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The graphics display resolution describes the width and height dimensions of a display, 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 means that displayed content appears sharper.

Aspect ratio[link]

Multiple display standards compared.

The gradual change of the favored aspect ratio of mass market display industry products, from 4:3, then to 16:10, and then to 16:9, has made many of the display resolutions listed in this article difficult to obtain in mass market products. The 4:3 aspect ratio generally reflects older products, especially the era of the cathode ray tube (CRT). The 16:10 aspect ratio had its largest use in the 1995–2010 period, and the 16:9 aspect ratio tends to reflect the newest (post 2010) mass market computer monitor, laptop, and entertainment products displays. In many cases the resolutions listed in the sections below may have a small market, may only be seen in specialized industrial or computer market products, or may not be available for sale.

The 4:3 aspect ratio was common in older television cathode ray tube (CRT) displays, which were not easily adaptable to a wider aspect ratio. When good quality alternate technologies (i.e., liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and plasma displays) became more available and less costly, around the year 2000, the common computer displays and entertainment products moved to a wider aspect ratio, first to the 16:10 ratio. The 16:10 ratio allowed some compromise between showing older 4:3 aspect ratio broadcast TV shows, but also allowing better viewing of widescreen movies. However, around the year 2005, entertainment industry displays (i.e., TV sets) gradually moved from 16:10 to the 16:9 aspect ratio, for further improvement of viewing widescreen movies. By about 2007, virtually all mass market entertainment displays were 16:9. In 2011, 1920×1080 was the favored resolution in the most heavily marketed entertainment market displays.

The computer display industry maintained the 16:10 aspect ratio longer than the entertainment industry, but in the 2005–2010 period, computers were increasingly marketed as dual use products, with uses in the traditional computer applications, but also as means of viewing entertainment content. In this time frame, almost all desktop, laptop, and display manufacturers gradually moved to promoting only 16:9 aspect ratio displays. By 2011, the 16:10 aspect ratio had virtually disappeared from the laptop display market. One artifact is that the highest available resolution in laptop displays moved downward in this time frame (i.e., the move from 1920×1200 laptop displays to 1920×1080 displays).

Video Graphics Array[link]

QQVGA (160×120)[link]

Quarter-QVGA (QQVGA or qqVGA) denotes a resolution of 160×120 or 120×160 pixels, usually used in displays of handheld devices. The term Quarter-QVGA signifies a resolution of one fourth the number of pixels in a QVGA display (half the number of vertical and half the number of horizontal pixels) which itself has one fourth the number of pixels in a VGA display.

The abbreviation qqVGA may be used to distinguish quarter from quad, just like qVGA.^[1]

HQVGA (240×160)[link]

Half-QVGA denotes a display screen resolution of 240×160 or 160×240 pixels, as seen on the Game Boy Advance. This resolution is half of QVGA, which is itself a quarter of VGA, which is 640×480 pixels.

QVGA (320×240)[link]

QVGA compared to VGA

The Quarter Video Graphics Array (also known as Quarter VGA, QVGA, or qVGA) is a popular term for a computer display with 320×240 display resolution. QVGA displays are most often used in mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA), and some handheld game consoles. Often the displays are in a “portrait” orientation (i.e., taller than they are wide, as opposed to “landscape”) and are referred to as 240×320.^[2]

The name comes from having a quarter of the 640×480 maximum resolution of the original IBM VGA display technology, which became a de facto industry standard in the late 1980s. QVGA is not a standard mode offered by the VGA BIOS, even though VGA and compatible chipsets support a QVGA-sized Mode X. The term refers only to the display's resolution and thus the abbreviated term QVGA or Quarter VGA is more appropriate to use.

QVGA resolution is also used in digital video recording equipment as a low-resolution mode requiring less data storage capacity than higher resolutions, typically in still digital cameras with video recording capability, and some mobile phones. Each frame is an image of 320×240 pixels. QVGA video is typically recorded at 15 or 30 frames per second. QVGA mode describes the size of an image in pixels, commonly called the resolution; numerous video file formats support this resolution.

While QVGA is a lower resolution than VGA, at higher resolutions the "Q" prefix commonly means quad(ruple) or four times higher display resolution (e.g., QXGA is 4 times higher resolution than XGA). To distinguish quarter from quad, lowercase "q" is sometimes used for "quarter" and uppercase "Q" for "quad", by analogy with SI prefixes like m/M and p/P, but this is not a consistent usage.^[3]

WQVGA (400×240)[link]

Wide QVGA or WQVGA is any display resolution having the same height in pixels as QVGA, but wider. This definition is consistent with other 'wide' versions of computer displays.

Since QVGA is 320 pixels wide and 240 pixels high (aspect ratio of 4:3), the resolution of a WQVGA screen might be 384×240 (8:5 aspect ratio), 400×240 (5:3—such as the Nintendo 3DS screen or the maximum resolution in YouTube at 240p), 428×240 or 432×240 (~16:9 ratio). As with WVGA, exact ratios of n:9 are not practical because of the way VGA controllers internally deal with pixels. For instance, when using graphical combinatorial operations on pixels, VGA controllers will use 1 bit per pixel. Since bits cannot be accessed individually but by chunks of 16 or an even higher power of 2, this limits the horizontal resolution to a 16-pixel granularity, i.e., the horizontal resolution must be divisible by 16. In the case of 16:9 ratio, with 240 pixels high, the horizontal resolution should be 240 / 9 × 16 = 426.6, the closest multiple of 16 is 432.

