Thanks, that was interesting.
It sounds like the typical Engineer's approach to things: "Let's determine the centerpoint of all common aspect ratios and then divide by the mean area of the...." ;)
Silly me, I'd just ask "Now what would most people want in wide aspect HD?"
IMHO, nearly all theatrical releases people want these days come from the anamorphic era, nearly all major sports events are best viewed in the widest aspects, nearly all made-for-TV content doesn't really rate small-screen VHS-def 4:3 presentation and the little that does (nature docs, travel docs, historical docs, and high production values dramas) should have a sweeping cinamatic scope.