Why We Love Wide Screens

Have you ever wondered why the back of your DSLR has a wide screen on it, or why your monitor at home has a landscape-orientated format? I always thought this was scientifically proven to be the best and most powerful way to watch motion on a screen, but this video shows us how wide screens became the standard.

The video shares a story of Cinerama and how a production company decided to cover the top and bottom of the film to make it wide. I remember our TV at home back in the 80s. They were boxes, and so too were our computer monitors. Some of my friends had either orange or green single-color monitors. My dad worked for IBM in South Africa, so we always had the latest processors and computers. I remember when the Intel 486 and then the Pentium I and II were launched. 

I was surprised at the technology of "panning and scanning," and I never realized it until this video showed it to me.

Although we are at a big change in behavior once again with our mobile phones changing the way we consume media, Netflix and all the streaming services still force you to turn your phone sideways to get the full experience of watching something wide. Movies are also staying wide. 

Wouter du Toit's picture

Wouter is a portrait and street photographer based in Paris, France. He's originally from Cape Town, South Africa. He does image retouching for clients in the beauty and fashion industry and enjoys how technology makes new ways of photography possible.

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5 Comments

"Have you ever wondered why the back of your DSLR has a wide screen on it"

I havent noticed its a widescreen at all. looks like crt 4:3 sized. I thought widescreen is 16:9 or more.

I googled a definition and got: "a movie or television screen presenting a wide field of vision in relation to its height." So, I guess if the width is greater than the height, it is technically wide screen.

sweet! ill take out my old 4:3 crt trinitron monitor to watch lord of the rings on haha

but for working, 4:3 is much more usable.

I can’t believe I spent 15 minutes watching this video, but it was compelling. Really that good - kudos.