WQVGA has also been used to describe displays that are not 240 pixels high, for example Sixteenth HD1080 displays which are 480 pixels wide and 270 or 272 pixels high. This may be due to QVGA having the nearest screen height.

WQVGA resolutions are commonly used in touch screen mobile phones, such as 400×240, 432×240, and 480×240. For example, the Sony Ericsson Aino and the Samsung Instinct both have WQVGA screen resolutions—240×432. Other devices such as the Apple iPod nano also use a WQVGA screen, 240×376 pixels.

HVGA (480×320)[link]

HVGA (Half-size VGA) screens have 480×320 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio), 480×360 pixels (4:3 aspect ratio), 480×272 (~16:9 aspect ratio) or 640×240 pixels (8:3 aspect ratio). The former is used by a variety of PDA devices, starting with the Sony CLIÉ PEG-NR70 in 2002, and standalone PDAs by Palm. The latter was used by a variety of handheld PC devices. VGA resolution is 640×480.

Examples of devices that use HVGA include the Apple iPhone 2G–3GS, BlackBerry Bold 9000, HTC Dream, Hero, Wildfire S, LG GW620 Eve, MyTouch 3G Slide, Nokia 6260 Slide, Palm Pre, Samsung M900 Moment, and Sony Ericsson Xperia X8.

Texas Instruments produces the DLP pico projector which supports HVGA resolution.^[4]

HVGA was the only resolution supported in the first versions of Google Android, up to release 1.5.^[5] Other higher and lower resolutions are now available starting on release 1.6, like the popular WVGA resolution on the Motorola Droid or the QVGA resolution on the HTC Tattoo.

Three dimensional computer graphics common on television throughout the 1980s were mostly rendered at this resolution, causing objects to have jagged edges on the top and bottom when edges were not anti-aliased.

VGA (640×480)[link]

Video Graphics Array (VGA) refers specifically to the display hardware first introduced with the IBM PS/2 line of computers in 1987,^[6] but through its widespread adoption has also come to mean either an analog computer display standard, the 15-pin D-subminiature VGA connector or the 640×480 resolution itself. While this resolution was superseded in the personal computer market in the 1990s, it is becoming a popular resolution on mobile devices.^[7] VGA is still the universal fallback troubleshooting mode in the case of trouble with graphic device drivers in operating systems.

WVGA (800×480)[link]

Wide VGA or WVGA, sometimes just WGA, an abbreviation for Wide Video Graphics Array is any display resolution with the same 480 pixel height as VGA but wider, such as 800×480 (aspect ratio 5:3), 848×480, 852×480 or 854×480 (~16:9). It is a common resolution among LCD projectors and later portable and hand-held internet-enabled devices (such as MID and Netbooks) as it is capable of rendering web sites designed for an 800 wide window in full page-width. Examples of hand-held internet devices, without phone capability, with this resolution include: ASUS Eee PC 700 series, Dell XCD35, Nokia 770, N800, and N810.

Mobile phones with WVGA display resolution are also common. A list of mobile phones with WVGA display is available.

FWVGA (854×480)[link]

FWVGA is an abbreviation for Full Wide Video Graphics Array which refers to a display resolution of 854×480 pixels. 854×480 is approximately the 16:9 aspect ratio of anamorphically "un-squeezed" NTSC DVD widescreen video and considered a "safe" resolution that does not crop any of the image. It is called Full WVGA to distinguish it from other, narrower WVGA resolutions which require cropping 16:9 aspect ratio high-definition video (i.e. it is full width, albeit with considerable reduction in size). The 854 pixel width is rounded up from 853.3. 480 × ¹⁶⁄₉ = ⁷⁶⁸⁰⁄₉ = 853¹⁄₃. Since a pixel must be a whole number, rounding up to 854 ensures inclusion of the entire image.^[8] Due to physical devices often being manufactured with pixel resolutions that are multiples of 16, the horizontal resolution of 854 may be implemented by the OS simply pretending the 10 edgemost columns, from a full physical width of 864, don't exist.^{[citation needed]}

In 2010, mobile phones with FWVGA display resolution started to become more common. A list of mobile phones with FWVGA displays is available.

SVGA (800×600)[link]

Super Video Graphics Array or Ultra Video Graphics Array,^[9] almost always abbreviated to Super VGA, Ultra VGA or just SVGA or UVGA is a broad term that covers a wide range of computer display standards.^[10]

Originally, it was an extension to the VGA standard first released by IBM in 1987. Unlike VGA—a purely IBM-defined standard—Super VGA was defined by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), an open consortium set up to promote interoperability and define standards. When used as a resolution specification, in contrast to VGA or XGA for example, the term SVGA normally refers to a resolution of 800 × 600 pixels.

