

Large gauge A 70 mm film frame is not only twice as wide as a standard frame but also has greater height. Shooting and projecting a film in 70 mm therefore gives more than twice the image area of non-anamorphic 35 mm film with no loss of quality. Few major dramatic narrative films have been filmed entirely on this format since the 1970s; the two most recent are Ron Howard's Far and Away and Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet. For many years, large budget pictures shot anamorphically used reserve stocks of 70mm film for SFX shots involving CGI or blue-screen compositing as the anamorphic format creates problems with said effects. It has also been used to sometimes strike 70 mm blow-up prints for "roadshow" tours in select cities from the 35 mm camera negative in order to capitalize on the extra sound channels provided. The introduction of digital sound systems and diminishing number of installed 70 mm projectors has made a 70 mm release largely obsolete. However, blowups from 35 mm formats to IMAX has recently become popular for a limited number of blockbuster films.

Paramount's VistaVision was a larger gauge precursor to 70 mm film. Introduced in 1954, it ran standard 35 mm film through the camera horizontally to achieve a widescreen effect using greater negative area, in order to create a finer-grained 35 mm prints in an era where standard monopack stock could not produce finer results. Frames were eight perforations wide. Eight-perf photography is sometimes used for shooting special effects in order to produce a finer grained matte that can be used in optical printing without image degradation, and is notable for its use in Lucasfilm's original three Star Wars films, among others.

Multiple cameras/projectors The Cinerama system originally involved shooting with three synchronized cameras locked together side by side, and projecting the three resulting films on a curved screen with three synchronized projectors, resuting in an ultra wide aspect ratio of 2.89. Later Cinerama movies were shot in 70 mm anamorphic (see below), and the resultant widescreen image was divided into three by optical printers to produce the final threefold prints.

The technical drawbacks of Cinerama are discussed in its own article. Only two narrative feature films, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm and How the West Was Won, were filmed in three-camera Cinerama, and several sequences from the latter were actually filmed in Ultra-Panavision. With the exception of a few films created sporadically for use in specialty Cinerama theaters, the format is essentially dead.

A non-Cinerama, three-projector process was famously pioneered for the final reel of Abel Gance's epic film Napoléon (1927) The process, called Polyvision by Gance, consisted of three 1.33 images side by side, so that the total aspect ratio of the image is 4:1. The technical difficulties in mounting a full screening of the film, however, make most theaters unwilling or unable to show it in this format.

Between 1956 and 1957 the Soviets developed Kinopanorama, which is identical in most respects to the original three-camera Cinerama.

Anamorphic 70 mm. 70 mm with anamorphic lenses, popularly known as "Ultra Panavision" or "MGM Camera 65", creates an even wider high-quality picture. This camera process was most famously used in the 1959 version of Ben-Hur, resulting in an aspect ratio of 2.76:1, one of the widest projected images ever used for a feature film. 70 mm anamorphic was not commonly used, due to the very high production costs, although it was favored for epic films such as Ben-Hur in order to capture wide panoramic landscapes and high-budget scenes with thousands of extras and enormous sets. This system is obsolete, despite its ease in setting up.

[edit] Television

This section is written like a personal reflection or essay and may require cleanup. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (August 2010)

The original screen ratio for television broadcasts was 4:3 (1.33:1). When preparing a film that was originally intended to be displayed in widescreen for television broadcast the material was often edited with the sides truncated, using a technique called pan and scan. Sometimes, in the case of Super35, the full film negative was shown unmasked on TV i.e. with the hard matte removed, however this causes the 4:3 image to not be what the Director intended people to see - and sometimes boom mikes can be visible. Modern widescreen televisions feature a 16:9 aspect ratio, allowing them to display both 16:9 and 4:3 formats.

In Europe the PAL TV format, with its higher resolution than NTSC format means the quality issues of letterboxed or matted movies on TV is not as severe. There is also an extension to PAL, called PALplus, which allows specially equipped receivers to receive a PAL picture as true 16:9 with a full 576 lines of vertical resolution, provided the station employs the same system. Standard PAL receivers will receive such a broadcast as a 16:9 image letterboxed to 4:3, with a small amount of color noise in the black bars; this "noise" is actually the additional lines which are hidden inside the color signal. This system has no equivalent in analog NTSC broadcasting.

Despite the existence of PALplus and support for widescreen in the DVB-based digital satellite, terrestrial and cable broadcasts in use across Europe, only Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, Scandinavia and

the UK have adopted widescreen on a large scale, with over half of all widescreen channels available by satellite in Europe targeting those areas.

16:9 TV displays have come into wide use. They are typically used in conjunction with Digital, High-Definition Television (HDTV) receivers, or Standard-Definition (SD) DVD players and other digital television sources. Digital material is provided to widescreen TVs either in high-definition format, which is natively 16:9 (1.78:1), or as an anamorphically-compressed standard-definition picture. Typically, devices decoding Digital Standard-Definition pictures can be programmed to provide anamorphic widescreen formatting, for 16:9 sets, and formatting for 4:3 sets. Pan-and-scan mode can be used on 4:3 if the producers of the material have included the necessary panning data; if this data is absent, letterboxing or centre cut-out is used.

HD DVD and Blu-ray disc players were introduced in 2006. Toshiba ceased production of HD DVD players in early 2008 after key defections from the HD DVD camp damaged the viability of the format. As of 2010 it still remains to be seen whether Blu-ray will stimulate the sales of HD pre-recorded films on disc, and more HD monitors and tuners. Consumer camcorders are also available in the HD-video format at fairly low prices. These developments will result in more options for viewing widescreen images on television monitors.

[edit] Computer displays

Further information: Display aspect ratio

Computer displays with aspect ratios wider than 4:3 are also called widescreen. Widescreen computer displays are typically of the 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio. Widescreen (16:9) monitors can be found in resolutions of 1024x576, 1152x648, 1280x720, 1366x780, 1600x900, 1920x1080, 2560x1440 and 3840x2160. Apple's 27" iMac introduced the 16:9 resolution: 2560x1440 in late 2009. Widescreen monitors are since 2008 the mainstream standard for computer displays.

Widescreen computer displays.

