Aspect Ratio - The ratio of length to height of pictures. All TV screens used to be 4:3 (4 units across to 3 units in height), but now almost all new models, especially where there is digital television, are widescreen, 16:9. Pictures presented this way are believed to absorb more of our attention and have obvious advantages in certain productions, such as sport. In the change towards 16:9 some in-between ratios have been used for transmission, such as 14:9.