xviix
Dr. Kerns H. Powers, a member of the
SMPTE
Working Group on High-Definition Electronic Production, first proposed the 16:9 (1.7
7
:1) aspect ratio at a time when nobody was creating 16:9 videos. The popular choices in 1980 were: 1.3
3
:1 (based on television standard's ratio at the time), 1.6
6
:1 (the European "flat" ratio), 1.85:1 (the American "flat" ratio), 2.20:1 (the ratio of 70 mm films and
Panavision
) and 2.39:1 (the
CinemaScope
ratio for
anamorphic
widescreen films).