What is variable aspect ratio?
The aspect ratio describes the relationship of screen
width to screen height. Standard TV signals are based
on an aspect ratio of 4:3 (four units wide by three units
high). HDTV signals are based on an aspect ratio of
16:9, making the image 33 percent wider than a
normal TV, and enabling you to view TV and movies as
if you were watching them in a theater.
In addition, many DVD movies look better on the
widescreen display, because most of the movies made
in the last 50 years were filmed in an aspect ratio of
either 1.85:1 (very close to 16:9, which is equal to
1.78:1) or 2.35:1 (even wider than 16:9).
Variable aspect ratio support enables the scaling of
4:3 and anamorphic video so that the image fills the
screen.
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HP MediaSmart HDTV User Guide
What is HDMI?
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is the
first industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital
audio/video interface. HDMI components can transmit
both digital audio and digital video over a single
cable, with improved quality over traditional analog
connections because of an all-digital transmission.
Transferring digital sources such as DVDs and HDTV
programming, can now be accomplished without
analog conversions that can degrade the original
signal.