[edit] Transition to widescreenUntil about 2003, most computer monitors had a 4:3 aspect ratio and some had 5:4. Between 2003 and 2006, monitors with 16:9 and mostly 16:10 (8:5) aspect ratios became commonly available, first in laptops and later also in standalone monitors. Reasons for this transition was productive uses for such monitors, i.e. besides widescreen movie viewing and computer game play, are the word processor display of two standard letter pages side by side, as well as CAD displays of large-size drawings and CAD application menus at the same time.[3][4] 2008 16:10 became the most common sold aspect ratio for LCD monitors and the same year 16:10 was the mainstream standard for laptops and notebooks.[5][6][7]

In 2008 the computer industry started to move over from 16:10 to 16:9. According to a report by displaysearch the reasons for this were/are:[8][9]

Innovative product concepts drives a new product cycle and stimulating the growth of the notebook PC and LCD monitor market.

16:9 provides better economic cut (panelization) in existing TFT LCD fabs. 16:9 products provide higher resolution and wider aspect ratio. The widespread adoption of High Definition in the consumer entertainment sector will help end users

readily adopt the new products with the wider aspect ratio. The 16:9 panels provide an opportunity for PC brands to further diversify their products.

In 2011 Bennie Budler, product manager of IT products at Samsung South Africa, confirmed that monitors capable of 1920x1200 resolutions aren't being manufactured anymore. “It is all about reducing manufacturing costs. The new 16:9 aspect ratio panels are more cost effective to manufacture locally than the previous 16:10 panels”[10]

In 2011 Non-widescreen displays with 4:3 aspect ratios still were being manufactured, but in small quantities. The reasons for this was according to Samsung that the “Demand for the old 'Square monitors' has decreased rapidly over the last couple of years,” and “I predict that by the end of 2011, production on all 4:3 or similar panels will be halted due to a lack of demand.”[11]

In March 2011 the 16:9 resolution 1920x1080 became the most common used resolution among Steams users. The earlier most common resolution was 1680x1050 (16:10).[12]

Suitability for applications

Since many modern DVDs and some TV shows are in a widescreen format, widescreen displays are optimal for their playback on a computer. 16:9 material on a 16:10 display will be letterboxed. In data processing or viewing 4:3 entertainment material such as older films and digital photographs, the widescreen will be letterboxed.[13]

In the majority of games since 2005 you get wider field of view with a widescreen monitor.[14]

Games prior to 2005 usually works better with a 4:3 than a widescreen monitor because of better compability.[15]

[edit] ConversionWhen monitors are sold the quoted size is the diagonal measurement of the display area. Because of the different ratio, a 16:9 monitor will have a smaller area than a 4:3 monitor of the same advertised size.

Anamorphic widescreenFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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For the film format, see anamorphic format.

This article may be confusing or unclear to readers. Please help clarify the article; suggestions may be found on the talk page. (February 2009)

This article does not cite any references or sources.Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

Anamorphic widescreen is a video process that horizontally squeezes a widescreen image so that it can be stored in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio DVD image frame. Compatible playback equipment can then re-expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen image. In its current definition as a video term, it was originally devised for widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio television sets.[citation needed]

Contents

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1 DVD Video o 1.1 Packaging

2 Blu-ray video

3 Film 4 Television 5 See also 6 Notes 7 External links

[edit] DVD Video

A DVD labeled as "Widescreen Anamorphic" contains video that has the same frame size in pixels as traditional fullscreen video, but uses wider pixels. The shape of the pixels is called pixel aspect ratio and is encoded in the video stream for a DVD disc player to correctly identify the proportions of the video. If an anamorphic DVD video is played on standard 4:3 television without adjustment, the image will look horizontally squeezed.

[edit] Packaging

Pre-2001 MGM Anamorphic DVD packaging sample.

Pre-2004 Universal Anamorphic DVD packaging sample. Now used by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Although currently there is no labeling standard, DVDs with content originally produced in a 16:9 aspect ratio are typically labeled "Anamorphic Widescreen," "Enhanced for 16:9 televisions," "Enhanced for widescreen televisions," or similar. If not so labeled, the DVD is intended to fill a 4:3 display ("fullscreen"), and will be letterboxed or panned and scanned.

There has been no clear standardization for companies to follow regarding the advertisement of anamorphically enhanced widescreen DVDs. Some companies, such as Universal and Disney, include the aspect ratio of the movie. Below are how various companies advertise their anamorphic DVD movies on their packaging:

Anchor Bay : "Enhanced for 16:9 TVs;" includes aspect ratio in most cases. Artisan Entertainment : "16:9 Fullscreen Version" or "Enhanced for 16:9 Television." Since it became part

of Lions Gate, the newer reissues include aspect-ratio information on many titles. (This is an unconventional use of the term "fullscreen", which normally refers to a 4:3 ratio.)

Buena Vista : "Enhanced for 16:9 Televisions;" includes aspect ratio. Columbia TriStar : "Anamorphic Video," sometimes not labeled; includes aspect ratio. Criterion : "Enhanced for Widescreen Televisions" or "16:9;" always includes aspect ratio. DreamWorks : "Widescreen format;" "enhanced for 16:9 televisions" since acquisition by Paramount;

aspect ratio included on formerly Universal-distributed titles. Image Entertainment : "Enhanced for 16:9 TVs;" some titles include aspect ratio. MGM : "Enhanced for 16:9 TVs" or "Enhanced for Widescreen TVs;" includes aspect ratio since 2001; uses

Fox’s format since 2004.

New Line Cinema : "Enhanced for Widescreen TVs." Paramount Pictures : "Enhanced for 16:9." Trimark Pictures : "Widescreen" ("letterboxed" means non-anamorphic). Since it became part of Lions

Gate, reissues include aspect-ratio information on many titles. 20th Century Fox : "Enhanced for Widescreen TVs" or "Anamorphic Widescreen," sometimes not labeled;

includes aspect ratio on newer titles. Universal : "Anamorphic Widescreen;" gives aspect ratio. Warner Bros. : "Enhanced for Widescreen TVs;" says "scope" for 2.35 or "matted" for 1.85 aspect ratio.

[edit] Blu-ray video

Unlike DVD, Blu-ray supports resolutions with Source Aspect Ratio (SAR) of 16:9, so widescreen video can be displayed non-anamorphically, with square pixels (a Pixel Aspect Ratio (PAR) of 1:1). Blu-ray also supports anamorphic wide-screen, both at the DVD-Video/D-1 resolutions of 720×480 (NTSC) and 720×576 (PAL), and at the higher resolution of 1440×1080 (SAR of 4:3, hence a PAR of 4:3 = 16:9 / 4:3 when used as anamorphic 16:9). See Blu-ray Disc: Technical specifications for details.

