Big Screen Television. Size matters. For the dedicated home theatre buff wanting to get the most out of DVD the best option is a big screen television.

Standard televisions are almost square, with a screen aspect ratio of 4:3 (for example, 80 cm wide × 60 cm high), however big screen televisions are designed to accommodate the usual proportions of a cinema screen picture, with an aspect ratio of 16:9 (for example, 64 cm wide × 36 cm high).

A widescreen television is ideal if it is to be often used for watching DVDs, and an increasing number of movies are being broadcast in widescreen ratio on digital television.

A big or Widescreen television uses an aspect ratio of 16:9, compared with the common TV aspect ratio of 4:3. At a ratio of 4:3, the width of the screen is 33% more than the height, whereas at a ratio of 16:9 this is 75%.

The 16:9 aspect ratio corresponds to the normal visual field of human beings. It will therefore feel more natural to watch and it is for this reason that most motion pictures are made in this format.