DVGA (960×640)[link]

DVGA (Double-size VGA) screens have 960×640 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio). Both dimensions are double that of HVGA, hence the pixel count is quadrupled.

Examples of devices that use DVGA include the Apple iPhone 4/4S, where the screen is called "Retina Display".

WSVGA (1024×576/600)[link]

The wide version of SVGA is known as WSVGA (Wide Super VGA), featured on Ultra-Mobile PCs, netbooks, and tablet computers. The resolution is either 1024×576 (aspect ratio 16:9) or 1024×600 (between 15:9 and 16:9) with screen sizes normally ranging from 7 to 10 inches.

Extended Graphics Array[link]

XGA (1024×768)[link]

XGA, the Extended Graphics Array, is an IBM display standard introduced in 1990. Later it became the most common appellation of the 1024×768 pixels display resolution, but the official definition is broader than that. It was not a new and improved replacement for Super VGA, but rather became one particular subset of the broad range of capabilities covered under the "Super VGA" umbrella.

The initial version of XGA expanded upon IBM's VGA, adding support for two resolutions:

• 800×600 pixels with high color (16 bits per pixel; i.e. 65,536 colors).
• 1024×768 pixels with a palette of 256 colors (8 bits per pixel)

Like its predecessor (the IBM 8514), XGA offered fixed function hardware acceleration to offload processing of 2D drawing tasks. XGA and 8514 could offload line-draw, bitmap-copy (bitblt), and color-fill operations from the host CPU. XGA's acceleration was faster than 8514's, and more comprehensive in that it supported more drawing primitives and XGA's 16 bits per pixel (65,536 color) display-mode.

XGA-2 added Truecolor mode for 640×480, high color mode and higher refresh rates for 1024×768, and improved accelerator performance. All XGA modes have a 4:3 aspect ratio rounded to 8 pixels.

XGA should not be confused with EVGA (Extended Video Graphics Array), a contemporaneous VESA standard that also has 1024×768 pixels.

WXGA (1280×768)[link]

Wide Extended Graphics Array (Wide XGA or WXGA) is a set of non standard resolutions derived from the XGA display standard by widening it to a wide screen aspect ratio. WXGA is commonly used for low-end LCD TVs and LCD computer monitors for widescreen presentation.

When referring to televisions and other monitors intended for consumer entertainment use, WXGA is generally understood to refer to a resolution of 1366 (1365.333)×768,^[11] with an aspect ratio of 16:9. In 2006 this was the most popular resolution for liquid crystal display televisions while XGA was for Plasma TVs flat panel displays.^[12]

When referring to laptop displays or monitors intended primarily as computer displays, WXGA is most commonly used to refer to a resolution of 1280×800 pixels with an aspect ratio of 16:10.^[13][14][15] This resolution is particularly popular for most laptops with a 14" or 15" screen. The exact resolution this refers to is somewhat variable, however, as the 1280xnnn resolutions were among the first widescreen resolutions commonly used, and term entered use (especially for laptop displays) before the broad standardization 16:10 for widescreen computer displays.

Overall, several resolutions have been labeled as WXGA. 1280×720^[16] provides perfectly square pixels at an aspect ratio of 16:9, while the additional pixels in 1280×768^[17] and 1280×800 must be ignored to give the 16:9 ratio without vertical stretching of the image. 1360×768 and 1366×768 come very close to 16:9, displaying exactly square pixels if 1360×765 pixels of the display are used.

Recent widespread availability of 1280×800 pixel resolution LCDs for laptop monitors can be considered an OS driven evolution from the formerly popular 1024×768 screen size. In Microsoft Windows operating system specifically, the task bar when fit to the bottom of the screen occupies about 30 pixels, allowing a program window sized 1024×768 pixels to fit on screen without obstruction(800-768=32). Operating the Windows Sidebar in Windows Vista can use the remaining width of 256 pixels (1280-1024).

720p is a related HDTV video display resolution measuring 1280×720 pixels.

1440×900 resolution displays have also been found labeled as WXGA; however, the correct label is actually WSXGA or WXGA+.

XGA+ (1152×864)[link]

XGA+ stands for Extended Graphics Array Plus and is a computer display standard. XGA+ is often used on 17 inch desktop CRT monitors. XGA+ is usually understood to refer to the 1152×864 resolution with an aspect ratio of 4:3. As widescreen LCD are getting increasingly popular, this resolution is decreasing in use, but it is the native resolution of some 17 inch 4:3 LCD displays.

Historically, the resolution relates to the earlier standard of 1152×900 pixels, which was adopted by Sun Microsystems for the Sun-2 workstation in the early 1980s. This resolution is close to the maximum practical which, using one byte per pixel, can fit into a video memory or frame-buffer of one megabyte. However, its aspect ratio is 3.84:3 (1.28:1). When Apple Computer defined a standard resolution for 21-inch CRT monitors, intended for use as Two-Page Displays on the Macintosh II computer, Apple selected instead 1152×864, which is the highest 4:3 resolution below one million pixels.

XGA+ is the next step after XGA (1024×768), although it's not approved by any standard organizations. The next step with an aspect ratio of 4:3 is 1280×960 ("SXGA−") or SXGA+ (1400×1050).

