For decades, 4:3 was the standard aspect ratio for TVs, but with HDTVs, that shifted to 16:9, which offered a wider picture that showed movies closer to their theatrical dimensions. The latest standard to emerge, however, is 21:9, and one of the first HDTVs to offer the super-wide aspect ratio will come from Vizio.
The company’s new 58-inch CinemaWide HDTV will ship in March, USA Today reports. At 29 by a whopping 56.7 inches, the HDTV comes close to offering the 1:2.35 aspect ratio found in anamorphic movie format. Previously, home theater enthusiasts who wanted to watch movies in anamorphic format had to use a projector with an anamorphic lens. That changes this year, with Vizio standing as the first company to offer a 21:9 aspect ratio HDTV in the United States. Philips offers a 21:9 HDTV, the Philips Cinema 21:9 TV, but even though it launched in 2009 it hasn’t hit the United States yet; it’s only available in the United Kingdom.
The Vizio CinemaWide HDTV will feature almost all of the company’s connected TV features, including Vizio Internet Apps (Vizio’s app and online service platform), built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a Bluetooth remote with a keyboard, and passive 3D with four pairs of glasses included. It won’t have the Google TV Vizio Internet Apps Plus interface, though, and all of its features and super-wide screen add up to a hefty price tag; the HDTV will retail for $3,499 when it hits stores in March.
While $3,500 is expensive for an HDTV, it pales compared to the price tags of projectors that can show the anamorphic format. Good home theater projectors retail for several thousand dollars, and anamorphic lenses and sled mechanisms can add hundreds or thousands to the price, and that’s not including a projection screen to show the picture with accurate colors.