Ok, i sort of get it but i don’t. 1:1 is square 16:9 means it’s 1.77 x’s wider than it is tall. But what the hell does 9 actually represent considering it comes in many sizes from small to large yet same ratio, so what makes one side 9 or what ever? For instance why not just say 1.77:1?
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9 is in any unit you like. Pick any distance you like and one side of the screen is 9x that distance and the other is 16 times that distance.
You can call it 1.77:1 or 16:9 both mean the same thing one uses decimals the other to not. It is not different that you something write 1/4 and other times 0.25.
The common usage is integers for TV and later computer and similar display. decimal notation is common for cinema.
The reason it is 16:9 =1.777:1 is that it is the geometric mean of 4:3 =1.333:1 TV and 2.35:1 cinema that was common when wide screen tv was introduced. The geometric mean is(sqrt(2.35 *4/3) = 1.77012 and 1.777… is very close to it.
So 16:9 was chosen to minimize the black band on the side for 4:3 TV and on top and bottom for 2.35:1 movies. Because 4:3 TV sources are not very common today but 2.35:1 move we tend to just see the top and bottom black bars
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