Widescreen TV's are TV sets that have a screen format that are wider than standard TV sets. The normal widescreen format is an aspect ratio of 16:9. This is the same aspect ratio of films shown in most cinemas and widescreens allow the viewer at home to watch movies in their original format.

A widescreen TV refers to the shape of a screen. Most standard TV's produce an image that has an aspect ratio of 4:3; this aspect ratio is similar to that of a square. Widescreen TV's are shaped much differently with an aspect ratio of 16:9, the shape of a rectangle

Standard TV's are boxy or squarish in shape. They have an aspect ratio of 4:3. This means that the screen is 4 times wide by 3 times deep. A perfect square has an aspect ratio of 4:4 or 1:1.

Widescreen formats are much differently shaped. They have an aspect ratio of 16:9, a much more rectangular shape. A rectangular shape is a much more natural looking image. We as humans do not view the world as a box, but rather more like a rectangle. We might focus on a square in the center, but also see information in our peripheral image, similar to that of a rectangle. Widescreen TV's show much more natural looking images.Widescreen TVs

Films that are shown in the cinema have an aspect ratio of 16:9. These films can be viewed easily on a widescreen TV. The difference in watching a standard TV compared to a widescreen TV can be enormous. You probably don't realize it, but many films that are shown on a standard TV are cropped. Meaning large chunks of the original picture have been removed. A standard TV can only show so much information; usually the center box of a cinema or movie image, the rest of the picture is left on the cutting room floor so to speak. Widescreen TV's are far superior in this effect, when you watch a movie on a widescreen; you are able to see the entire picture without any part of the image being cropped off.

Today, many TV's come in widescreen format, especially newer digital Plasma and LCD TV sets. Digital widescreen TV sets can actually switch between standard aspect ration 4:3 and widescreen aspect ratio 16:9. In addition, many widescreen TV sets can also turn a standard 4:3 broadcast into a wide screen aspect ratio, by stretching the picture out a little, making it look wider. This way you can watch traditional TV without any black vertical boxes on either side of the image.

Most people choose to purchase Widescreen TV's so that they can watch movies in their original format without seeing black letterboxes on their screen. If you watch a movie in widescreen format on a standard TV, the image will usually have two long black boxes, one above the image and one below the image. With widescreen TV's these black boxes are gone. Your widescreen TV fills out the entire screen with an image.

Widescreen TV's are more expensive than standard TV's for several reasons. First Widescreen TV's are usually either Plasma or LCD. The technology is more expensive and the shape of the TV's is far less thick than a standard TV. While a standard 32 inch TV can be a couple of feet in depth, most LCD and Plasma TV's are less than 6 inches deep, some are about 2 inches deep.

Widescreen TV's are usually manufactured in larger sizes. Most people buy widescreen TV's for their home theater set up. These TV's are usually purchased for large rooms, where people will sit further away from the TV set, hence they are usually much larger in size, most average 30 inches or more in size.