Difference between 4:3 and NTSC Aspect Ratio?

RetroArch General
#1

In some cores, such as bsnes, you can select between 4:3 and NTSC Aspect Ratio. They are similar in size, NTSC is slightly narrower.

I looked up what the aspect ratio of NTSC is and all I found is that it’s 4:3. So I don’t understand the size difference.

What is the correct aspect ratio I should use if I want it to look the same as a real SNES would have been viewed back in the 90’s on a standard CRT TV? I noticed that 4:3 blurs some of the pixels more when using a CRT shader.

4:3

4-3
4-31920×1200 510 KB

NTSC

ntsc
ntsc1920×1200 503 KB

Comparison
Yellow = 4:3
Blue = NTSC

comparison
comparison1920×1200 36.6 KB

#2

The NTSC draws less vertical scanlines (and runs faster at 60hz) so it would be taller when stretched on 4:3 than PAL (which draws more and runs at 50hz). Some PAL games just took the NTSC and added black bars up and down to fill the screen.

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#3

So NTSC would have been stretched to fit a 4:3 TV? Like how 8:7 is stretched to 4:3?

#4

SNES PAL is 256x240 @ 50hz and NTSC is 256x224 @ 60hz. Both would be stretched to fill 4:3 but NTSC would be taller. If you stretch to a 1080p the usable area should be 1436x1080.

If you integer scale at 4x the proper area should be NTSC: 1192x896, PAL: 1277x960.

Same applies to NES

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#5

What video settings would you suggest to get the most authentic looking screen size? Just 4:3 and Integer Scale on?

#6

I use 1080p full scale and core provided, on my laptop with GTX 1060 the shaders i use look good even without integer.

#7

@glytch use the core aspect ratio (NTSC) which is correct. It is based on the hardware and signal timings. Indeed it is slightly narrower (64/49 ~ 1.306) and yes, this is OK.

Edit: References:

https://pineight.com/mw/page/Dot_clock_rates.xhtml

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