WXGA+ (1440×900)[link]

WXGA+ and WSXGA are non-standard terms referring to computer display resolutions. Usually they refer to a resolution of 1440×900,^{[citation needed]} but occasionally manufacturers use other terms to refer to this resolution (for example, [2]). The Standard Panels Working Group refers to the 1440×900 resolution as WXGA(II).^[18]

WSXGA and WXGA+ can be considered enhanced versions of WXGA with more pixels, or as widescreen variants of SXGA. The aspect ratios of each are 16:10 (widescreen).

WXGA+ (1440×900) resolution is common in 19" widescreen desktop monitors (a very small number of such monitors uses WSXGA+), and is also optional, although less common, in laptop LCDs, in sizes ranging from 12.1" to 17".

SXGA (1280×1024)[link]

SXGA is an abbreviation for Super Extended Graphics Array referring to a standard monitor resolution of 1280×1024 pixels. This display resolution is the "next step" above the XGA resolution that IBM developed in 1990.

The 1280×1024 resolution is not the standard 4:3 aspect ratio, but 5:4 (1.25:1 instead of 1.333:1). A standard 4:3 monitor using this resolution will have rectangular rather than square pixels, meaning that unless the software compensates for this the picture will be distorted, causing circles to appear elliptical.

There is a less common 1280×960 resolution that preserves the common 4:3 aspect ratio. It is sometimes unofficially called SXGA− to avoid confusion with the "standard" SXGA. Elsewhere this 4:3 resolution was also called UVGA (Ultra VGA): Since both sides are doubled from VGA the term Quad VGA would be a systematic one, but it is hardly ever used, because its initialism QVGA is strongly associated with the alternate meaning Quarter VGA (320×240).

SXGA is the most common native resolution of 17" and 19" LCD monitors. An LCD monitor with SXGA native resolution will typically have a physical 5:4 aspect ratio, preserving a 1:1 pixel aspect ratio.

Apple Computer referred to displays with this resolution as "two-page displays",^[19] because they could be used to display two A4 pages side-by-side at a resolution of 72 dots per inch. Sony manufactured a 17" CRT monitor with a 5:4 aspect ratio designed for this resolution. It was sold under the Apple brand name.

SXGA is also a popular resolution for cell phone cameras, such as the Motorola Razr and most Samsung and LG phones. Although being taken over by newer UXGA (2.0 megapixel) cameras, the 1.3 megapixel was the most common around 2007.

Any CRT that can run 1280×1024 can also run 1280×960, which has the standard 4:3 ratio. Displaying any 4:3 resolution on a 5:4 monitor, like a TFT with a native resolution of 1280×1024, will look stretched. But on a TFT, displaying any other resolution than the native one is not a good idea anyway, as the image needs to be interpolated to fit in the fixed grid display (and some TFT displays do not allow a user to disable this and use a letterbox format).

The 1280×1024 resolution became popular because at 24-bit color it fit well into 4 megabytes of video RAM^{[citation needed]}. At the time, memory was extremely expensive. Using 1280×1024 at 24-bit color depth allowed using 3.75 MiB of video RAM, fitting nicely with VRAM chip sizes which were available at the time (4 MiB).

(1280 × 1024) px × 8 bit/px ÷ 8 bit/byte ÷ 2²⁰ byte/MiB = 1.25 MiB

(1280 × 1024) px × 24 bit/px ÷ 8 bit/byte ÷ 2²⁰ byte/MiB = 3.75 MiB

SXGA+ (1400×1050)[link]

SXGA+ stands for Super Extended Graphics Array Plus and is a computer display standard. An SXGA+ display is commonly used on 14 inch or 15 inch laptop LCD screens with a resolution of 1400×1050 pixels. An SXGA+ display is used on a few 12 inch laptop screens such as the ThinkPad X60 and X61 (both only as tablet) as well as the Toshiba Portégé M200 and M400, but these are far less common. Dell offered a 14.1" SXGA+ screen on the many of the Dell Latitude "C" series laptops, such as the C640 and the C810. Sony also used SXGA+ in their Z1 series, but no longer produce them as wide screen has become more predominant.

There is a widescreen version of SXGA+ called WSXGA+ with a resolution of 1680×1050. This is a common native resolution of 19-22 inch wide-aspect LCD monitors, and is also available on many laptops.

It is the next common step in resolution after SXGA, although it is not approved by any organization. The most common resolution immediately above is called UXGA (sometimes also known as UGA) which has 1600×1200 pixels.

In desktop LCDs, SXGA+ is used on some low-end 20" monitors, whereas most of the 20" LCDs use UXGA (standard screen ratio), or WSXGA+ (widescreen ratio).

WSXGA+ (1680×1050)[link]

WSXGA+ stands for Widescreen Super Extended Graphics Array Plus and is a computer display standard. A WSXGA+ display is commonly used on Widescreen 20", 21", and popular 22" LCD monitors from numerous manufacturers (and a very small number of 19" widescreen monitors), as well as widescreen 15.4" and 17" laptop LCD screens like the Thinkpad T61 and the Apple 15" MacBook Pro. The resolution is 1680×1050 pixels (1,764,000 pixels) and has a 16:10 aspect ratio.