[edit] Film

Main article: Anamorphic format

Many commercial cinematic presentations (especially epics – usually with the CinemaScope 2.35:1 optical sound or the older 4-track mag sound 2.55:1 aspect ratio) are recorded on standard 35 mm ~4:3 aspect ratio film[1], using an anamorphic lens to horizontally compress all footage into a ~4:3 frame. Another anamorphic lens on the movie theatre projector ultimately corrects (optically decompresses) the picture. See anamorphic format for details. Other movies (often with aspect ratios of 1.85:1 in the USA or 1.66:1 in Europe) are made using the simpler matte technique, which involves both filming and projecting without any expensive special lenses. The movie is produced in 1.375 format, and then the resulting image is simply cropped in post-production (or perhaps in the theater's projector) to fit the desired aspect ratio of 1.85:1 or 1.66:1 or whatever is desired. Besides costing less, the main advantage of the matte technique is that it leaves the studio with "real" footage (the areas that are cropped for the theatrical release) which can be used in preference to pan-and-scan when producing 4:3 DVD releases, for example.

The anamorphic encoding on DVD is related to the anamorphic filming technique (aka Cinemascope) only by name. For instance, Star Wars (1977) was filmed in 2.35:1 ratio using an anamorphic camera lens, and shown in theaters using the corresponding projector lens. Since it is a widescreen film, when encoded on a widescreen-format DVD the studio would almost certainly use the anamorphic encoding process. Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed in 1.85:1 ratio without using an anamorphic lens on the camera, and similarly was shown in theaters without the need for the decompression lens. However, since it is also a widescreen film, when encoded on a widescreen-format DVD the studio would probably use the anamorphic encoding process.

It doesn't matter whether the filming was done using the anamorphic lens technique: as long as the source footage is intended to be widescreen, the digital anamorphic encoding procedure is appropriate for the DVD release. As a sidenote, if a purely-non-widescreen version of the analog-anamorphic Star Wars were to be released on DVD, the only options would be pan-and-scan or hardcoded 4:3 letterboxing (with the black letterboxes actually encoded as part of the DVD data). If you were to release a purely-non-widescreen version of Monty Python, you would have those options, as well as the additional option of an "open-matte" release, where the film footage that was never visible in theaters (due to use of the matte technique in post-production or in the theatrical projectors) is "restored" to the purely non-widescreen DVD release.

[edit] Television

Major digital television channels in Europe (for example, the five major UK terrestrial TV channels of BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel Five), as well as Australia, carry anamorphic widescreen programming in standard definition. In almost all cases, 4:3 programming is also transmitted on the same channel. The SCART switching signal can be used by a set-top-box to signal the television which kind of programming (4:3 or anamorphic) is currently being received, so that the television can change modes appropriately. The user can often elect to display widescreen programming in a 4:3 letterbox format instead of pan and scan if they do not have a widescreen television.

TV stations and TV networks can also include Active Format Description (AFD) just as DVDs can. Many ATSC tuners (integrated or set-top box) can be set to respond to this, or to apply a user setting. This can sometimes be set on a per-channel basis, and often on a per-input basis, and usually easily with a button on the remote control. Unfortunately, tuners often fail to allow this on SDTV (480i-mode) channels, so that viewers are forced to view a small picture instead of cropping the unnecessary sides (which are outside of the safe area anyhow), or zooming to eliminate the windowboxing that may be causing a very tiny picture, or stretching/compressing to eliminate other format-conversion errors. The shrunken pictures are especially troublesome for smaller TV sets.

Many modern HDTV sets have the capability to detect black areas in any video signal, and to smoothly re-scale the picture independently in both directions (horizontal and vertical) so that it fills the screen. However, some sets are 16:10 (1.6:1) like a computer monitor, and will not crop the left and right edges of the picture, meaning that all programming looks slightly (though usually imperceptibly) tall and thin.

ATSC allows two anamorphic widescreen SDTV formats (interlaced and progressive scan) which are 704×480 (10% wider than 640×480); this is narrower than the 720×480 of DVD due to 16 pixels being consumed by overscan (nominal analogue blanking) – see overscan: analog to digital resolution issues. The format can also be used for fullscreen programming, and in this case it is anamorphic with pixels slightly taller (10:11, or 0.91:1) than their width.

LetterboxFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search For the mail (post) receptacle, see letter box. For the outdoor treasure hunt hobby, see letterboxing.

A 2.35:1 widescreen image letterboxed in a 1.33:1 screen

Letterboxing is the practice of transferring film shot in a widescreen aspect ratio to standard-width video formats while preserving the film's original aspect ratio. The resulting videographic image has mattes

(black bars) above and below it; these mattes are part of the image (i.e., of each frame of the video signal). LTBX is the identifying abbreviation for films and images so formatted. The term refers to the shape of a letter box, a slot in a wall or door through which mail is delivered, being rectangular and wider than it is high.

Contents

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1 Description 2 Early use of the letterbox format 3 In the cinema and home video 4 On television 5 Pillarboxing and windowboxing 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Description

Letterboxing is used as an alternative to a full-screen, pan-and-scan transfer of a widescreen film image to videotape or videodisc. In pan-and-scan transfers, the original image is cropped to the narrower aspect ratio of the destination format, usually the 1.33:1 (4:3) ratio of the standard television screen, whereas letterboxing preserves the film's original image composition as seen in the cinema. Letterboxing was developed for use in 4:3 television displays before widescreen television screens were available, but it is also necessary to represent on a 16:9 widescreen display the unaltered original composition of a film with a wider aspect ratio, such as Panavision's 2.35:1 ratio.

Letterbox mattes are usually symmetrical (both the top and bottom mattes are roughly similar in size), but in some instances the picture can be elevated so the bottom matte is much larger, usually for the purpose of placing "hard" subtitles within the matte to avoid overlapping of the image. This was often done for letterbox widescreen anime on VHS, though the practice of "hiding" subtitles within the lower matte also is done with symmetrical mattes, albeit with less space available. The placing of "soft" subtitles within the picture or matte varies according to the DVD player being used,[1] though it appears to be dependent on the movie for Blu-ray disc.[2]

An alternative to letterboxing is anamorphic widescreen presentation, which squeezes the picture horizontally to fit into a narrower aspect ratio. The player or receiver must correct this distortion by either stretching the image back to its original relative width, for display on widescreen televisions, or letterboxing it (during playback) for display on 4:3 video screens. This image transformation generally requires digital signal processing, so letterboxing was the only way in which films were presented in widescreen on home video prior to the DVD format (with a few exceptions outside the mass market, such as Squeeze LD). Anamorphic widescreen video recordings are sometimes called "anamorphically enhanced", in comparison to letterboxed versions. To represent a film wider than 16:9 (e.g., a 2.35:1 film) on a 16:9 display with no cropping, both anamorphic and letterbox techniques (or letterboxing alone) are required; using the anamorphic technique, the mattes will be smaller but still necessary.

