A TIKTOK tech guru has lifted the lid on a piece of little-known Netflix trivia.
In a recent video, user Adam Grasso explained a “secret cinematic trick” that the US streaming service uses to make its original content look better on your telly.
2
The quirk is the reason that black bars appear at the top and bottom of the screen over some shows and movies available on the platform.
“You’re probably familiar with seeing black bars on your TV screen,” Adam, who posts under the username @heyadamgrasso, said.
“The ones that Netflix use are actually a bit smaller in size.”
He added that this is because Netflix films in an unusual 2:1 aspect ratio – meaning images are twice as wide as they are tall.
The result is a taller image than those filmed in 16:9 or 2:35:1, the most popular aspect ratios for TV shows and feature films respectively.
Adam explained: “Two-to-one, also known as Univisium, is preferred by many Netflix shows.”
Most read in News Tech
He added that because 2:1 images are both tall and wide, they are excellent at conveying scale horizontally and vertically.
“Shows like The Witcher can show off epic wide landscapes and the weird creatures in Stranger Things have enough headroom to convey a believable scale to viewers,” Adam said.
The 2:1 aspect ratio was invented by visionary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro.
He’s an Academy Award-winner who has worked on many classic films including “The Conformist” and “Apocalypse Now”.
In the late 1990s, Storaro noticed that the rise of widescreen TVs, which use a 16:9 aspect ratio, were the future of movie watching.
However, most films were not shot in that aspect ratio, meaning people watching at home would not be seeing the director’s original vision.
You’ve probably noticed this dissonance when watching a film at home. To fit a wider cinematic image onto your telly, thick black bars fill the gaps above and below the film’s imagery.
Storaro cooked up the 2:1 aspect ratio as a compromise that would ensure his movies looked good on both home TVs and on much wider cinema screens.
Netflix has adopted it as a filming standard to ensure its content works across TVs, smartphones and at theatres.
Adam said: “Until we’re all rich enough to afford huge cinema screens in our homes, this is probably the best middle ground we’re gonna get to enjoy cinematic content on our 16:9 screens.”
2
In other news, the mystery surrounding why prehistoric Brits built Stonehenge has finally been solved after research confirmed that the monument served as an ancient solar calendar.
In other news, the iPhone’s virtual assistant, Siri, is getting a new, “gender-neutral” voice.
A British woman has told of her horror after scammers used photos of a “silver fox” politician to trick her out of £80,000.
And, Norfolk County Council is suing Apple over what it says was misleading information about iPhone sales.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online Tech & Science team? Email us at [email protected]
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
