The Ultimate Table of Formats-- Aspect Ratios
| Name | Originator | Year | Format | AR | Frame Area | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduced | Abandoned | |||||
| Kinetoscope | Edison/W. K. L. Dickson | 1894 | 1896 | 4-35 | 1.33:1 | 1.000x0.750 |
| Vitascope | C. F. Jenkins/T. Armat | 1895 | N/A | 4-35 | 1.33:1 | 1.000x0.750 |
| Ciné | Lumi&232re Brothers | 1895 | N/A | 4-35 | 1.33:1 | 1.000x0.750 |
| Eidoloscope | Woodville Latham & Sons | 1895 | 1897 | 4-51 | N/A | N/A |
| Demeny-Gaumont/Prestwich | Georges Demeny | 1896 | N/A | 4-60 | 1.4:1 | 1.750x1.250 |
| Viventoscope | Blair | 1897 | N/A | 1-48 | 1.5:1 | 1.500x1.000 |
| Veriscope | Enoch Rector | 1897 | N/A | 5-63 | 1.66:1 | 1.875x1.125 |
| Biograph | American Biograph Co. | 1897 | N/A | 0-68 | 1.35:1 | 2.625x1.938 |
| 1900 | N/A | 4-35 | N/A | N/A | ||
| Lumiè Wide Film | Lumiè Brothers | 1900 | N/A | 8-75 | N/A | N/A |
| Ciné (a.k.a. Ciné) | Raoul Grimoin-Sanson | 1900 | 1900 | 10x4-70 | 360° | N/A |
| Pathé KOK/Pathescope | Pathé | 1912 | N/A | 4-28 | 1.33:1 | N/A |
| Panoramica | Filoteo Alberini | 1914 | N/A | 5-70 | 2.52:1 | N/A |
| 1924 | N/A | 10-35H | 2.52:1 | N/A | ||
| Widescope | J. D. Elms | 1921 | 1925 | 2x4-35 | N/A | N/A |
| Pathé Baby | Pathé | 1923 | - | 1-9.5 | 1.33:1 | N/A |
| 16mm | Kodak | 1923 | - | 1-16 | 1.34:1 | 0.380x0.284 |
| Pathé Rural | Pathé | 1926 | N/A | 1-17.5 | 1.33:1 | N/A |
| Natural Vision | Radio-Keith-Orpheum | 1926 | 1930 | 6-63.5 | 1.85:1 | N/A |
| Magnascope | Paramount | 1926 | 1953 | 4-35 | N/A | N/A |
| Hypergonar | Henri Chré | 1927 | 1937 | 4-35A2.0 | 2.66:1 | 1.000x0.750 |
| Polyvision | Abel Gance | 1927 | 1927 | 3x4-35 | N/A | N/A |
| Grandeur | 20th Century Fox | 1929 | 1931 | 4-70 | 2:1 | N/A |
| Magnafilm | Paramount/L. de Riccio | N/A | 1930 | 4-56 | 2:1 | N/A |
| Realife | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 1930 | 1931 | 4-70 | 2:1 | N/A |
| Vitascope | Warner Brothers | 1930 | 1930 | 5-65 | 2:1 | N/A |
| Academy | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences | 1932 | - | 4-35 | 1.37:1 | 0.825x0.602 |
| Double-8 | Kodak | 1932 | - | 1-8 | 1.36:1 | 0.182x0.134 |
| Cinerama | Cinerama Inc./Fred Waller | 1952 | 1972 | 3x6-35 | 2.72:1 | 3x0.985x1.088 |
| CinemaScope | 20th Century Fox | 1953 | 1957 | 4-35A2.0 | 2.55:1 | 0.912x0.715 |
| 2.35:1 | 0.898x0.715 | |||||
| Glamorama | N/A | 1953 | 1953 | 10-35H | N/A | N/A |
| VistaVision | Paramount | 1954 | 1961 | 8-35H | 1.5:1 | 1.485x0.991 |
| Todd-AO | Michael Todd/American Optical Co. | 1955 | - | 5-70 | 2.2:1 | 2.072x0.906 |
| Circarama | Walt Disney | 1955 | 1961 | 9/11x1-16 | 360° | N/A |
| CinemaScope-55 | 20th Century Fox | 1956 | 1958 | 8-55.625A2.0 | 2.35:1 | 1.430x1.824 |
| 4-35A2.0 | 2.55:1 | 0.912x0.715 | ||||
| 4-35A2.0 | 2.35:1 | 0.839x0.715 | ||||
| Technirama | Technicolor | 1956 | 1967 | 4-35A2.0 | 2.55:1 | 0.912x0.715 |
| 2.35:1 | 0.839x0.715 | |||||
| Cinestage | N/A | 1956 | N/A | 4-35A1.56 | 2.2:1 | 0.912x0.685 |