Academy ratio (1.37:1) film or video is sometimes stretched to fill a widescreen (16:9) television display, resulting in distortion in which actors appear shorter and fatter. This horizontal stretching distortion can be

avoided by pillar boxing the image, effected either in the television set or in the video player, e.g. a DVD player. Occasionally, video is shot in a widescreen format and encoded into 4:3 video incorporating letterboxing into the 4:3 image. This effect is common on personal video websites and old documentaries.[citation needed]

If a recording is said to be letterboxed, that implies that the letterboxing was done prior to fixing the recording on the medium. There is a difference between a letterboxed recording (or other source) and a letterboxed picture, as a letterboxed recording will appear letterboxed on every screen – even one that has the same aspect ratio as the source content – while a letterboxed picture may be produced from a non-letterboxed source, in which case it will appear full-screen on a suitably wide display. (The letterboxed source displayed on a wide screen will appear both letterboxed and pillarboxed, so the active picture will occupy a rectangle in the middle of the screen surrounded by mattes on all four sides.) Anamorphic widescreen recordings may be mislabeled as letterboxed, which technically they are not.

The term letterbox is sometimes used to emphasize that a widescreen motion picture or video has not been anamorphically encoded for 16:9 screens, thus not taking full advantage of the resolution provided by DVD, high-definition television (HDTV), or other media. Because the black mattes are part of the picture, they take up space in the signal that could be used for active picture information, forcing the picture to use less vertical space in the signal than if it were anamorphically encoded. This results in less vertical resolution in the letterboxed picture than in either an anamorphic or pan-and-scan version (which have the same vertical resolution). The reduced vertical resolution is the main disadvantage of letterboxing.

[edit] Early use of the letterbox format

The first use of letterbox appeared with the RCA videodisc (CED) format. Initially, letterboxing was limited to several key sequences of a film (e.g., opening and closing credits), but later it was used for the entire film. The first full letterboxed CED release was Amarcord in 1984, and several others followed. Each disc contained a label noting the use of "RCA's innovative wide-screen mastering technique."[3]

[edit] In the cinema and home video

In NTSC areas of the world, videocassettes often contained only pan-and-scan versions (notable VHS releases in letterboxed format include Manhattan, Last Tango in Paris, Ghostbusters II (which was released in the incorrect aspect ratio on its initial home video release), The Terminator, The Color Purple, Lady and the Tramp, and Basic Instinct: The Original Director's Cut), but DVD releases tend to be offered in both versions. In PAL areas, which do not suffer so much from low vertical resolution with letterboxed images, letterboxing was more common on videocassettes and is almost ubiquitous on DVDs, with very few films being offered in pan-and-scan releases today.

Movies such as The Graduate and Woodstock that made use of the full width of the movie screen often have the sides cut off and look completely different in non-letterboxed copies from the original theatrical release. This is more apparent in pan-and-scanned movies that remain entirely on the center area of the film image.

The term "SmileBox" is a registered trademark [4] used to describe a type of letterboxing for Cinerama films, such as on the Blu-ray release of How the West Was Won. The image is produced with 3D mapping technology to approximate a curved screen.

[edit] On television

Digital broadcasting allows 1.78:1 (16:9) widescreen format transmissions without losing resolution, and thus widescreen is becoming the television norm. Most television programming in the United States, Britain and France is in standard-definition 16:9 and is transmitted in anamorphic format on digital platforms. When using a 4:3 television, it is possible to display such programming in either a letterbox format or in a 4:3 centre-cut format (where the edges of the picture are lost).

A letterboxed 14:9 compromise ratio is often broadcast in analogue transmissions in European countries making the transition from 4:3 to 16:9, for example on BBC One or ITV1 in the United Kingdom.[5] In addition, recent years have seen an increase of "fake" 2.35:1 letterbox mattes on television to give the impression of a cinema film, often seen in adverts, trailers or television programmes such as Top Gear.[6]

Current high-definition television (HDTV) systems use video displays with a wider aspect ratio than older television sets, making it easier to accurately display widescreen films. In addition to films produced for the cinema, some television programming is produced in high definition and therefore widescreen.

On a widescreen television set, a 1.78:1 image fills the screen, however, 2.39:1 aspect ratio films are letterboxed with narrow mattes. Because the 1.85:1 aspect ratio does not match the 1.78:1 (16:9) aspect ratio of widescreen DVDs and high-definition video, slight letterboxing occurs. Usually, such matting of 1.85:1 film is eliminated to match the 1.78:1 aspect ratio in the DVD and HD image transference.

Letterbox mattes are not necessarily black. IBM has used blue mattes for many of their TV ads,[7] yellow mattes in their "I am Superman" Lotus ads, and green mattes in ads about efficiency & environmental sustainability. Others uses of colored mattes appear in ads from Allstate, Aleve, and Kodak among others, and in music videos such as Zebrahead's Playmate of the Year. In other instances mattes are animated, such as in the music video for Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy), and even parodied such as the final scene of the Crazy Frog Axel F music video in which Crazy Frog peeks over the matte on the lower edge of the screen with part of his hands overlapping the matte. Similar to breaking the border of a comic's panel, it is a form of breaking the fourth wall.

The table below shows which TV lines will contain picture information when letterbox pictures are displayed on either 4:3 or 16:9 screens.

Aspect Ratio on 4:3 screen

525 Line System

625 Line System

 Aspect Ratio on

16:9 screen525 Line System

625 Line System

1080 HD Line System

Full Screen (1.33:1)

21-263

284-525

23-310

336-623

  - - - - - - -

14:9 (1.56:1)40-245

302-508

44-289

357-602

  - - - - - - -

16:9 (1.78:1)52-232

315-495

59-282

372-587

 Full Screen

(1.78:1)21-263

284-525

23-310

336-623

21-560

584-1123

1.85:156-229

320-491

64-270

376-582

  1.85:126-257

289-520

29-304

342-617

31-549

594-1112

2.35:173-209

336-472

85-248

398-561

  2.35:150-231

313-495

58-275

371-588

86-494

649-1057

[edit] Pillarboxing and windowboxing

A windowboxed image

Pillarboxing (reversed letterboxing) is the display of an image within a wider image frame by adding lateral mattes (vertical bars at the sides); for example, a 1.33:1 image has lateral mattes when displayed on a 16:9 aspect ratio television screen.

