Definition of Video Resolution

In digital video, resolution is the ratio of the number of pixels into which the screen is divided vertically and horizontally, indicated, for example, in 1920x1080 (horizontal by vertical), or 800x600.

A pixel is the smallest Unit into which a screen is divided, and it is an element that, conceptually, we can understand as three light bulbs very small, of three different colors (usually red, green and blue), of which only lights up one. These "little bulbs" are not like the bulbs we have at home, with filament, but of a very different type and microscopic in size.

The higher the two numerical terms of the resolution, the higher the definition of the screen.

The first number indicates how many pixels the screen is divided into its length or, in other words, how many columns we count, while the second number tells us how many rows we have.

Dividing both numbers we find what is called aspect ratio, and which is defined as the ratio between its width and its height

So, for example, the 4: 3 aspect ratio means that for every four units (of any) of the length of the picture, we will be three high or that, if we take the length and divide it into four parts, the height can be expressed exactly as three of those same parts.

There are many different aspect ratios used, although the most common (for stills and movies / videos are the aforementioned 4: 3, 16: 9, 16:10 and 17: 9 (UHD resolutions).

There are a number of standard resolutions:

• QVGA: 320x240. Used in screens of wearables and mobile devices.


• Vga: 640x480. For a long time, it was the standard in microcomputers, in the early / mid-eighties.


• SVGA: 800x600.


• XGA: 1024x768


• HD 720: 1280x720. It is also known as HD Ready.


• HD 1080: 1920x1080. Also called Full HD.


• 2K: 2048x1080

From 4K resolutions (about 4,000 pixels horizontally) they are already known as UHD, which stands for Ultra High Definition (Ultra High Definition).

The maximum resolution that any two-part system can offer (for example, computer Y monitor, or smartphone and external monitor) is delimited by the maximum resolution that both have in common and are compatible.

This means that if, for example, we connect a computer whose maximum resolution of the video card is 640x480 to a monitor that can offer 1024x768, the one that will prevail is the resolution of 640x480, since it is the maximum common.

What we can do is configure the system to a lower resolution, something that we can do through the panel control of operating system.

Photos: Fotolia - mykhailobokovan / troog