List of common display resolutions explained

This article lists computer monitor, television, digital film, and other graphics display resolutions that are in common use. Most of them use certain preferred numbers.

Computer graphics

Pixel aspect ratio (PAR): The horizontal to vertical ratio of each pixel.
  • Storage aspect ratio (SAR): The horizontal to vertical ratio of solely the number of pixels in each direction.[1]
  • Display aspect ratio (DAR): The combination (which occurs by multiplication) of both the pixel aspect ratio and storage aspect ratio giving the aspect ratio as experienced by the viewer.
  • Television and media

    For television, the display aspect ratio (DAR) is shown, not the storage aspect ratio (SAR); analog television does not have well-defined pixels, while several digital television standards have non-square pixels.

    Analog systems

    Resolution[2]
    (dots × lines)! Display aspect
    ratio, :! Total
    pixels
    CCIR System B/G (PAL/SECAM) ~520 × 576 4:3
    CCIR System D/K/L (PAL/SECAM) ~627 × 576 4:3
    CCIR System I (PAL) ~573 × 576 4:3
    CCIR System N (PAL-N) ~440 × 576 4:3
    PALplus ~520 × 576 16:9
    ~520 × 432 16:9
    NTSC,[3] [4] PAL-M~440 × 486 4:3
    LaserDisc~580 × 486 (NTSC)4:3[5]
    ~570 × 576 (PAL/SECAM)
    VHS, Betamax, Video8~320 × 486 (NTSC) 4:3
    ~310 × 576 (PAL/SECAM)
    Betamax Superbeta~380 × 486 (NTSC) 4:3
    ~370 × 576 (PAL/SECAM)
    Betacam~387 × 486 (NTSC) 4:3
    ~387 × 576 (PAL)
    Betacam SP~453 × 486 (NTSC) 4:3
    ~453 × 576 (PAL)
    S-VHS, Hi8~560 × 486 (NTSC) 4:3
    ~560 × 576 (PAL)
    Hi-Vision[6] ~1920 × 1035 16:9
    HD-MAC~1040 × 1152 5:3
    405-line~503 × 377 4:3 (5:4 before 1950)
    819-line~816 × 736 4:3

    Digital standards

    Resolution
    (dots × lines)! Name! title="interlaced and progressive notation by vertical resolution"
    ScanFrame rate
    (Hz)
    Display aspect
    ratio, :
    Total
    pixels
    VCD (MPEG-1), LDTV (e.g. DMB)352 × 240 SIF 525 240i 30 4:3 84,480
    352 × 288 288i 25 101,376
    CVD352 × 480 480i 30 4:3, 16:9 168,960
    352 × 576 576i 25 202,725
    SVCD (MPEG-2)480 × 480 480i 30 4:3, 16:9 230,400
    480 × 576 576i 25 276,480
    DVD <-- EVD, CBHD -->720 × 480 NTSC 480i, 480p 24, 30 4:3, 16:9 345,600
    720 × 576 PAL 576i, 576p 25 4:3, 16:9 414,720
    SDTV, EDTV (SMPTE 293M, Rec. 601, e.g. ATSC, DVB,[7] ISDB)352 × 480 30 4:3, 16:9168,960
    480 × 480 230,400
    528 × 480 253,440
    544 × 480 261,120
    640 × 480 307,200
    704 × 480 4SIF 525 337,920
    720 × 480 NTSC 345,600
    480 × 576 25 4:3, 16:9276,480
    544 × 576 313,344
    704 × 576 4SIF 625 405,504
    720 × 576 PAL 414,720
    HDTV (Rec. 709; Blu-ray, HD DVD) <--FVD, HVD -->1280 × 720 HD 24, 25, 30, 50, 60 16:9 921,600
    1280 × 1080 25, 30 16:9 1,382,400
    1440 × 1080 Full HD, HD Lite 25, 30 16:9 1,555,200
    1920 × 1080 Full HD 24, 25, 30 16:9, 2.21:1 2,073,600
    UHDTV (Rec. 2020, Ultra HD Blu-ray)3840 × 2160 4K UHDTV 2160p 24, 25, 30, 50, 60, 100, 120 16:9 8,294,400
    7680 × 4320 8K UHDTV 4320p 33,177,600

    Many of these resolutions are also used for video files that are not broadcast. These may also use other aspect ratios by cropping otherwise black bars at the top and bottom which result from cinema aspect ratios greater than, such as 1.85 or 2.35 through 2.40 (dubbed "Cinemascope", "" etc.), while the standard horizontal resolution, e.g. 1920 pixels, is usually kept. The vertical resolution is usually a multiple of 8 or 16 pixels due to most video codecs processing pixels on such sized blocks. A widescreen FHD video can be for a ratio or for roughly, for instance.

