Archive:Ultra Widescreen (21:9 aspect ratio) skins for Kodi

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Home icon grey.png   ▶ Development ▶ Add-on development ▶ Skinning ▶ Skins ▶ Ultra Widescreen (21:9 aspect ratio) skins for Kodi

Kodi skinning engine can handle skins using resolutions with 21:9 (2.33:1) aspect ratio display output, perhaps now more commonly known today as "Ultra Widescreen" or "Cinema Widescreen". An aspect ratio that is also known in cinema and movie-theater terminology as CinemaScope (2.35:1 / Scope), Panavision, , Anamorphic Widescreen (2.39:1), CIH (Constant Image Height), Constant Height Projection, and Cinema 21:9, or simply 2.35 aspect ratio, and it is also incorrect described (rounded) as 2.40:1 for Blu-ray Disc film releases (1920×800 resolution).

This aspect ratio is designed to show films recorded in CinemaScope or the modern anamorphic format of 2.39:1, and a anamorphic vertical stretch 21:9 television or projector which allows for displaying all content at equal height, allowing for a more balanced viewing experience. The main benefit of this screen ratio is the absence of the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen when viewing content in this format, and a constant display height when displaying other content with a lesser aspect ratio.

Overview

The 64:27 aspect ratio is the logical extension of the existing video aspect ratios 4:3 and 16:9, as it is the third power of 4:3, where 16:9 of traditional HDTV is 4:3 squared. This allows electronic scalers to use an easily implementable 4:3 (1.33:1) scaling factor.

21:9 (2.33:1) is the approximated screen aspect ratio of the true value 64:27 (2.370:1) in comparison to the common ratio of 16:9 (1.77:1).

The term "21:9" was chosen as a marketing term, probably first used by Philips. Due to its common denominator, 21:9 is more relatable to 16:9, the aspect ratio of regular HDTVs, rather than the correct 64:27 or 21\tfrac{1}{3}:9. If it actually were 21:9, the fraction could be expressed more elegantly in the reduced form as 7:3.

Film formats and 21:9

Film formats and 21:9

Format Aspect ratio
Cinemascope by Panavision (1950s–1970s) 2.35:1
"21:9" (64:27) / "Ultra Widescreen" televisions 2.37:1
Anamorphic, modern cinema widescreen format 2.39:1

HDMI output standardization

As of May 2013, video timings in this 64:27 aspect ratio are supported by the technical specification that defines video timings for the HDMI interface, CEA 861-F:[1]

  • 1280×720p, anamorphic widescreen pixel aspect ratio of 4:3
  • 1680×720p, near-square pixel aspect ratio of 64:27
  • 1920×1080p, anamorphic pixel aspect ratio of 4:3
  • 2560×1080p, square pixel aspect ratio
  • 3840×2160p, anamorphic pixel aspect ratio of 4:3

All of the above timings are supported at frame rates of 23.97/24, 25, 29.97/30, 50 and 59.94/60 Hz, as well as 100 and 119.88/120 Hz for the non-UltraHD timings.

An additional resolution of 5120×2160p ("5K") could be added at a later time to provide a non-anamorphic UltraHD signal in 21:9. Variations of the 8K UltraHD resultions could also be considered, at 7680×4320p anamorphic and 10240x4320p non-anamorphic.

Kodi skins supporting 21:9 aspect ratio

WIP and POC skins for 21:9

"Numax - pure.cinema" proof-of-concept 2:35.1 CIH format skin by DoghouseCinema

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References

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See also

Users:

Development:

External Links