What is 16:9 Aspect Ratio and how do i know if i...

or 16:9 aspect ratio is more of a wide rectangle and it's similar to the shape of a movie screen. Someday all of the TVs available will be 16:9. It makes sense really. Movies are shot with a particular shape in mind. Our culture tends to not only go to the movies, but to also watch movies at home on TV or DVD or VHS.
When you watch a movie at home on a 4:3 TV set you have two formatting options. You can either add the black bars to the top and bottom of the screen or you can cut the edges of the picture off and not show them at all. No matter what option you choose there are drawbacks. Either you are not using the whole TV for the movie, or you are missing part of the movie. With a widescreen TV this isn't a problem. You get to see the whole movie and use as much of the screen as possible.
Widescreens aren't just for watching DVDs either. Right now, most TV shows are in the old 4:3 format. But HDTV shows are filmed and broadcast in the 16:9 aspect ratio just like movies. Some camcorders even allow you to film in 16:9. The widesreen aspect ratio is definitely the standard of the future.