Analysis of Common Display Resolution & Aspect Ratio for your TVs, Phones & Monitors – Such as; VGA, SD, HD, FHD, UHD, 4K & 8K

Today, we are discussing aspect ratio and display resolutions for phones & TV. By this we mean how does the aspect ration affect a tv, computer or mobile phone’s screen?. For clarification, color quality is different from display resolution/aspect ration. What does it mean for picture or video to be shot in HD, full HD, UHD, 4K?.

To a layman average user, The difference between a standard video/image is the clarity. Well, why I won’t say this is totally false, it goes beyond that.

To reproduce a particular aspect ratio of a video or an image, your input device’s(receiver, media player, game console, smartphone) resolution must be same as your output device(monitor tv screen). To remove all ambiguity, the output quality and detailing is dependent on the device’s chip. In other words, you can’t compare the HD video quality of a Sony Xperia phone with that of infinix note phone. Similarly, you may not compare the picture/video reproduction of a brand name tv maker with that of a cheap knockoff on the same aspect ratio.

 

What is A Display Aspect Ratio?

The aspect ratio of a display device is the proportional relationship between its width and its height. It is expressed as two numbers separated by a colon (x:y). Common aspect ratios for displays, past and present, include 5:4, 4:3, 16:10 and 16:9(Most popular).

 

Important Facts About Graphic Display Resolutions & Aspect Ratio

• first off, you need to perform a within your device picture setting to match that of your output device for you to get the best picture size.
• Alternatively, you can set your TV display to automatically detect the input device’s best display.
• It is sometimes called picture size or vertical display
• You can also call it screen size or pixel density.
• It is also called Resolution or screen resolution
• It is more related to hardware than software. For example, if your device(e.g your mpeg2 decoder is not HD) and you connect it to the best HDTV in the world via AV port, you will definitely only a basic picture output. HD video on a 4K display, you may not get the best details. Simply use AV for all devices that are not HD ready of full HD  and use an HDMI  cable for HD display for the best result.
• 8K Display resolution is not yet popular and even where available is extremely expensive.
• It is safe to say every input devices that support connection to a TV or monitor via an HDM cable is an HD, FHD, UHD, 4K or 8K device.
• You can call full HD 2k display because it is a 4k display divided by two
• If you download an HD video and you want to watch it on an SD display, it is either it fails to play, or it crashes your device.
• The physical size does not directly relate to the picture quality or display graphics. For example, my mac is 13inch while my dell is 15.6 inches and my mac has a higher display resolution at 2560 x 1600 while my dell has 1920 x 1080.
• A satellite receiver behaves similarly. You cannot compare how detailed a strong 4950 will be to that of 4920 if both are displaying HD videos.
• Currently, we don’t have any paytv company who offers a 4k decoder. However, we have many standalone decoders and Android IPTV boxes that are 4k. For example, tiger 3000, ktv IPTV box, 3D decoders and so on.
• Quite a few game consoles now support the 4k display. For example, PS4 pro and Xbox one X.

Must Read:

• You have been hearing the word HDR10+ TV: What is HDR10+ and how does it relate to TV Displays?
• How to Get the Best Picture Color Calibration/Settings for Your 4k Oled/led/LCD HDTV
• Picture Quality Comparison between a Plasma, LCD, LED, OLED and Qled Televisions

 

Aspect Ratio & Display Resolutions for Phones & TV

The graphics display resolution is the width and height dimension of an electronic visual display device, such as a computer monitor, in pixels. Certain combinations of width and height are standardized and typically given a name and an initialism that is descriptive of its dimensions. A higher display resolution in a display of the same size means that displayed photo or video content appears sharper, and pixel art appears smaller. Display resolution or image size is usually measured in pixels. For example 1080 x 1920p(FHD).

What are the Various Display Resolutions that We have?

For the purpose of this write-up, i will not bother us with 3D because 3d requires a kind of glass to view before you can enjoy its presence. This is also similar to Virtual realityFurthermorere, display resolutions talk about width and height while the former comes first. For example, 1920 x 1080 means it is 1920 wide in pixel density and 1080 tall.

What is 8K Display Resolution?

According to Wikipedia, 8K resolution refers to any screen or display with around 8000 pixels width. 8K UHD, also known as Full UHD, FUHD, or Full Ultra HD is the current highest ultra high definition television (UHDTV) resolution in digital television, digital cinematography, and digital signage. 8K in 8K UHD refers to the horizontal resolution of 7,680 pixels, forming the total image dimensions of (7680×4320), also known as 4320p, which refers to the vertical resolution

What is a 4K/UHD Display Resolution? 

For the records, UHD(Ultra HD) is synonymous with 4k. In fact, they have the same height just a slight negligible difference in with)4K Ultra HD can generally refer to one of two high-definition resolutions.

Most commonly,  4K Ultra HD refers to a 3840 x 2160 pixels approximately 4000-pixel wide display), which has exactly twice as many pixel rows and columns as 1080p (1920×1080 pixels), and four times the overall pixel count, with the same 16:9 aspect ratio.

4K Ultra HD can also refer to the currently less common 4096 x 2160 pixel resolution

What is FHD, QHD & HD Display Resolutions 

A 1080p (1920×1080 px; also known as Full HD or FHD and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1080 horizontal lines of vertical resolution and progressive scan.

On the other hand, HD refers to 720p and 1080i / 1080p. The display resolution is 1280 × 720 or 1920 × 1080, but sometimes the horizontal pixel resolution is reduced, e.g. HDV which is 1440 × 1080 with non-square pixels.

