October 7, 2022
Video resolutions
Ten years have passed since I threw this together.
Now people are talking about 4K and 8K.
1080p is routine.
I put this together in 2012 when I didn't know 720p from 1080p.
- 480i - old fashioned TV
- 720i - bogus, essentially never used.
- 720p - 1280 x 720 progressive
- 1080i - 1920 x 1080 interlaced
- 1080p - 1920 x 1080 progressive "full HD"
- 4K - 3840 x 2160 "4K UHD"
- 8K - 7680 x 4320 "8K UHD"
There are plenty of others, see:
Refresh rates are another aspect of things I am mostly ignoring.
You can have 4K at 25, 50, and 100 fps, maybe even 120 fps.
As of 2012 HDTV broadcast is all done in the widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio format.
The designation number (like the 720 in 720p) indicates the
number of horizontal scan lines in the image (modern displays
don't really scan, but never mind).
The letter p or i indicates progressive or interlaced.
Progressive is better.
Interlaced means that every other line gets updated on a screen
refresh, reducing bandwidth at the expense of flicker.
Progressive updates all lines on every refresh.
Some tips if you are shopping for a TV (in 2012):
- 720p looks as good as 1080i - so don't waste your money.
- 1080p and 720p look essentially the same on 32 inch or
smaller monitors - so don't waste your money.
Have any comments? Questions?
Drop me a line!
Adventures in Computing / tom@mmto.org