Thirty years later we’ve discovered the old 4:3 CRT TV was basically an IMAX screen

Anyone remember the ads from the late '90s when 16:9 was supposed to be the big revolution? They'd show you the comparison with 4:3 and suddenly, on the sides of the frame, there'd be people, cars, trees, half a world that had mysteriously vanished a second ago.

"With 16:9 you see everything."
"It's more natural."
"It's real cinema."
"4:3 is old, cramped, throw it out."

Thirty years later Nolan's Odyssey comes out and the IMAX 1.43:1 marketing tells us it's the ultimate format because, compared to widescreen 2.39:1, it shows way more image top and bottom.

So let's recap where we've landed:

• 4:3 (1.33:1) was outdated TV junk
• 16:9 (1.78:1) got sold to us as the future
• IMAX (1.43:1) is now the peak of immersion
• proper cinema widescreen (2.39:1) apparently "crops too much" now

Basically we spent thirty years widening our screens just to find out peak immersion means going back to something almost square.

'90s: "4:3 hides everything on the sides!"
2026: "widescreen hides everything above and below!"

To be fair, there's no objectively best format, it all depends on how the film is shot and how the director frames things. But it's pretty funny watching marketing turn whatever the previous format was into some kind of visual disability, every single time.

Meanwhile I'm just waiting for old 4:3 CRT TVs to make a comeback, rebranded as "IMAX Home Vertical Experience," for 4,999 euros.

https://preview.redd.it/rvvtvla3djeh1.png?width=1672&format=png&auto=webp&s=4a93e17bec22b3bedce881065a73dbb6a8190f95