Aydın Tiryaki and Gemini AI (2026)
The history of display technologies is not merely a race to produce larger screens; it is a summary of the perfect balance between mathematical symmetry, production economics, and the perpetual search for harmony between cinema and the home. Examining this process through two distinct yet intersecting paths—Televisions and Monitors—reveals why the 16:9 standard we use today was no coincidence.
Phase 1: Analog Foundations and the Square Standard (1892 – 1980)
During this period, both the television and monitor worlds were overshadowed by mechanical and physical constraints.
The Television Window
- 1892 – Cinematic Origins: William Dickson developed the 35mm film strip in Thomas Edison’s laboratory. The physical size of a film frame was established at approximately 4:3 (1.33:1).
- 1930s-1950s – Broadcast Standards: When the first television broadcasts began, screens were designed in the 4:3 ratio to easily utilize existing cinema archives.
- Technology: CRT (Cathode Ray Tube). Screens were convex to withstand the vacuum pressure of the glass tube. Images were formed by an electron gun scanning the screen line by line (Interlaced scanning).
The Monitor and Early PC Window
- 1960s-1970s – Mainframes and Terminals: Computers were text-based, not graphical. Green or amber phosphor screens gave the impression of “a laser being held into the eye” due to their high contrast.
- 1977 – Commodore 64 and Home Solutions: Since purchasing a separate monitor was expensive, computers were connected directly to 4:3 home televisions. This allowed the computer to utilize all the color and sound capabilities of the TV.
- 1981 – CGA (Color Graphics Adapter): The first color PC standard. It offered only 4 colors at a resolution of 320×200.
- 1982 – Hercules (HGC): A revolution for engineers. It was monochrome but offered a resolution of 720×348, providing unrivaled clarity for technical drawings and intensive coding (Fortran/Pascal).
Phase 2: Conflict and the Mathematical Compromise (1980 – 1990)
This decade saw television attempting to compete with cinema, while monitors struggled to make pixels “square.”
The Discovery of 16:9 for Television
- 1950s-1980s – Cinema’s Escape: To escape the square 4:3 structure of television, movie theaters began using very wide formats like CinemaScope (2.35:1).
- 1984 – Dr. Kerns Powers and the 16:9 Ratio: While working on HDTV standards, Dr. Powers calculated the “most efficient” area to encompass all formats.
- Mathematical Logic: As you highlighted, the ratio $4^2 : 3^2 = 16:9$ emerged—the square of the old standard. This was the “golden mean” that left the least amount of black bars (letterboxing) when viewing both 4:3 and 2.35:1 content.
The EGA and VGA Transformation in Monitors
- 1984 – EGA (Enhanced Graphics Adapter): Provided 16 colors and 640×350 resolution. However, these cards still used “rectangular pixels.”
- 1987 – VGA (Video Graphics Array): The cornerstone of modern computing. With a 640×480 resolution, pixels became 1:1, or perfectly square, for the first time.
- Significance: Square pixels ensured that a circle drawn on the screen appeared as a circle on every monitor, enabling error-free scaling in engineering projects (CAD/CAM).
Phase 3: Digital Revolution and Economic Convergence (1990 – 2010)
In this era, the television and monitor worlds began to merge under the umbrella of “panel production.”
Television and the Proliferation of HD
- 1990s: The 16:9 ratio was accepted as the global HDTV standard.
- Technology: CRT tubes were replaced by Plasma and LCD panels. Due to the nature of these panels, producing them in a 16:9 ratio reduced waste on the production line.
The 16:10 vs. 16:9 War in Monitors
- Early 2000s: The 16:10 (1920×1200) ratio was a professional favorite in LCD monitors. More vertical space meant more lines of code and text.
- Economic Tipping Point: When panel factories produced massive quantities of 16:9 panels for televisions, it became much cheaper to cut monitor panels in the same ratio. Ultimately, 16:9 conquered our computer desks not just through engineering merit, but through “economies of scale.”
Phase 4: The Modern Era and Resolution Peak (2010 – 2026)
Today, ratios have stabilized, but quality and speed have reached immense proportions.
Television: 4K and Beyond
- 4K UHD (3840×2160): While maintaining the 16:9 ratio, resolution increased fourfold.
- Technology: OLED and HDR. The ability of each pixel to turn itself off (infinite contrast) moved television beyond even cinema quality.
Monitors: Specialized Solutions
- Ultrawide: Ratios like 21:9 and 32:9 emerged. However, these did not become as widespread as expected; they remained within a limited user base (developers, traders, gamers) seeking a wide field of view without a multi-monitor setup.
- Speed: Refresh rates (144Hz, 240Hz) have become as important as resolution in modern monitors.
Phase 5: The Evolution of Graphics Adapters and the Multi-Monitor Era
The development of screens is incomplete without the evolution of the graphics cards that drive them.
The DOS Era: Driver Chaos
In the 1980s, owning a graphics card required knowing its technical details (IO ports, memory addresses).
- Hardware Incompatibility: If code written for an EGA memory address ($A000:0000$) was run on a system with a Hercules card, nothing would happen. Programmers had to write separate code blocks for each card or include Borland’s
.BGIdriver files with their software. - Scaling Issues: A visual designed for 320×200 (CGA) would appear tiny in the center of a 640×480 (VGA) screen because hardware scaling had not yet been invented.
Multi-Monitor Support History
- Early Steps: In the 1980s, some motherboards could host a Hercules card (for text) and a CGA card (for graphics) simultaneously, but they functioned like two separate computers.
- Windows 98 Revolution: Windows 98 was the first mainstream OS to offer multi-monitor support at the kernel level.
- Matrox Legend: In the late 90s, Matrox introduced “DualHead” technology, allowing two monitors from a single card. For the first time, engineers could code on one screen and see the output on the other.
Historical Comparison and Incompatibility Table
The table below summarizes the “incompatibility” reality that once plagued software developers:
| Era / Card | Ratio | Resolution | Effect on Other Screens | Multi-Monitor Support |
| CGA (1981) | 4:3 | 320×200 | Appeared tiny in the center of VGA. | None |
| Hercules (1982) | 2.07:1 | 720×348 | Monochrome high-clarity only. | Limited (as 2nd card) |
| EGA (1984) | 1.83:1 | 640×350 | Overflowed on a CGA screen. | None |
| VGA (1987) | 4:3 | 640×480 | Standardized with square pixels. | None |
| SVGA (1995+) | 4:3 / 16:10 | 1024×768+ | Compatible via Windows drivers. | Started with Matrox |
| Modern (2026) | 16:9 | 3840×2160 | OS scales automatically. | 4+ Screens Standard |
Conclusion: While televisions have always imitated cinema for “viewing” pleasure, monitors have pursued clarity for “productivity.” Graphics adapters have been the hidden heroes connecting these two worlds, evolving from the driver struggles of the DOS era to the seamless multi-4K setups on our desks today.
A Note on Methods and Tools: All observations, ideas, and solution proposals in this study are the author’s own. AI was utilized as an information source for researching and compiling relevant topics strictly based on the author’s inquiries, requests, and directions; additionally, it provided writing assistance during the drafting process. (The research-based compilation and English writing process of this text were supported by AI as a specialized assistant.)
Aydın Tiryaki 