WSXGA+ is the widescreen version of SXGA+, but it is not approved by any organization. The next highest resolution (for widescreen) after it is WUXGA, which is 1920×1200 pixels.

UXGA (1600×1200)[link]

UXGA or UGA is an abbreviation for Ultra Extended Graphics Array referring to a standard monitor resolution of 1600×1200 pixels (totaling 1,920,000 pixels), which is exactly four times the default resolution of SVGA (800×600) (totaling 480,000 pixels). Dell Computer refers to the same resolution of 1,920,000 pixels as UGA. It is generally considered to be the next step above SXGA (1280×960 or 1280×1024), but some resolutions (such as the unnamed 1366×1024 and SXGA+ at 1400×1050) fit between the two.

UXGA has been the native resolution of many fullscreen monitors of 15" or more, including laptop LCDs such as the ones in ThinkPad A21p, A31p, T42p, and T43p; Dell Inspiron 8000/8100/8200; Panasonic Toughbook CF-51; and the original Alienware Area 51m. However, in more recent times, UXGA is not used in laptops at all but rather in desktop UXGA monitors that have been made in sizes of 20" and 21.3". Some 14" laptop LCDs with UXGA have also existed, but these were very rare.

There are two different widescreen cousins of UXGA, one called UWXGA with 1600×768 (750) and one called WUXGA with 1920×1200 resolution.

WUXGA (1920×1200)[link]

WUXGA stands for Widescreen Ultra Extended Graphics Array and is a display resolution of 1920×1200 pixels (2,304,000 pixels) with a 16:10 screen aspect ratio.

It is a wide version of UXGA, and can be used for viewing high-definition television (HDTV) content, which uses a 16:9 aspect ratio and a 1920×1080 resolution.

The 16:10 aspect ratio (as opposed to the 16:9 used in widescreen televisions) was chosen because this aspect ratio is appropriate for displaying two full pages of text side by side.^[20]

WUXGA resolution is equivalent to 2.304 megapixels. An 8-bit RGB WUXGA image has an uncompressed size of 6.912 MiB. This was the highest resolution that was ever commonly available in the computer display industry, but its use had been almost completely ended by 2010 as the computer industry moved to the 16:9 aspect ratio (i.e., 1920×1080 is the highest resolution available from most laptop and computer monitor manufacturers). This resolution is currently available in a few high-end LCD televisions and computer monitors, the latter of which are typically in the size range of approximately 23"–28" for desktop monitors, but has become almost completely unavailable on notebook monitors. A small number of 22" WUXGA desktop monitors exist (i.e., Lenovo L220x and Samsung T220P). WUXGA use predates the introduction of LCDs of that resolution. Most QXGA displays support 1920×1200 and widescreen CRTs such as the Sony GDM-FW900 and Hewlett Packard A7217A do as well.

The next lower resolution (for widescreen) before it is WSXGA+, which is 1680×1050 pixels (1,764,000 pixels, or 30.61% fewer than the WUXGA); the next higher resolution widescreen is an unnamed 2304×1440 resolution (supported by the above GDM-FW900 & A7217A) and then the more common WQXGA, which has 2560×1600 pixels (4,096,000 pixels, or 77.78% more than WUXGA).

There are two wider formats called UWXGA 1600×768 (25:12) and UW-UXGA that has 2560×1080 pixels, a 2.37:1 or 21⅓:9 or 64:27 aspect ratio, sometimes erroneously labeled 21:9.

Quad XGA[link]

The QXGA, or Quad Extended Graphics Array, display standard is a resolution standard in display technology. Some examples of LCD monitors that have pixel counts at these levels are the Dell 3008WFP, the Apple Cinema Display, and the iPad (3rd generation). It should also be noted, however, that many standard 21"/22" CRT monitors and some of the highest-end 19" CRTs also support this resolution.

QWXGA (2048×1152)[link]

QWXGA (Quad Wide Extended Graphics Array) is a display resolution of 2048×1152 pixels with a 16:9 aspect ratio. A few LCD QWXGA monitors are available with 23 and 27 inch displays, such as the Acer B233HU (23") and B273HU (27"), the Dell SP2309W, and the Samsung 2343BWX.

QXGA (2048×1536)[link]

QXGA (Quad Extended Graphics Array) is a display resolution of 2048×1536 pixels with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The name comes from it having four times as many pixels as an XGA display. Examples of LCDs with this resolution are the IBM T210 and the Eizo G33 and R31 screens, but in CRT monitors this resolution is much more common; some examples include the Sony F520,ViewSonic G225fB, NEC FP2141SB or Mitsubishi DP2070SB, Iiyama Vision Master Pro 514, and Dell and HP P1230. Of these monitors, none is still in production. A related display size is WQXGA, which is a wide screen version. CRTs offer a way to achieve QXGA cheaply. Models like the Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2045U and IBM ThinkVision C220P retailed for around 200 USD, and even higher performance ones like the ViewSonic PerfectFlat P220fB remained under 500 USD. At one time, many off-lease P1230s could be found on eBay for under 150 USD. The LCDs with WQXGA or QXGA resolution typically cost 4 to 5 times more for the same resolution. IDTech manufactured a 15" QXGA IPS panel. NEC had sold laptops with QXGA screens in 2002-2005 for Japanese market.^[21][22] The iPad (3rd generation) also has a QXGA display.^[23]

WQXGA (2560×1600)[link]

WQXGA (Wide Quad Extended Graphics Array) is a display resolution of 2560×1600 pixels with a 16:10 aspect ratio. The name comes from it being a wide version of QXGA and having four times as many pixels as an WXGA (1280×800) display.

