Traditional TVs have an aspect ratio of 4:3 (squarish), which represents the ratio of the width of the screen to the height. Widescreen TVs have an aspect ratio of 16:9 (also known as "letterbox", a rectangular shape). If you plan to watch a lot of DVD movies on your TV, you might want to consider a widescreen TV, as many DVDs support the 16:9 aspect ratio. If you have a widescreen TV and are viewing standard programming, the picture will appear in letterbox format, meaning that the picture will appear with black boxes on either side or the top and bottom of the screen.