    Films

    Resolution! Display
    aspect
    ratio! Total
    pixels
    Digital cinema2048 × 858 2.39:1 1,757,184
    Digital cinema1998 × 1080 1.85:1 2,157,840
    Academy 2× 1828 × 1332 1.37:1 2,434,896
    Full Aperture Native 2× 2048 × 1556 1.32:1 3,186,688
    Digital cinema4096 × 1714 2.39:1 7,020,544
    Digital cinema3996 × 2160 1.85:1 8,631,360
    Digital Cinema Initiatives 4× (native resolution) 4096 × 2160 1.90:1 8,847,360
    Academy3656 × 2664 1.37:1 9,739,584
    Full Aperture 4× 4096 × 3112 1.32:1 12,746,752
    6K[8] 6144 × 3160 1.94:1 19,415,040
    8K 7992 × 4320 1.85:1 34,525,440
    7.2K 7200 × 3060 2.35:1 22,032,000
    IMAX Digital[9] 5616 × 4096 1.37:1 23,003,136

    The below distinguish SAR (aspect ratio of pixel dimensions), DAR (aspect ratio of displayed image dimensions), and the corresponding PAR (aspect ratio of individual pixels), though it currently contains some errors (inconsistencies), as flagged.

    Standard! rowspan=2 data-sort-type="number"
    ResolutionAspect ratioTotal
    pixels
    StorageDisplayPixel
    720 × 480 3:2 4:3 10:11
    345,600
    720 × 486 40:27 4:3 9:10 349,920
    720 × 576 5:4 4:3 12:11
    414,720
    720 × 576 5:4 4:3 16:15 414,720
    Panasonic DVCPRO HD 720p 960 × 720 4:3 16:9 4:3 691,200
    Panasonic DVCPRO HD 1080, 59.94i 1280 × 1080 32:27 16:9 3:2 1,382,400
    Panasonic DVCPRO HD 1080, 50i 1440 × 1080
    4:3
    16:9
    3:2
    1,555,200
    1440 × 1080 4:3 16:9 4:3 1,555,200
    Sony HDCAM (1080)1440 × 1080
    4:3
    16:9
    3:2
    1,555,200
    Sony HDCAM SR (1080)1920 × 1080 16:9 16:9 1:1 2,073,600
    Academy 2× 1828 × 1332 1.37:1 1.37:1 1:1 2,434,896
    Full Aperture Native 2× 2048 × 1556 1.316 4:3 ~1:1 3,186,688
    Academy3656 × 2664 1.37:1 1.37:1 1:1 9,739,584
    Full Aperture 4× 4096 × 3112 1.316 4:3 ~1:1 12,746,752

    Video conferencing

    See main article: Common Intermediate Format.

    Resolution! Storage
    aspect ratio! Total
    pixels
    SQCIF (Sub Quarter CIF)128 × 96 1.33:1 12,288
    QCIF (Quarter CIF)176 × 144 1.22:1 25,344
    CIF (or FCIF)352 × 288 1.22:1 101,376
    4CIF (4 × CIF)704 × 576 1.22:1 405,504
    16CIF (16 × CIF)1408 × 1152 1.22:1 1,622,016

    CCTV

    960H is a resolution used in analog CCTV equipment. 960H represents the number of horizontal pixels in a video signal transmitted from a camera or received by a DVR (Digital Video Recorder). The resolution of 960H depends on whether the equipment is PAL or NTSC based: 960H represents 960 x 576 (PAL) or 960 x 480 (NTSC) pixels.[10] 960H represents an increase in pixels of some 30% over standard D1 resolution, which is 720 x 576 pixels (PAL), or 720 x 480 pixels (NTSC). The increased resolution over D1 comes as a result of a longer horizontal scan. The difference is that whilst D1 has a 4:3 aspect ratio 960H has a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. The extra pixels are used to form the increased area to the sides of the D1 image. The pixel density of 960H is identical to standard D1 resolution so it does not give any improvement in image quality, merely a wider aspect ratio.

    Alternative analog video transport technologies carrying higher resolutions than 960H include HD-TVI, HDCVI, and AHD.

    Further reading

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. LCD panels' resolutions are often quoted in terms of raw subpixels, misnamed "pixels" in manufacturer's specifications. Each real pixel includes one subpixel for each of three colors, so calling subpixels "pixels" inflates the claimed resolution by a factor of three. This bit of marketing obfuscation is calculated as horizontal resolution × vertical resolution × 3. For example: 640 × 480 VGA is subpixels, or pixels, 800 × 600 SVGA is subpixels, or pixels, and 1024 × 768 XGA is subpixels, but only full-color pixels.
    2. Horizontal resolutions are approximated using the sampling theorem, while vertical resolutions (lines) are fixed, standardized values
    3. Web site: Scanning, Timing/Sync, Sync Recovery, Numbers. https://web.archive.org/web/20160507172318/http://www.ntsc-tv.com/ntsc-index-02.htm. 2016-05-07. usurped. ntsc-tv.com.
    4. Web site: NTSC and PAL video standards. https://web.archive.org/web/20170519010905/http://www.adobe.com:80/devnet/flash/learning_guide/video/part06.html. 2017-05-19. dead. adobe.com.
    5. 16:9 anamorphic available with some hardware.
    6. Book: The Massively Parallel Processing System JUMP-1. 9784274900839. 1996 . Tanaka . Hidehiko . Muraoka . Yōichi . Ohmsha .
    7. https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_ts/101100_101199/101154/02.06.01_60/ts_101154v020601p.pdf ETSI TS 101 154
    8. Web site: RED Digital Cinema DSMC2. red.com.
    9. Book: Digital compositing for film and video, Volume 10 . Steve Wright . 342 . Taylor & Francis . 2012 . 18 December 2013 . 9780240807607.
    10. Web site: Recording Resolution. www.cctv42.co.uk. 2015-11-14.