To obtain a vertical refresh rate higher than 40 Hz, this resolution requires more bandwidth than a single link DVI supports and requires dual-link capable cables and devices. To avoid cable problems monitors are sometimes shipped with an appropriate dual link cable already plugged in. Many video cards support this resolution.

One feature that is currently unique to the 30" WQXGA monitors is the ability to function as the centerpiece and main display of a three-monitor array of complementary aspect ratios, with two UXGA (1600×1200) 20" monitors turned vertically on either side. The resolutions are equal, and the size of the 1600 resolution edges (if the manufacturer is honest) is within a tenth of an inch (16" vs. 15.89999"), presenting a "picture window view" without the extreme lateral dimensions, small central panel, asymmetry, resolution differences, or dimensional difference of other three-monitor combinations. The resulting 4960×1600 composite image has a 3.1:1 aspect ratio. This also means one UXGA 20" monitor in portrait orientation can also be flanked by two 30" WQXGA monitors for a 6320×1600 composite image with a 11.85:3 (79:20, 3.95:1) aspect ratio.

In 2010, WQXGA made its debut in a handful of home theater projectors targeted at the Contant Height Screen application market. Both Digital Projection Inc and projectiondesign released models based on a Texas Instrument DLP chip with a native WQXGA resolution, alleviating the need for an anamorphic lens to achieve 1:2.35 image projection.

Before 2007, devices that could display this resolution were very rare, but many manufacturers have since come out with a 27"–30" model that is capable of WQXGA, albeit at a much higher price than lower resolution monitors of the same size. Several mainstream WQXGA monitors are available with 30 inch displays, such as the Apple Cinema Display, the Dell UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC, Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP and Dell UltraSharp 3011, the Hewlett-Packard LP3065, the Gateway XHD3000, LG W3000H, and the Samsung 305T. Specialist manufacturers like Eizo, Planar Systems, Barco (LC-3001), and possibly others offer similar models. A unique ability of some of the medical displays such as the Barco Coronis 4MP is the ability be configured as two virtual 1200×1600 or 1280×1600 seamless displays by using both DVI ports at the same time.

QSXGA (2560×2048)[link]

QSXGA (Quad Super Extended Graphics Array) is a display resolution of 2560×2048 pixels with a 5:4 aspect ratio. Grayscale monitors with a 2560×2048 resolution, primarily for medical use, are available from Planar Systems (Dome E5), Eizo (Radiforce G51), Barco (Nio 5,MP), WIDE (IF2105MP), IDTech (IAQS80F), and possibly others.

Recent medical displays such as Barco Coronis Fusion 10MP or NDS Dome S10 have native panel resolution of 4096×2560. These are driven by two dual link DVI or displayports. They can be considered to be two seamless virtual QSXGA displays as they have to be driven simultaneously by both dual link DVI or displayport since one dual link DVI or displayport cannot single-handedly display 10 megapixels.

A similar resolution of 2560×1920 (4:3) was supported by a small number of CRT displays via VGA such as the Viewsonic P225f when paired with the right graphics card.

WQSXGA (3200×2048)[link]

WQSXGA (Wide Quad Super Extended Graphics Array) describes a display standard that can support a resolution up to 3200×2048 pixels, assuming a 1.56:1 (25:16) aspect ratio. The Coronis Fusion 6MP DL by Barco supports 3280×2048 (approx. 16:10).

QUXGA (3200×2400)[link]

QUXGA (Quad Ultra Extended Graphics Array) describes a display standard that can support a resolution up to 3200×2400 pixels, assuming a 4:3 aspect ratio.

WQUXGA (3840×2400)[link]

The IBM T221 display

WQUXGA (Wide Quad Ultra Extended Graphics Array) describes a display standard that supports a resolution of 3840×2400 pixels, which provides a 16:10 aspect ratio. This resolution is exactly four times 1920×1200 (in pixels).

WQUXGA is the maximum resolution supported by DisplayPort 1.2, though actually displaying such a resolution on a device with DisplayPort 1.2 is dependent on the graphics system in much the same way devices with VGA connectors do not necessarily maximize that standard's highest possible resolution.

In June 2001, WQUXGA was introduced in the IBM T220 LCD monitor using a LCD panel built by IDTech. LCD displays that support WQUXGA resolution include: IBM T220, IBM T221 (models DG1, DG3, DG4, DG5), Iiyama AQU5611DTBK, ViewSonic VP2290,^[24] ADTX MD22292B, and IDTech MD22292 (models B0, B1, B2, B5, C0, C2). IDTech was the original equipment manufacturer which sold these monitors to ADTX, IBM, Iiyama, and ViewSonic.^[25]

Most display cards with a DVI connector are capable of supporting the 3840×2400 resolution. However, the maximum refresh rate will be limited by the number of DVI links which are connected to the monitor. 1, 2, or 4 DVI connectors are used to drive the monitor using various tile configurations. Only the IBM T221-DG5 and IDTech MD22292B5 support the use of dual-link DVI ports through an external converter box.

