2.39:1?

[Kynch]

Hi there,

Pardon my ignorance but I've noticed that most of the reviews were stating a 2.39:1 aspect ratio now, instead of 2.40:1.
Was there a sudden redefinition of the aspect or a recalculation. Did I miss an episode or am I simply only noticing the 2.39 and not the 2.40.

It's no biggie, I'm just interested in knowing what it was all about.

Cheers!

[Suntory_Times]

Originally Posted by Kynch

Hi there,

Pardon my ignorance but I've noticed that most of the reviews were stating a 2.39:1 aspect ratio now, instead of 2.40:1.
Was there a sudden redefinition of the aspect or a recalculation. Did I miss an episode or am I simply only noticing the 2.39 and not the 2.40.

It's no biggie, I'm just interested in knowing what it was all about.

Cheers!

It's just a slighly different aspect ratio films have been shot in, which are typically anywhere between 2.35:1 and 2.40:1. It could be that in the past some blus have simply rounded of to 2.35:1 or 2.40:1, as the difference isn't noticable. (I would even bet that if your cropped a 2.40:1 movie to 2.39:1, the filmakers themselves would not notice).

[benricci]

It's simply a matter of rounding for naming convenience.

[Anthony P]

I know that it does not make sense but 2.35, 2.39 and 2.4 are all the same AR. the real ratio is somewhere between 2.39 and 2.40 and some round it up while others down. As for 2.35, the AR was originally 2.35 (pre 1970 and before wide screens caught on), it was shortened a bit because @2.35 there was not enough head room for splicing film cuts together, but some people kept the nomenclature even though the true value is between 2.39 and 2.40

[Anthony P]

(I would even bet that if your cropped a 2.40:1 movie to 2.39:1, the filmakers themselves would not notice).

if it was realy 2.39 and 2.4 then we are talking about a 3 pixels difference

[Deciazulado]

From the TAP manual:

Screen image (Image quality, aspect ratios & dimensions)

The desired condition is to precisely project the following common image dimensions:

35mm Anamorphic image (2.39:1): 0.690" x 0.825" 17.53mm x 20.96mm

The projected image on the screen should have sharp edges, and the corners should be square (90º angles). The dimensions above should correspond to the placement of the masking when the 35-PA test film is projected on screen. Note: The screen size limitations, aperture plate dimensions, masking placement and image distortion should not cause the projected image to be cropped more than 5% (3% cropping is the maximum preferred).

Reference: 35mm: ANSI/SMPTE 195-1993
SMPTE RP 40-1995 / 35-PA & 35-IQ Test Film

According to John P. Pytlak (R.I.P.) of Eastman Kodak, the 2.39:1 ratio standard was proposed in 1970 and became the scope (anamorphic) standard as PH22.106-1971. The specification for the RP-40 Test Alignment Film (RP 40-1971) mentioned above was approved in April 1971. SMPTE 195-1993 the current version (now SMPTE 195-2000) and 35-PA the test alignment film.