An alternative to pillarboxing is "tilt-and-scan" (reversed pan and scan), horizontally matting the original 1.33:1 television images to the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, which at any given moment crops part of the top and/or bottom of the frame, hence the need for the "tilt" component. A tilt is a camera move in which the camera tilts up or down.

Windowboxing occurs when an image appears centered in a television screen, with blank space on all four sides of the image,[8][9] such as when a widescreen image that has been previously letterboxed to fit 1.33:1 is then pillarboxed to fit 16:9. It is also called "matchbox", "gutterbox", and "postage stamp" display.[10] This occurs on the DVD editions of the Star Trek films on a 4:3 television when the included widescreen documentaries show footage from the original television series. It is also seen in The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course, which displays widescreen pillarboxing with 1.85:1 scenes in a 2.40:1 frame that is subsequently letterboxed. It is common to see windowboxed commercials on HD television networks, because many commercials are shot in 16:9 but distributed to networks in SD, letterboxed to fit 1.33:1.

Many 1980s 8-bit home computers feature gutterboxing display mode, because the TV screens normally used as monitors at that time tended to distort the image near the border of the screen, to such an extent that text displayed in that area became illegible. Moreover, due to the overscanned nature of television video, the precise edges of the visible area of the screen varied from television set to television set, so characters near the expected border of the active screen area might be behind the bezel or off the edge of the screen. The Commodore 64, VIC-20, and Commodore 128 (in 40-column mode) featured coloured gutterboxing of the main text window, while the Atari 8-bit family featured a blue text window with a black border. The original IBM PC CGA display adapter was the same, and the monochrome MDA, the predecessor of the CGA, as well as the later EGA and VGA, also featured gutterboxing; this is also called underscanned video. The Fisher-Price PXL-2000 camcorder of the late 1980s recorded a windowboxed image to compensate partially for low resolution.

Occasionally, an image is deliberately windowboxed for stylistic effect; for example, the documentary-style sequence of the film Rent suggest an older-format camera representing the 4:3 aspect ratio, and the opening sequence of the Oliver Stone film JFK features pillar boxing to represent the 1960s era 4:3 television footage. The film Sneakers uses a windowsboxing effect in a scene for dramatic effect.

Pan and scanFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (April 2010)

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A 2.35:1 image panned and scanned to 1.33:1. Nearly half of the original image has been cropped.

Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown within the proportions of a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus on the composition's most important aspects. It is most commonly used on HBO channels and digital cable channels, as the smaller versions of cable satellites can only receive the general amount of the picture, cutting off the sides with gray bars. Some film directors and film enthusiasts disapprove of pan and scan cropping, because it can remove up to 45% (on 2.35:1 films) of the original image, changing the director or cinematographer's original vision and intentions. The vertical equivalent is known as "tilt and scan" or "reverse pan and scan".

Contents

[hide]

1 Background 2 Techniques 3 Reactions 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Background

For the first several decades of television broadcasting, sets displayed images with a 4:3 aspect ratio in which the width is 1.33 times the height – similar to most theatrical films prior to 1960. Meanwhile, in order to compete with television and lure audiences away from their sets, producers of theatrical motion pictures began to use "widescreen" formats such as Cinemascope and VistaVision in the early 1950s, which enable more panoramic vistas and present other compositional opportunities. At the height of a television screen, these formats might be twice as wide once televised. To present a widescreen movie on such a television requires one of two techniques to accommodate this difference: One is "letterboxing," which preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio, but not as high as a standard television, leaving black bars at the top and bottom of the screen; the other more common technique is to "pan and scan," filling the full height of the screen, but cropping it horizontally.

In the 1990s (before Blu-ray Disc or HDTV), when so-called "Sixteen-By-Nine" or "Widescreen" televisions offered a wider 16:9 aspect ratio (1.78 times the height instead of 1.33), they allowed films made at 1.66:1 and 1.85:1 to fill most or all of the screen, with only small letterboxing or cropping required. DVD packaging began to use the expression, "16:9 – Enhanced for Widescreen TVs."

However, films shot at aspect ratios of 2.20:1, 2.35:1, 2.39:1, 2.55:1, and especially 2.76:1 (Ben-Hur for example) might still be problematic when displayed on televisions of any type (though connisseurs of films might dispute this). Black bars are still needed; however, when the DVD is "anamorphically enhanced for widescreen", they are smaller, and the effect is still much like watching a film on a theatrical wide screen.

[edit] Techniques

During the "pan and scan" process, an editor selects the parts of the original filmed composition that seem to be the focus of the shot and makes sure that these are copied (i.e. "scanned"). When the important action shifts to a new position in the frame, the operator moves the scanner to follow it, creating the effect of a "pan" shot. In a scene in which the focus does not gradually shift from one horizontal position to another—such as actors at each extreme engaging in rapid conversation with each other—the editor may choose to "cut" from one to the other rather than rapidly panning back and forth. If the actors are closer together on the screen, the editor may pan slightly, alternately cropping one or the other partially.

This method allows the maximum resolution of the image, since it uses all the available vertical video scan lines—which is especially important for NTSC televisions, having a rather low number of lines available. It also gives a full-screen image on a traditional television set; hence pan-and-scan versions of films on videotape or DVD are often known as fullscreen.

However, it also has several drawbacks. Some visual information is necessarily cropped out. It can also change a shot in which the camera was originally stationary to one in which it is frequently panning, or change a single continuous shot into one with frequent cuts. In a shot which was originally panned to show something new, or one in which something enters the shot from off-camera, it changes the timing of these appearances to the audience. As an example, in the film Oliver!, made in Panavision, the criminal Bill Sikes commits a murder. The murder takes place mostly offscreen, behind a staircase wall, and Oliver is a witness to it. As Sikes steps back from behind the wall, we see Oliver from the back watching him in terror. In the pan-and-scan version of the film, we see Oliver's reaction as the murder is being committed, but not when Sikes steps backward from the wall after having done it.