Many systems using these monitors use at least 2 DVI connectors to send video to the monitor. These DVI connectors can be from the same graphics card, different graphics cards, or even different computers. Motion across the tile boundary(ies) can show tearing if the DVI links are not synchronized. The display panel can be updated at a speed between 0 Hz and 41 Hz (48 Hz for the IBM T221-DG5, and IDTech MD22292B5). The refresh rate of the video signal can be higher than 41 Hz (or 48 Hz) but the monitor will not update the display any faster if graphics card(s) do so.

There was one series of WQUXGA displays in the consumer marketplace, but it was discontinued in Q2 of 2005. That series of displays had prices which were well above even the higher end displays used by graphic professionals. In addition, the lower refresh rates, 41 Hz and 48 Hz, made them less attractive for many applications. None of the WQUXGA monitors (IBM, ViewSonic, Iiyama, ADTX) are in production anymore.

Hyper XGA[link]

The HXGA display standard and its derivatives are a standard in display technology. As of 2012, there is no monitor that displays at these levels but several digital cameras can record such images. An example can be found in HIPerSpace of a case where multiple WQXGA displays must be stacked to exceed HXGA resolution.

HXGA (4096×3072)[link]

HXGA an abbreviation for Hex[adecatuple] Extended Graphics Array is a display standard that can support a resolution of 4096×3072 pixels (or 3200 pixels) with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The name comes from it having sixteen (hexadecatuple) times as many pixels as an XGA display. A related display size is WHXGA, which is a wide screen version.

WHXGA (5120×3200)[link]

WHXGA an abbreviation for Wide Hex[adecatuple] Extended Graphics Array is a display standard that can support a resolution of roughly 5120×3200 pixels with a 16:10 aspect ratio. The name comes from it being a wide version of HXGA, which has sixteen (hexadecatuple) times as many pixels as an XGA display. It would require four WQXGA devices to display at this resolution. A resolution of 5120×3072 should, in theory, also qualify as WHXGA, if such a display were to be made.

HSXGA (5120×4096)[link]

HSXGA, an abbreviation for Hex[adecatuple] Super Extended Graphics Array, is a display standard that can support a resolution of roughly 5120×4096 pixels with a 5:4 aspect ratio. The name comes from it having sixteen (hexadecatuple) times as many pixels as an SXGA display.

WHSXGA (6400×4096)[link]

WHSXGA, an abbreviation for Wide Hex[adecatuple] Super Extended Graphics Array, is a display standard that can support a resolution up to 6400×4096 pixels, assuming a 1.56:1 (25:16) aspect ratio. The name comes from it having sixteen (hexadecatuple) times as many pixels as an WSXGA display.

HUXGA (6400×4800)[link]

HUXGA, an abbreviation for Hex[adecatuple] Ultra Extended Graphics Array, is a display standard that can support a resolution of roughly 6400×4800 pixels with a 4:3 aspect ratio. The name comes from it having sixteen (hexadecatuple) times as many pixels as an UXGA display.

WHUXGA (7680×4800)[link]

WHUXGA an abbreviation for Wide Hex[adecatuple] Ultra Extended Graphics Array, is a display standard that can support a resolution up to 7680×4800 pixels, assuming a 8:5 (16:10) aspect ratio. The name comes from it having sixteen (hexadecatuple) times as many pixels as a WUXGA display. A WHUXGA image consists of 36,864,000 pixels (approximately 37 megapixels). UHDTV requires a display of similar resolution (7680×4320) for properly displaying UHDTV content, which is 16 times the pixel count of the 1080p ATSC HDTV video standard.

High-Definition[link]

nHD (640×360)[link]

nHD is a display resolution of 640×360 pixels, which is exactly one ninth of a Full HD (1080p) frame and one quarter of a HD (720p) frame. 2×2 nHD frames will form one 720p frame and 3×3 nHD frames will form one 1080p frame.

One drawback of this resolution is that the vertical resolution is not an even multiple of 16, which is a common macroblock size for video codecs. Video frames encoded with 16×16 pixel macroblocks would be padded to 640×368 and the added pixels would be cropped away at playback. The same is true for qHD and 1080p but the relative amount of padding is more for lower resolutions such as nHD.

To avoid storing padding data, some people prefer to encode video at 624×352. When such video streams are either encoded from HD frames or played back on HD displays in full screen mode (either 720p or 1080p) they are scaled by non-integer scale factors. True nHD frames on the other hand has integer scale factors.

qHD (960×540)[link]

qHD is a display resolution of 960×540 pixels, which is exactly one quarter of a Full HD (1080p) frame, in a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Similar to DVGA, this resolution became popular for high-end smartphone displays in early 2011. Mobile phones including the HTC Sensation, HTC Evo 3D, Motorola Droid RAZR, and Motorola Atrix 4G have displays with the qHD resolution, as does the PlayStation Vita portable game system.

