16:9 Resolution and Me

16:9 Resolution
And Me.....

Just when you thought you had the 80 Lines per megahertz thing down for your old Standard Definition camera, we throw 16:9 images at you and change all the rules. In most of the current SD cameras the 16:9 image sensor is the same size as the 4:3 sensor. Both the dedicated 16:9 and dedicated 4:3 sensors are 2/3 inch in size and have an 11mm diagonal. Any 2/3 inch lens will work; you don't have to have a special 16:9 lens. The main difference between the sensors is the lines per megahertz. Instead of the nominal 80 lines, the 16:9 sensor has roughly 60 lines per megahertz. This is due to its much wider aspect ratio. You can think of it as the 16:9 sensor bandwidth (lines per mhz) as being roughly 75 % of a 4:3 sensor. This all begins to sound kind of depressing if you think that a 16:9 has less resolution than a 4:3 sensor. But the reality is that 700 lines at 16:9 are roughly the equivalent of 930 lines at 4:3. In other words, the actual resolution is higher than that of standard 4:3 cameras, because the 16:9 sensor usually has 800 lines. In the actual picture, there is no noticeable visual resolution difference between a dedicated 2/3 inch 16:9 sensor camera and a dedicated 2/3 inch 4:3 sensor camera. Actually, in the case of the a common SD wide screen camera, when in the 16:9 mode (930 TVL/ph 4:3 equivalent), the resolution is greater than the common SD 4:3 camera (only 850 TVL/ph). The common SD wide screen camera when switched to 4:3 mode, exhibits roughly 700 TV lines. (This is because many Wide Screen Standard Definition cameras simply crops the sides of the 16:9 image to give you the 4:3 image.) With the Wide Screen camera in 4:3 mode at 700 TV lines vs. the 850 from the 16:9 mode, compared to a dedicated 4:3 camera, there may be some very minor visible resolution difference of extremely fine detail. You may notice it on a high line-count resolution chart, but probably not in real life shooting situations, depending on your subject and how you shoot it. I suggest you try it yourself in both a real life situation and in the camera lab with a resolution chart. I believe the results will convince you that 16:9 is the way of the future.

Some of the Math:

2/A X La = Lines per MHz

A = aspect ratio
La = active line - time in usec.

For 4:3
2/1.333 X 53.3 usec = 79.96 Lines per MHZ A = aspect ratio
La = active line - time in use

For 16:9
2/1.778 X 53.3 usec = 59.95 Lines per MHz

	Just when you thought you had the 80 Lines per megahertz thing down for your old Standard Definition camera, we throw 16:9 images at you and change all the rules. In most of the current SD cameras the 16:9 image sensor is the same size as the 4:3 sensor. Both the dedicated 16:9 and dedicated 4:3 sensors are 2/3 inch in size and have an 11mm diagonal. Any 2/3 inch lens will work; you don't have to have a special 16:9 lens. The main difference between the sensors is the lines per megahertz. Instead of the nominal 80 lines, the 16:9 sensor has roughly 60 lines per megahertz. This is due to its much wider aspect ratio. You can think of it as the 16:9 sensor bandwidth (lines per mhz) as being roughly 75 % of a 4:3 sensor. This all begins to sound kind of depressing if you think that a 16:9 has less resolution than a 4:3 sensor. But the reality is that 700 lines at 16:9 are roughly the equivalent of 930 lines at 4:3. In other words, the actual resolution is higher than that of standard 4:3 cameras, because the 16:9 sensor usually has 800 lines. In the actual picture, there is no noticeable visual resolution difference between a dedicated 2/3 inch 16:9 sensor camera and a dedicated 2/3 inch 4:3 sensor camera. Actually, in the case of the a common SD wide screen camera, when in the 16:9 mode (930 TVL/ph 4:3 equivalent), the resolution is greater than the common SD 4:3 camera (only 850 TVL/ph). The common SD wide screen camera when switched to 4:3 mode, exhibits roughly 700 TV lines. (This is because many Wide Screen Standard Definition cameras simply crops the sides of the 16:9 image to give you the 4:3 image.) With the Wide Screen camera in 4:3 mode at 700 TV lines vs. the 850 from the 16:9 mode, compared to a dedicated 4:3 camera, there may be some very minor visible resolution difference of extremely fine detail. You may notice it on a high line-count resolution chart, but probably not in real life shooting situations, depending on your subject and how you shoot it. I suggest you try it yourself in both a real life situation and in the camera lab with a resolution chart. I believe the results will convince you that 16:9 is the way of the future.
	Some of the Math:
	2/A X La = Lines per MHz
	A = aspect ratio La = active line - time in usec. For 4:3 2/1.333 X 53.3 usec = 79.96 Lines per MHZ	A = aspect ratio La = active line - time in use For 16:9 2/1.778 X 53.3 usec = 59.95 Lines per MHz