Designing for 4:3 or 16:9 screen

As there are both 4:3 and 16:9 (wide screen) TVs on the market, the question comes up whether to build a single service portal or several service portals to support different formats. As a service portal designer on the KreaTV IP-STB, you have control over every aspect except the TV, and must then design the service portal such that it will match most screens.

The recommendation is to presently design the service portal for the 4:3 format, since this can be displayed correctly on all TV screens (16:9 TVs have settings to display 4:3 format). If users still watch the service portal in the 16:9 format, the result will be a somewhat stretched picture.

A page designed for 4:3 format displayed in 4:3 and 16:9

You retrieve information about the TV format used, using the Information service.

Service portals in the format 16:9 will be displayed on the same area as is used for 4:3 service portals. The difference is that all graphics to use for the 16:9 service portal must be rescaled and repositioned to match the dimensions when stretched out on a wide screen TV. If the service portal instead is displayed on a 4:3 format TV, the picture will seem very compact.

A page designed for 16:9 format should be rescaled to look like the left image to be proportional in the correct format to the right.

The service portal can, if 4:3 and 16:9 formats are used to an equal extent, be optimized for a format in between the two. It is then possible to have a single service portal that is satisfactory for both formats.

Designing a single service portal for both formats