HD (1280×720)[link]

The HD resolution of 1280×720 pixels stems from high-definition television (HDTV), where it originally used 60 frames per second. With its 16:9 aspect ratio it is exactly 2 times the width and 1 ¹⁄₂ times the height of 4:3 VGA, which shares its aspect ratio and 480 line count with NTSC. HD therefore has exactly 3 times as many pixels as VGA.

This resolution is sometimes referred to as 720p, although the p (which stands for progressive scan and is important for transmission formats) is irrelevant for labeling digital display resolutions.

Few screens have been built that actually use this resolution natively, most employ 16:9 panels with 768 lines instead (WXGA), which resulted in odd numbers of pixels per line, i.e. 1365 ¹⁄₃ are rounded to 1360, 1364, 1366 or even 1376, the next multiple of 16. All of these resolutions are in scope of the "HD ready" label. The "HTC Rezound" smartphone has this kind of display.

FHD (1920×1080)[link]

The FHD or Full HD resolution of 1920×1080 pixels in a 16:9 aspect ratio was developed as an HDTV transmission and storage format using interlacing and then have bandwidth demands very similar to those of 720p, therefore their pixel counts are roughly in a 2:1 ratio, 9:4 exactly. FHD is 3 times the width and 2 ¹⁄₄ times the height of 4:3 VGA.

Due to its origins described above, this resolution is sometimes referred to as 1080i, wherein the i stands for "interlaced". Since there are also progressive signals with the same frame rate, but half the field rate, or less, it sometimes is also called 1080p.

Since most video codecs use 16×16 pixel macro blocks there is often an excess 8 lines encoded, for 16 times 68 equals 1088.

WQHD (2560×1440)[link]

WQHD (Wide Quad High Definition) is a display resolution of 2560×1440 pixels in a 16:9 aspect ratio. It is four times the pixel resolution of the 720p HDTV video standard, hence the name.

This resolution was under consideration by the ATSC in the late 1990s to become the standard HDTV format, because it is exactly 4 times the width and 3 times the height of VGA, which has the same amount of lines as NTSC signals at the SDTV 4:3 aspect ratio. Pragmatic technical constraints made them choose the now well-known 16:9 formats with twice (HD) and thrice (FHD) the VGA width instead.

In autumn 2006, Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) announced a 47" 1440 LCD panel to be released in Q2 2007;^[26] the panel was planned to finally debut at FPD International 2008 in a form on autostereoscopic 3D display.^[27]

Some examples of LCD monitors that have pixel counts at these levels are the Dell UltraSharp U2711,^[28] NEC MultiSync PA271W,^[29] and the 27" iMac.^[30]

QFHD (3840×2160)[link]

QFHD (Quad Full High Definition), also known as 4K or 4K UHDTV, is a display resolution of 3840×2160 pixels arranged in a 16:9 aspect ratio.^[31] In 2012 ITU drafts, this resolution is part of the UHDTV standard.^[32] It is four times the resolution of the 1080p HDTV video standard, hence the name (Quad meaning 4). HDMI 1.4 supports QFHD.^[33]

In early 2008, Samsung revealed a proof-of-concept 82-inch LCD TV set capable of this resolution^[34] and LG has demonstrated an 84-inch display.^[35]

CMI has built a 27.84" 158 PPI QFHD IPS panel for medical displays since November 2010.^[36] Optik View has two versions of 56" QFHD monitors. DC801 has 2 Dual Link DVI input; DC802 has 4 Single Link DVI input. Both can deliver a resolution of 3840x2160.^[37] Eyevis produces a 56" LCD named EYELCD 56 QHD HD while Toshiba makes the P56QHD and in October 2011 released the REGZA 55x3,^[38] which is claimed to be the First QFHD glasses-free 3D TV, Mitsubishi Electric the 56P-QF60LCU, and Sony the SRM-L560, all which can deliver a resolution of 3840×2160.^[39] Landmark has also produced a 56" QFHD monitor, the M5600.^[40]

UHD (7680×4320)[link]

UHD (Ultra High Definition), also known as 8K or 8K UHDTV,^[32] is a proposed display standard advocated by NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories. It has a resolution of 7680×4320 pixels (16 times the resolution of FHD) in the same 16:9 aspect ratio.

See also[link]

• Display resolution
• Mode 13h and Mode X, video modes in VGA (including VGA-compatible and successors to VGA, such as VESA) hardware with a resolution profile similar to QVGA

References[link]

v t e Computer display standards Video hardware MDA HGC CGA PGC EGA VGA (640x480) MCGA 8514 XGA (1024×768) Size comparison Display resolutions 160×120 240×160 320×200 320×240 480x320 640x480 1024x600 1280×720 1280×768 1152×864 1280×1024 1400×1050 1920×1080 2048×1152 1600x1200 2048×1536 2560×2048 3840x2160 3200x2400 4096×3072 5120×4096 7680×4320 7680×4800 High Definition 1366×768 (commonly mistaken as 1360x768 or 1366x786) 1600×900 1920×1080 1920×1200