You could also say that resolutions higher than this are also High Definition. So in one sense, it’s anything that isn’t a standard definition. Note that there is nothing like 720. Simply put it as; HD is 1080i(interlaced), while FHD is 1080p(progressive)

QHD or Quad HD – 2560 × 1440 is a whacky one, it’s twice the resolution of 720p. The “quad” refers to there being four times the pixels of a 720p frame. Not to be confused with QFHD

What is a Standard Definition(SD) Display Resolution?

SD refers to 576i / 480i (with the unusual EDTV variant being 576p and 480p). Display resolution is 768 × 576 PAL or 720 × 534 NTSC. Often, the actual pixel resolution is reduced, as in the case of DV: 720 × 576 PAL or 720 × 480 NTSC, with non-square pixels.

Most earlier decoders fall within this resolution. Some older Televisions are also within this. The same applies to some old computers. Also, most earlier TV outputs in SD.

What is A VGA Graphics Display Resolution?

What readily comes to mind is earlier smartphones resolution and computer VDU of the 80s. Now we are in the era of 4k and UHD phones. VGA stands for “Video Graphics Array”  and it is a popular display standard developed by IBM and introduced in 1987. VGA provides 640 x 480 resolution color display screens with a refresh rate of 60Hz and 16 colors displayed at a time. If the resolution is lowered to 320 x 200, 256 colors are shown.

Differences and Similarities Between 4K & UHD

Technically, “Ultra High Definition” is actually a derivation of the 4K digital cinema standard. However while your local multiplex shows images in native 4096 x 2160 4K resolution, the new Ultra HD consumer format has a slightly lower resolution of 3840 X 2160.

This is one reason why some brands prefer not to use the 4K label at all, sticking with Ultra HD or UHD instead. However, the numerical shorthand looks likely to stick. As a broad brush label, it’s so much snappier!

Let me also quickly add that, the closer you are to a 4k display, the crispier the images become. The ability to get up close to the screen without the image breaking down is one of the most intoxicating things about 4K. Sitting closer allows the same-sized screen to fill more of your visual field, which yields greater immersion.

The up-close factor is one of the reasons 4K computer monitors have become one of the technology’s fastest-growing sectors. 4K monitors remain pin-sharp even when you’re just a foot or two from the screen, as you are when you’re sitting at your desk

FHD Vs HD

FHD means full high definition while HD means high definition or call it hd ready device. Full HD or HD Ready 1080p means that the television or monitor is able to handle a High Definition signal of 1080 lines of information across the screen, and may mean that there is an HD tuner, such as Freeview HD or Freesat HD, built-in to receive HD channels without having to add an extra box.

HD Ready means that the television is able to handle a High Definition signal. It produces 720 lines of information across the screen which is not Full HD. It does not have a High Definition tuner built in, so the HD services would come from an external source such as Sky, Virgin or a recorder with HD built-in

Comparison Between Graphics Display/Screen Resolution and Aspect Ratio

As you can see from the image above, an aspect ratio is the ratio of the width of an image to the height of the image. This ratio is expressed as x:y e.g 4:3, 16:9, 16:10 e.t.c. In addition, it differs in the case of different images used in photography, television, computer applications, and so on. Changing this ratio may distort the images.

The resolution of an image is the total number of pixels displayed on your computer or television screen. Generally, the higher the resolution, the higher the quality of the image. Furthermore, it is important to note that the aspect ratio is largely dependent on your screen resolution

How can I choose the best  Display Resolution & aspect ratio for my Input Device?

I will give you a clue on how you can set the optimum/ideal vertical display resolution and aspect ratio for your screen. Basically, you can do this in two ways and I will look at each of these methods individually.

1. You can set the best or let me say highest graphics display resolution for your input devices such as game console, Blu-ray player, receivers, projectors, and so on from within your Monitor or TV picture settings. To do this, follow the steps below:

• Go to the menu on your TV settings>> then locate video/picture/image settings>>select picture size>> for HD tv, choose 720p or 576p, for FHD devices, select 1080i, 1080p; for 4K output, select 3840 X 2160. Finally, for 8K resolutions, select 7820p.
• Next, you can go to the aspect ratio and select whatever it is that closely matches the size. for example, if you selected 1080 x 1920 as your picture size, then your aspect ratio should be 16:9 otherwise, you may have a squashed image.

2. Alternatively, you can select your highest display resolution from within your input device’s settings. To do this, go to the picture settings of your input device and see the highest picture/video size available. Next, select this input and you are good to go. However, don’t forget to enable “fit to screen” or “set by the program” from within your TV settings. Below is an example of how you can choose the highest display resolution for the DStv Explora decoder.

Conclusion

I will advise that next time you are buying that laptop, game console, camera, television, decoder, projector or any display input device, develop a particular interest in the resolution and pixels.

If you are currently using a DStv Explora or a beIN 4K receiver, with an old SD television via an AV/RCA cord,  you are underutilizing the potential of your decoder.

Similarly, if you have a full HD device and you are connecting it to a full HD tv via an  AV/RCA cord or Scart socket, you are not maximizing your enjoyment.

Summarily, henceforth, use an HDMI cable to connect your HD device to your HD TV and see what you have been missing. In conclusion, to get the display resolution of any display including that of a phone, consult the user’s manual of such a device or visit the manufacturer’s website. There you will get the technical specifications of your device which will most definitely include the resolution.