Toshiba puts a 22:16 panel in a laptop

IDF 2012: Real cinema aspect ratios in a consumer device

Sep 13, 2012 by

Toshiba logoJust when you thought laptop monitors were nearing their quality bottom, Toshiba comes up with a really interesting panel. The new 22:16 panels in their notebook are almost enough to give a jaded hack hope.

The idea is simple, movies are 1.37:1 aspect ratio or approximately 22:16. Monitors are 1.78:1 or 16:9 so if you watch an un-stretched movie on one, you get black bars on the top and bottom or cropped edges. Neither is good, much less optimal for watching movies, but that is what you get. Then Toshiba fixed this little problem.

Toshiba 22x16 laptop panel

When have you seen this aspect ratio in a product?

It is an Ultrabook, something that Toshiba could not fix, but they put in a real 22:16 panel for once. That means no black bars, no cropping, and films fit natively. All the things that make the form factor in to a shiny thing for the stupid are still present, but the screen is pretty darn cool. Lets hope Toshiba carries this over in to a real laptop soon, and others start an uphill battle in screen quality. At least there is a ray of hope for once, and it is a pretty thing to behold.S|A

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Charlie Demerjian

Roving engine of chaos and snide remarks at SemiAccurate
Charlie Demerjian is the founder of Stone Arch Networking Services and SemiAccurate.com. SemiAccurate.com is a technology news site; addressing hardware design, software selection, customization, securing and maintenance, with over one million views per month. He is a technologist and analyst specializing in semiconductors, system and network architecture. As head writer of SemiAccurate.com, he regularly advises writers, analysts, and industry executives on technical matters and long lead industry trends. Charlie is also available through Guidepoint and Mosaic. FullyAccurate