| Kinopanorama | Russia | 1957 | - | 3x6-35 | 2.77:1 | N/A |
| M-G-M Camera-65 | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | 1957 | 1966 | 5-70A1.25 | 2.76:1 | 2.072x0.906 |
| 5-65A1.25 | 2.76:1 | 2.072x0.906 | ||||
| 4-35A2.0 | 2.55:1 | 0.912x0.715 | ||||
| 4-35A2.0 | 2.35:1 | 0.839x0.715 | ||||
| CineMiracle | Louis de Rochemont | 1958 | 1961 | 3x6-35 | 2.55:1 | N/A |
| Smith & Carney 180° | Smith & Carney | 1958 | N/A | 4-35 | N/A | N/A |
| Circlorama | N/A | 1958 | 1964 | 11x4-35 | 360° | N/A |
| Super Technirama 70 | Technicolor | 1958 | N/A | 5-70 | 2.2:1 | N/A |
| 4-35A2.0 | 2.35:1 | 0.839x0.715 | ||||
| Panavision | Panavision | 1959 | - | 4-35A2.0 | 2.35:1 | 0.839x0.715 |
| Super Panavision | Panavision | 1959 | N/A | 5-70 | 2.2:1 | N/A |
| 4-35A2.0 | 2.35:1 | 0.839x0.715 | ||||
| Wonderama Arc 120 | Technicolor | 1960 | N/A | 4-35 | 2.64:1 | N/A |
| Cine-System 3 | U.S.A.F. | 1960 | N/A | 1-3 | 1.33:1 | N/A |
| Techniscope | Technicolor | 1963 | N/A | 4-35A2.0 | 2.35:1 | 0.839x0.715 |
| Ultra Panavision | Panavision/M-G-M | 1963 | 1968 | 5-70A1.25 | 2.7:1 | N/A |
| 4-35A2.0 | 2.35:1 | 0.839x0.715 | ||||
| Dimension 150 | Todd-AO/20th Century Fox | 1963 | 1970 | 5-70 | 150° | N/A |
| 4-35A2.0 | 2.35:1 | 0.839x0.715 | ||||
| Super 8 | Kodak | 1965 | - | 1-8 | 1.36:1 | 0.215x0.158 |
| Super 16 | Kodak | 1970 | - | 1-16 | 1.66:1 | 0.464x0.2806 |
| 1.85:1 | 0.464x0.2516 | |||||
| Todd-AO 35 | Todd-AO | 1971 | N/A | 4-35A2.0 | 2.35:1 | 0.839x0.715 |
| IMAX | IMAX Corporation | 1970 | - | 15-70H | 1.43:1 | 2.740x1.910 |
| OMNIMAX | IMAX Corporation | 1973 | - | 15-70H | Ovoid | 2.740x1.980 |
| Circlevision | Walt Disney | N/A | - | 5x4-35 | 200° | N/A |
| Cinema 180 | Omni Films | N/A | - | 5-70 | 180° | N/A |
| Showscan | Douglas Trumbull | 1984 | - | 5-70 | N/A | N/A |
| Iwerks 870 | Iwerks Entertainment | N/A | - | 8-70 | N/A | N/A |
| Ultra Toruscope | Torus Films | N/A | - | 3x5-70 | 360° | N/A |
Footnotes:
- N/A signifies that verified information for this category is not currently available.
- AR is an abbreviation for Aspect Ratio - the ratio of the width of the image to its height, expressed in the form x:1.
- A dash in the year abandoned column indicates the format is still in use.
- The frame area is expressed in inches.
- The film format is expressed using the following
notation:
nxp-mmAc.c Where nx, if present, is the number of film strips, e.g. 3x for Cinerama;
p is the number of perforations in one film margin per frame (except centre perf. formats), e.g. 5 for Todd-AO;
mm is the width of the film in millimetres, e.g. 55.625 for CinemaScope-55;
Ac.c, if present, indicates that the image is anamorphically expanded from the film by expansion factor c.c, e.g. A2.0 for CinemaScope;
and H, if present, denotes a horizontally-running format, e.g. 8-35H for VistaVision. - Super 16 prints are rarely made. Dimensions given refer to extraction areas for blowing up to 35mm release prints.