As television screenings of feature films became more common and more financially important, cinematographers began to work for compositions that would keep the vital information within the "TV safe area" of the frame. For example, the BBC suggests program makers who are recording in 16:9 frame their shots in a 14:9 aspect ratio which is then broadcast for non-widescreen televisions with small black bars at the top and bottom of the picture, while owners of widescreen TV sets see the full 16:9 picture.[citation needed] Film makers may also reverse this process, creating an original image that includes visual information that extends above and below the widescreen theatrical image; this is called "open matte". This may still be pan-and-scanned, but gives the compositor the freedom to "zoom out" or "uncrop" the image to include not only the full width of the wide-format image, but additional visual content at the top and/or bottom of the screen, not included in the widescreen version. As a general rule (prior to the adoption of DVD), special effects would be done within the theatrical aspect ratio, but not the full-frame thereof;[citation needed] also the expanded image area can include extraneous objects—such as cables, microphone booms, jet vapor trails, or overhead telephone wires—not intended to be included in the frame.[citation needed]

[edit] Reactions

Some directors still balk at the use of "pan and scan" versions of their movies because they feel it compromises the directorial vision with which their movies were created. For instance, Sydney Pollack brought a lawsuit against Danish TV after screening his 1975 film Three Days of the Condor in pan-and-scan in 1991 (The court ruled that the pan scanning conducted by Danish television was a 'mutilation' of the film and a violation of Pollack's 'Droit Moral', his legal right as an artist to maintain his reputation by protecting the integrity of his work. Nonetheless, the court ruled in favor of the defendant on a technicality).[1] Steven Spielberg initially refused to release a pan-and-scan version of Raiders of the Lost Ark but eventually gave in (although he successfully ordered the letterboxed format for the home video releases of The Color Purple and Always); Woody Allen refused altogether to release one of Manhattan, the letterbox version is therefore the only version available on VHS and DVD. Any tampering with the original image of a film, particularly to crop it to fit a television screen, implies a compromise of the original image, and the cropping of a widescreen image to a full screen image for standard televisions requires skill by a film editor to prevent undue loss of elements of the composition.

Changes in screen angle (panning) may be necessary to prevent closeups between two speakers where only one person is visible in the pan-and-scan version and both participants seem to speak alternately to persons off camera; this comes at the cost of losing the smoothness of scenes.

Inversely, the cropping of a film originally shown in the standard ratio to fit widescreen televisions may cut off foreground or background, such as a tap-dance scene in which much attention is directed appropriately at a dancer's feet. This situation will commonly occur whenever a widescreen TV is set to display full images without stretching (often called the zoom setting) on images with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 or less. The solution is to pillar box the image by adding black bars on either side of the image, which maintains the full picture height.

In Europe, where the PAL TV format offers more resolution to begin with, "pan-and-scan" broadcasts and "pan-and-scan" DVDs of movies originally shown in widescreen are relatively rare. However, on some channels in some countries (such as the United Kingdom), films with an aspect ratio of more than 1.85:1 are panned and scanned to fit the broadcast 1.78:1 ratio.

One modern alternative to pan and scan is to directly adjust the source material. This is very rare: the only known uses are computer-generated features, such as those produced by Pixar and video games such as Bioshock. They call their approach to full-screen versions reframing: some shots are pan and scan, while others are transferred open matte (a full widescreen image extended with added image above and below). Another method is to keep the camera angle as tight as a pan shot, but move the location of characters, objects, or the camera, so that the subjects fit in the frame.

The advent of DVDs and their use of anamorphic presentation, coupled with the increasing popularity of widescreen televisions and computer monitors, have rendered pan and scan less important. Fullscreen versions of films originally produced in widescreen are still available in the United States.

Open matteFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Matte (disambiguation).

This article does not cite any references or sources.Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and

removed. (January 2008)

A frame from a 35mm film print. Here, the picture is framed for the intended theatrical aspect ratio (inside the yellow box). Picture outside the yellow box is matted out when the film is shown in widescreen. For 4:3 television versions, a large portion of the picture can be used (inside the red box) with an open matte.

Open matte is a filming technique that involves matting out the top and bottom of the film frame in the movie projector (known as a soft matte) for the widescreen theatrical release and then scanning the film without a matte (at Academy ratio) for a full screen home video release.

Usually, non-anamorphic 4-perf films are filmed directly on the entire full frame silent aperture gate (1.33:1). When a married print is created, this frame is slightly re-cropped by the frame line and optical soundtrack down to Academy ratio (1.37:1). The movie projector then uses an aperture mask to soft matte the Academy frame to the intended aspect ratio (1.85:1 or 1.66:1). When the 4:3 fullscreen video master is created, many filmmakers may prefer to use the full Academy frame (open matte) instead of creating a pan and scan version from within the 1.85 framing. Because the framing is increased vertically in the open matte process, the decision to use it needs to be made prior to shooting, so that the camera operator can frame for 1.85:1 and "protect" for 4:3; otherwise unintended objects such as boom microphones, cables, and light stands may appear in the open matte frame, thus requiring some amount of pan and scan in some or all scenes. Additionally, the unmatted 4:3 version will often throw off an otherwise tightly-framed shot and add an inordinate amount of headroom above actors (particularly with 1.85:1).

The standardization of widescreen TVs and the growing use of 3-perforation 35mm film (with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1) to save on film costs has made the open matte process less popular in recent years.

Many films over the years have used this technique, the most prominent of which include Schindler's List and Top Gun. Stanley Kubrick also used this technique for his last five films.

Sony DSC-HX9V Camera Features:

High speed auto focus 24mm wide angle Sony G lens Built-in GPS and Compass Capture 3D Still Image and 3D Sweep Panorama

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9V Digicam Technical Specifications:

Effective Pixels: Approx. 16.2 Mega Pixels 1/2.3 Exmor R CMOS Sensor Optical Zoom: 16x Optical Zoom During Movie Recording: Yes Focal Length f = (35mm Conversion) 4.28 – 68.48mm (24 – 384mm) Lithium ION Battery (300 shots / 150 mins) Photo Mode: Superior Auto, Program Auto, iSweep Panorama, 3D Sweep Panorama, 3D Still

Image, Sweep Multi Angle, Handheld Twilight, Backlight Correction HDR, Background Defocus, Anti Motion Blur, Manual Exposure

Aperture: iAuto (F3.3 – F8.0) / Program Auto (F3.3 – F8.0) / Manual (F3.3 – F8.0) Shutter Speed: iAuto (2(5.08cm) – 1/1,600) / Program Auto (1(2.54cm) – 1/1,600) /

Manual(30(76.2cm)-1/1600) ISO Sensitivity: Auto / 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200 Image Stabilizer: Optical SteadyShot Self-Timer: 10sec / 2sec / off / Potrait 1 / Potrait 2 Shutter Time Lag: Approx. 0.15sec Dimensions: 104.8 x 59.0 x 33.9 mm Weight: 215gm (Body)

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9V/B Price in India – MRP Rs. 17,990/- INR

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V – 16.2MP digital camera with 16x optical zoom , GPS, Compass

The new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V is a 16.2 mega-pixel digital camera with 16x optical zoom .It is the successor of the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX5V digital camera.It sports 16x f3.3-5.9 24-384mm Sony G lens.The LCD display is of 3-inch and the camera features full HD 1080/60p video recording , 3D photos, and built-in GPS and compass.

