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How Programs Are Formatted
Programs are broadcast in various picture formats. The picture format is one factor that determines how your television displays a program. A picture format is made up of the picture’s aspect ratio and screen resolution.
Aspect Ratios
The aspect ratio of a picture is the ratio of its width to its height. A standard picture format is 4 units wide for every 3 units tall, so its aspect ratio is 4 x 3, or 4:3.
A wide picture format has an aspect ratio of 16:9, meaning that the picture is 16 units wide for every 9 units tall.
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Standard (4:3)
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Wide (16:9)
Screen Resolution
The screen resolution indicates the amount of detail that the picture displays. Resolution is identified by the number of display lines on the screen. For example, a resolution of 1080i indicates that the screen shows 1080 lines in an interlaced display, and 480p means that the screen shows 480 lines in a progressive display.
Progressive and interlaced describe the technique that your HDTV uses to “paint” the picture on the screen.
With the interlaced method, half of the lines on the screen are updated with every new video frame. In one frame, an interlaced screen updates all of the
480 Interlaced
The progressive method, on the other hand, updates each line on the screen every time the frame changes.
480 Progressive
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