# Star tech (HT Tech) > As TV sets get bigger and go HD, they’ll get wider too – all the way to 21:9. Enter some stunning, expensive home theatre hardware. # Star tech ## As TV sets get bigger and go HD, they’ll get wider too – all the way to 21:9. Enter some stunning, expensive home theatre hardware. Oct 10 2009, 19:13 IST ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook.png) ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook-hover.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Share.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Shareclicked.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp-hover.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter-hover.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook-hover.png) ![Bookmark](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmark.png) ![Bookmarked](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmarked.png) ![image caption](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/rf/image_size_800x600/HT/p1/2007/06/07/Incoming/Pictures/228418_Wallpaper2.jpg) ![Author Photo](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HTTech-new-circle-logo.png) ### By HINDUSTAN TIMES Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I've rarely been excited by the widening of the video screen. I hated it when the world moved from the old TVs (4:3 aspect ratio) to widescreen LCD TVs. I tried hard to buy a 4:3 LCD TV set. They're not available, except in 20-inch sizes, so I'm stuck with a wide-screen LCD. The reason for my bias is simple. I mostly watch TV - regular television, via a set-top box. TV content in India is in good old 4:3 ratio. So on our LCD screens, we all distort the picture, or cut off slices on top and below, or leave black bars out. Even with DVD players, most people have the settings wrong - and see distorted images. The old tube TVs had an aspect ratio of 4:3, which means 4 inches width for every three inches height. So a 21-inch TV set would have a screen about 17 inches wide and 13 inches tall: a ratio of 4 to 3, with a diagonal of 21 inches. But the large cinema projection screen is different. A wider picture has a more dramatic effect, so the aspect ratio in cinema halls is usually 2.39:1. So as television screens grew bigger, they stretched wider, to 16:9 (wide-screen). Not as wide as cinema, but wide. Now, 4:3 is the same as 12:9, so TV has widened from 12:9 to 16:9. DVD movies gradually moved to wide-screen too, and most DVDs you buy today are in 16:9 format. Also read click here. Cinamescope So what next? As TV sets get bigger, they get wider - but they can't get indefinitely taller. The holy grail therefore is the aspect ratio of cinema - 2.39:1. The closest that a TV gets to it is 21:9 - ultra-wide-screen. Philips is the first one out with a 21:9 TV. They sent the monster to our labs, and a second truck delivered its stand. The whole assembly couldn't actually get past our lab doors, so it had to be installed in our reception area. (The standard wall-mounting bracket will pass through your doorway, though.) The 21:9's resolution is a record-setting 2560 x 1080 pixels, versus the usual 1920 x 1080 pixels of 'full HD'. It also handles a regular 1080p full-HD, scaling it up to fit the ultra-wide screen with amazingly little distortion. Video was brilliant, when playing from the Blu-Ray player. Our labs couldn't get any 21:9 format movies to try out (however, Philips sources promise over 500 titles by Diwali - from Eros, Yash Raj Films, and others). Their trademarked Ambilight worked well: this uses an LED chain on three borders to sort of extend the TV picture to the wall behind it, projecting a halo of light that changes with the picture. So is this worth ₹4.5 lakh, plus ₹17k for the Blu-Ray player (Philips launched both in September)? Definitely not without 21:9 Blu-Ray movies in the shops, given that this set would be wasted on regular TV (or even HDTV, coming 2010). And do plan on a really great home theatre system. The built-in audio is average. Finally, at between ₹400 and 900 per Blu-Ray disk, it's going to be an expensive home movie show. The good thing is that you have lots of conventional LCD and plasma alternatives from Philips itself - and others. Samsung's new 46-inch Series 6 LCD TV is great value at ₹1.15 lakh. A built-in content library lets you browse some stunning art, recipes, animated stories. There's a network port for internet connectivity, and a USB port lets you connect a hard disk directly! So you can do without a DVD or Blu-Ray player. We also got to test Samsung's very slim and sexy 40-inch LED-lit LCD TV, but the 46-incher really tops in value. I guess it doesn't matter what I think of the widening of the video screen - it's as inevitable as high-definition. So here's looking to 2010, the Commonwealth Games, and - at last - the HD era in India. The author is chief editor at CyberMedia, publisher of 15 specialty titles such as Dataquest. pkr@cybermedia.co.in, twitter.com/prasanto Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel. 10 Oct, 19:09 IST 71,589,383,179,674 NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Tips & Tricks ![Ghibli-style art](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to turn your photos into Ghibli-style art with ChatGPT for free: Step-by-step guide ![How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide ![Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it ![Vodafone Idea OTT plans](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Vodafone Idea users can now stream 17 OTT apps with one subscription: Here's how ![Android data transfer methods](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to transfer data from one Android to another using Google backup, USB-C cable, and more ## Editor’s Pick ![iPhone 16e launched with A18 chip, Apple AI—bringing flagship power on a budget: Check specs, price](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 16e launched in India: All details about the new budget mobile from Apple ![DeepSeek was founded in China with only a fraction of the budget of the top AI companies in the US.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### DeepSeek AI: How it works, who’s behind it, how it’s different from ChatGPT, and its big US market impact explained ![iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on ![Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini ![iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update ## Trending Stories ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside keep up with tech ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ![Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-twitter.png) ![WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-whatsApp.png) ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ## Gaming ![Check out these five gaming monitors under ₹20,000,](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Top 5 gaming monitors under ₹20000 you should consider ![gaming consoles](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Grab gaming consoles at discounted rates during Amazon Great Indian Festival: Up to 72% off ![Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025 to bring Grimmsnarl family, Shiny Hatenna, and global challenges ![Shade Silver](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Shade Silver free on Steam for a limited time: Here’s how to get it ![Call of duty](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 skips Switch 2 at launch, release date and price leak ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Trending News ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ## Trending Gadgets Mobiles Laptops Tablets ![HT Tech](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HT_tech-new.gif) - https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/star-tech-story-AzNLdCPH9R8H5w9UqmNfJP.html