Also it is the first Cyber-shot camera whose 16.2-megapixel “Exmor R” back-illuminated CMOS sensor supports a brand-new Intelligent Sweep Panorama HR (High Resolution) mode. Just press the shutter button and sweep the camera, and it captures up to 42.9 megapixel panoramic images with crisp 10480×4096 resolution.

It sports Dual Record mode which can shoot video, while simultaneously capturing 3-megapixel digital still pictures (2-megapixel in 4:3 ratio when recording in MP4). It has a dedicated still image button and a dedicated movie capture button .

With the high-speed auto focus feature, It provide a smarter way to focus with DSLR-like speed .Optical SteadyShot with Active Mode image stabilization , a powerful image stabilization system with ’3-way shake cancellation’ as found on premium Handycam camcorders by Sony.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V digital camera specifications :

Resolution: 16.2 Megapixels Lens: 16x zoom , f3.3-5.9 24-384mm Viewfinder: EVF / LCD LCD Size: 3.0 inch ISO: 100-3200 Shutter: 30-1/4000 Max Aperture: 2.8 Mem Type: MS Duo / MS PRO Duo / SD / SDHC / SDXC Battery: Custom Li-Ion Dimensions: Weight:

Manufacturer: Sony Part number: DSCHX9V Description: Packed with easy-to-use features for better-looking images and HD videos, the Cyber-shot

HX9V digital camera is an ideal travel partner with on-board GPS. Experience high-performance imaging for detail-packed stills, 3D and cinematic Full HD 50p video.

General Product Type Digital camera - Compact Width 4.1 in Depth 1.3 in Height 2.3 in Weight 7.6 oz Enclosure Color Black Main Features Resolution 16.2 megapixels 3D Technology Yes Color Support Color Optical Sensor Type Exmor R CMOS Total Pixels 16,800,000 pixels Effective Sensor Resolution 16,200,000 pixels Optical Sensor Size 1/2.3" Light Sensitivity ISO 3200,

ISO 1600,ISO 800,ISO 100,ISO 200,ISO 400,ISO auto

Digital Zoom 4 x Image Processor BIONZ Shooting Modes Frame movie mode Shooting Programs High sensitivity,

Soft snap,Landscape,Twilight,Twilight portrait,Beach,Snow,Fireworks,Gourmet,Pet,Soft skin,Handheld twilight

Image Stabilizer Optical (Steady Shot with Active Mode) Max Shutter Speed 1/1600 sec Min Shutter Speed 30 sec Exposure Metering Multi-segment,

Center-weighted,Spot

Exposure Modes Program ,Automatic ,Manual

Exposure Compensation �2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps Face Detection Yes White Balance Automatic,

Presets,Custom

White Balance Presets Daylight,Incandescent,

Cloudy,Fluorescent light (daylight),Fluorescent light (warm white),Fluorescent light (cool white),Flash

Digital Video Format AVCHD,H.264

Still Image Format JPEG Continuous Shooting Speed 10 frames per second Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 Video Capture AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 - 24Mbps,

AVCHD - 1920 x 1080 - 17Mbps,AVCHD - 1440 x 1080 - 9Mbps,H.264 - 1440 x 1080 - 12Mbps,H.264 - 1280 x 720 - 6Mbps,H.264 - 640 x 480 - 3Mbps

Memory / Storage Supported Flash Memory SDHC Memory Card ,

Memory Stick Duo ,SD Memory Card ,Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo ,SDXC Memory Card ,Memory Stick PRO Duo ,Memory Stick PRO Duo Mark2

Image Storage JPEG 4608 x 3456,JPEG 4608 x 2592,JPEG 3648 x 2736,JPEG 2592 x 1944,JPEG 1920 x 1080,JPEG 640 x 480

Camera Flash Camera Flash Built-in flash Flash Modes Fill-in mode,

Slow synchro,Auto mode,Flash OFF mode,Red-eye reduction

Red Eye Reduction Yes Effective Flash Range 10 in - 18.4 ft Features AF illuminator Lens System Type Zoom lens - 4.28 mm - 64.48 mm - F/3.3-5.9 Focal Length 4.28 mm - 64.48 mm Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 24 - 384 mm Focus Adjustment Automatic Auto Focus TTL contrast detection Auto Focus Points (Zones) 9 Macro Focus Range 2 in Lens Aperture F/3.3-5.9 Optical Zoom 16 x Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive Lens Construction 7 group(s) / 10 element(s) Lens Manufacturer Sony

Features Aspherical lens,Built-in lens shield

Additional Features Self Timer Yes Self Timer Delay 2 sec,

10 sec Additional Features Digital image rotation,

Intelligent AUTO (iAUTO),Display brightness control,In-camera red-eye fix,1080i Full HD movie recording,Background defocus,Audio recording,Backlight Correction HDR,3D Sweep Panorama technology,Sweep Multi Angle mode,PRINT Image Matching,Cropping an image,Saturation control,TransferJet support,Built-in compass,Blink Detection technology,Smile Detection technology,Exif Print support,Intelligent Sweep Panorama,DPOF support,Built-in GPS,Face detection,RGB primary color filter,Built-in speaker,Clear RAW Noise Reduction,Motion Detection Technology,Self Portrait Auto Shutter,Auto power save,Histogram display,Automatic display brightness adjustment,Dynamic Range Optimizer,Camera orientation detection,Built-in help guide,Sharpness control,Contrast control,1080p Full HD movie recording,USB 2.0 compatibility

Viewfinder Viewfinder Type None Display Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 3 in - Color Display Form Factor Built-in Digital Player (Recorder) Type None

Microphone Type Microphone - Built-in

Connections Connector Type 1 x Hi-Speed USB,

1 x Composite video/audio output,1 x HDMI output

Expansion Slot(s) 1 x Memory Stick PRO Duo,1 x SD Memory Card

Software Software Drivers & Utilities,

Sony Picture Motion Browser System Requirements for PC Connection Peripheral Devices USB port,

CD-ROM drive Miscellaneous Carrying Case None Included Accessories Wrist strap Cables Included USB cable Power Power Device Power adapter - External Battery Supported Battery Sony NP-BG1 Supported Battery 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery ( Included ) Environmental Parameters Min Operating Temperature 32 �F Max Operating Temperature 104 �F Manufacturer Warranty Service & Support 1 year warranty Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Parts and labor - 1 year

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Canon PowerShot SX230 HS (black)

price range: $329.00 - $357.94 Reviewed by: Joshua Goldman Reviewed on: 03/17/2011

The good: The Canon PowerShot SX230 HS has good low-light photo quality for its class; excellent color; shooting options that encourage experimentation; and great-looking video quality.

