This time last year I thought Philips were nuts for creating the non-standard 21:9 ratio HDTV. Well this year’s pre-CES announcements/leaks seem to indicate the craze is catching. Hot off the heels of their VIA tablet and phone announcement, now comes news that Vizio are also entering the 21:9 HDTV market.
Watching IronMan 2 recently I concede the black bars top and bottom of a movie is incredibly annoying. Something that would indeed be fixed by increasing the screen ration to 21:9 and screen resolution to 2560×1080. This mirrors the aspect ratio a lot of films were originally shot in and shown in cinemas.
That’s all well and good for movies, but what about TV, or games, they are all being developed for 16:9. This means black bars at the sides instead of the top and bottom. Sure a solution for the benefactors of Bill Gates’ fortune could just buy both 16:9 and 21:9 sets, but for average Joe, he’s got a decision to make.
The Vizio sets will be available in both 50 and 58” for that true cinema experience. More details will emerge during CES, hopefully including price.. how’s that spare kidney?
What do you think ? Is this a trend that will take off ? Would you buy a 21:9 HDTV ?
Update
Turns out a quick Bing search reveals that Vizio actually had a VERY early version of the 21:9 TV at last years CES.
Update 2
Looks like JVC are getting in on the 21:9 party as well.
More @ Engadget
