Skip to content
pillarbox
EntityQ1756901· pop 13· linked from 112 articles

thumb|right|300px|Pillarboxed image, picture taken at 4:3 aspect ratio and displayed on a 16:9 monitor The pillarbox effect occurs in widescreen video displays when black bars (mattes or masking) are placed on the sides of the image. It becomes necessary when film or video that was not originally designed for widescreen is shown on a widescreen display, or a narrower widescreen image is displayed within a wider aspect ratio, such as a 16:9 image in a 2.39:1 frame (common in cinemas). The original material is shrunk and placed in the middle of the widescreen frame.

Wikidata facts

Image
Square Fit 201933015353081.jpg
Show 1 more fact
Commons category
Pillarbox
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~5 min read

Article

4 sections
Contents
  • Stylized pillarboxing on television
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

thumb|right|300px|Pillarboxed image, picture taken at 4:3 aspect ratio and displayed on a 16:9 monitor The pillarbox effect occurs in widescreen video displays when black bars (mattes or masking) are placed on the sides of the image. It becomes necessary when film or video that was not originally designed for widescreen is shown on a widescreen display, or a narrower widescreen image is displayed within a wider aspect ratio, such as a 16:9 image in a 2.39:1 frame (common in cinemas). The original material is shrunk and placed in the middle of the widescreen frame.

Some older arcade games that had a tall vertical and short horizontal are displayed in pillarbox even on 4:3 televisions. Some early sound films made between 1928 and 1931, such as Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, were released in even narrower formats such as 1.20:1 to make room for the sound-on-film track on then-standard film stock. These will appear pillarboxed even on 4:3 screens.

Gallery (2)

Connections

Categories