What Is Aspect Ratio in Digital Frames?

The Digital Fame and Resolution

• Digital frames come in sizes from 6.5 to 12 inches. This is the diagonal distance from one corner to the other. This is the same way a television screen is measured. The most common size is the 8-inch screen. The screens come in various resolutions: 800 x 600, 800 x 480 and 640 x 480. These numbers tell you how man pixels are running sideways by the number up and down If you multiply the numbers you obtain the total number of pixels. The more pixels, the better the resolution.

Aspect Ratio of a Digital Frame

• Digital frames come in several aspect ratios; the most common are 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. Since this tells you the width of the frame compared to its height, you can see that a 4:3 aspect is the closest to square and that 16:9 gives you a wide frame width in relation to a small height, like most movie theater screens. The 3:2 ratio falls in between these other two aspects.

The Digital Photograph and Your Frame

• Most digital cameras take photographs in a 4:3 aspect. You may notice that 800 x 600 resolution can be reduced to 4:3. This makes the digital frame with a 4:3 aspect the one that gives the least distortion on your photograph. A 16:9 aspect will distort a photograph by stretching it out sideways. You can resolve these resolution problems with photo editing software.

Cost of the Frame

• The larger the frame and the higher the resolution, the greater the cost. You must decide which frame will show off you photograph best, and then balance this against expense.

Other Features of A Digital Frame

• Besides aspect ratio, digital frames also have many other features you can chose from. Some have changeable borders, while others work both on batteries and with power cords. You can find frames that have clocks and calendars incorporated in them and even ones that turn off automatically at night.