As I write these words, the main problem is the discrepancy in aspect ratios. Movies come in many different aspect ratios (none of them the new standard) so when TV screens show movies, they either have to cut off part of the image or leave parts of the screen black. Why was the HDTV aspect ratio set at 16:9 (or 1.8) if no movies used that ratio? Because engineers liked it: square the old aspect ratio of 4:3 and you get the new one, 16:9. Today we are about to embark on yet another standards fight over TV. First, there is three-dimensional TV: 3-D. Then there are proposals for ultra-high
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