The bad: Its shooting performance, though good, lags behind the competition as does its GPS functionality. The battery life is short and the overall design could use some help, too.

The bottom line: If you want a compact megazoom with manual controls, GPS, and excellent photo quality, the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS is a good place to start.

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Canon Part number: 5043B001AA Description: The PowerShot SX230 HS takes great images anywhere with HS System, a 28 mm wide-angle

14x optical zoom and Full HD movies. GPS tags your shots and logs your journey making it the ultimate travel compact.

General Product Type Digital camera - Compact Width 4.2 in Depth 1.3 in Height 2.4 in Weight 6.9 oz Enclosure Color Black Body Material Metal Main Features Resolution 12.1 megapixels Color Support Color Optical Sensor Type CMOS Total Pixels 12,800,000 pixels Effective Sensor Resolution 12,100,000 pixels Optical Sensor Size 1/2.3" Light Sensitivity ISO 3200,

ISO 1600,ISO 800,ISO 100,ISO 200,ISO 400,ISO auto

Digital Zoom 4 x Image Processor DIGIC 4 Shooting Modes Frame movie mode Shooting Programs Handheld night shot,

Snow,Beach,Underwater,Stitch assist,Foliage,Kids & pets,Low light,Fireworks,Portrait mode,Landscape

Special Effects Miniature,Vivid Blue,Vivid Green,Vivid Red,Posterization,Toy camera,Vivid,Fisheye,Black & White,Sepia,Neutral,Darker Skin Tone,Lighter Skin Tone,Monochrome,Color Accent,Color Swap,Custom Effect

Image Stabilizer Optical Image stabilizer feature Optical stabilization helps prevent blurry pictures, especially for handheld

cameras at slow shutter speeds or when using high optical zoom. Max Shutter Speed 1/3200 sec Min Shutter Speed 15 sec Exposure Metering Evaluative,

Center-weighted,Spot

Exposure Modes Program ,Automatic ,Shutter-priority ,Manual ,Aperture-priority

Exposure Compensation �2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps Face Detection Yes White Balance Automatic,

Presets,Custom

White Balance Presets Daylight,Tungsten light,Fluorescent,Cloudy

Digital Video Format MOV,iFrame,H.264

Still Image Format JPEG Continuous Shooting Speed 0.8 frames per second,

1 frame per second,3.2 frames per second,8.1 frames per second (3Mpix)

Max Video Resolution 1920 x 1080 Video Capture MOV - 1920 x 1080,

MOV - 1280 x 720,MOV - 640 x 480,MOV - 640 x 480,

MOV - 320 x 240,MOV - 320 x 240

Memory / Storage Supported Flash Memory SDHC Memory Card ,

MultiMediaCard ,SD Memory Card ,MultiMediaCardplus ,SDXC Memory Card

Image Storage Normal,Fine JPEG 4000 x 3000,JPEG 4000 x 2248,JPEG 4000 x 2664,JPEG 2816 x 2112,JPEG 2816 x 1880,JPEG 1920 x 1080,JPEG 1600 x 1200,JPEG 1600 x 1064,JPEG 640 x 480,JPEG 640 x 360,JPEG 640 x 424,JPEG 2992 x 2992,JPEG 2112 x 2112,JPEG 1200 x 1200,JPEG 480 x 480

Camera Flash Camera Flash Built-in Flash Modes Fill-in mode,

Slow synchro,Auto mode,Flash OFF mode,Red-eye reduction

Red Eye Reduction Yes Effective Flash Range 2.5 ft - 11.5 ft Features AF illuminator Lens System Type Zoom lens - 5.7 mm - 18.8 mm - F/3.1-5.9 Focal Length 5.7 mm - 18.8 mm Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 28 - 392 mm Focus Adjustment Automatic Auto Focus TTL contrast detection Auto Focus Points (Zones) 9 Macro Focus Range 2 in Lens Aperture F/3.1-5.9 Optical Zoom 14 x Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive Lens Construction 10 group(s) / 12 element(s) Features UA lens,

Aspherical lens,UD glass,Built-in lens shield

Additional Features Self Timer Yes

Self Timer Delay 2 sec,10 sec

Additional Features HS System,Display brightness control,In-camera red-eye fix,Scene Detection Technology,Face Detection AF/AE/FE/WB,Smart Flash Exposure,Wink Self-timer,I-Contrast (Intelligent Contrast Correction) system,Face Detection Self-timer,Smile Detection technology,Exif Print support,AF lock,DPOF support,Built-in GPS,RGB primary color filter,Safety zoom,Digital tele-converter,Smile Detection Auto Shutter,AE lock,Histogram display,Camera orientation detection,PictBridge support,1080p Full HD movie recording,USB 2.0 compatibility,Direct print

Viewfinder Viewfinder Type None Display Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 3 in - Color Display Form Factor Built-in Digital Player (Recorder) Type None

Microphone Type Microphone - Built-in Microphone Operation Mode Stereo Connections Connector Type 1 x Hi-Speed USB,

1 x Composite video/audio output,1 x HDMI output

Expansion Slot(s) 1 x SD Memory Card Software Software Canon ZoomBrowser EX,

Canon PhotoStitch,Drivers & Utilities,Canon ImageBrowser

System Requirements for PC Connection Operating System Support Apple Mac OS X 10.5 - 10.6,

MS Windows XP SP3,MS Windows Vista SP1,

MS Windows 7,MS Windows Vista SP2

Peripheral Devices USB port,CD-ROM drive

Miscellaneous Microsoft Certifications Compatible with Windows 7 Included Accessories Wrist strap Cables Included 1,

1 x A/V cable,USB cable

Power Power Device Battery charger - External Battery Supported Battery Canon NB-5L Supported Battery 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery ( Included ) Environmental Parameters Min Operating Temperature 32 �F Max Operating Temperature 104 �F Manufacturer Warranty Service & Support 1 year warranty Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year

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