Graphic display resolutions

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 acronym that is descriptive of its dimensions. A higher display resolution means that displayed content appears sharper and smaller (depending on the physical size of the display).

Video graphics array

VGA (640x480)

WVGA (800×480)

Wide VGA or WVGA 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, 848×480, or 854×480. 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. A well-known example is the ASUS Eee PC 700 series, but also the Nokia 770, N800, N810 and N900 models.

As of 2010, mobile phones with WVGA display resolution are becoming more common. A list of mobile phones with WVGA displays is available.

FWVGA (854×480)

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}}. Since a pixel must be a whole number, rounding up to 854 ensures inclusion of the entire image.

As of 2010, mobile phones with FWVGA display resolution include:

Motorola Defy

Motorola Droid X

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10

LG GD880 Mini

QVGA (320×240)

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, PDAs, 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.

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 k/K and m/M, but this is not a consistent usage.

WQVGA (432×240)

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), a WQVGA screen might be 384 pixels wide for 8:5 aspect ratio, 400 for 5:3 (such as the Nintendo 3DS screen), or 432 for 9:5. As with WVGA, ratios of N:9 are not practical because 240/9 is not an integer.

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

WQVGA resolutions are common used in touch screen mobile phones, such as 240×400, 240×432, and 240×480. Other devices like Apple iPod nano uses a WQVGA screen, 240x376 pixels.

HQVGA (240×160)

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.

QQVGA (160×120)

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 acronym qqVGA may be used to distinguish quarter from quad, just like qVGA.

HVGA (480x320)

HVGA (Half-size VGA) screens have 480x320 pixels (3:2 aspect ratio), 480x360 pixels (4:3 aspect ratio), 480x272 (~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 640x480.

Examples of devices that use HVGA include The Blackberry Bold 9000, the Apple iPhone, the Palm Pre, the LG GW620 Eve, the Samsung M900 Moment, HTC Hero and HTC Dream.

Texas Instruments is producing the DLP Pico Projector that supports HVGA resolution.

HVGA was the highest resolution supported on the first stages of Google Android (up until release 1.5). 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, leading to objects having jagged edges on the top and bottom if the edges were not anti-aliased.

WSVGA (1024x576)

The Wide version of SVGA is known as WSVGA, featured on Ultra-Mobile PCs. On most netbooks, the wide is either 1024x600 resolution or 1024x576.

Extended graphics array

XGA (1024×768)

XGA, the Extended Graphics Array, is an IBM display standard introduced in 1990. Today, it is 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 aspect ratio rounded to 8 pixels.

XGA should not be confused with EVGA (Extended Video Graphics Array), a contemporaneous VESA standard.

WXGA (1280×768)

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 1366×768, 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.

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 . 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) prior to the broad standardization 16:10 for widescreen computer displays.

Overall, several resolutions have been labeled as WXGA. These are the most common resolutions given the label (in ascending order by total number of pixels): 1280×720 1280×768 1280×800 1360×768 1366×768

1280×720 provides perfectly square pixels at an aspect ratio of 16:9, while the additional pixels in 1280×768 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 1280x800 pixel resolution LCDs for laptop monitors can be considered an OS driven evolution from the previously popular 1024x768 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 1024x768 pixels to fit on screen without obstruction(800-768=32). Operating the Windows Sidebar in Windows Vista can utilize the remaining width of 256 pixels (1280-1024).

720, the ATSC HDTV video standard, is a related standard, 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)

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. 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).

WSXGA (1440x900)

WSXGA and WXGA+ are non-standard terms referring to computer display resolutions. Usually they refer to a resolution of 1440x900, but occasionally manufacturers use the terms to refer to other resolutions (for example, ). The Standard Panels Working Group refers to the 1440x900 resolution as WXGA(II).

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

WXGA+ (1440x900) 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)

SXGA is an acronym for Super eXtended Graphics Array referring to a standard monitor resolution of 1280x1024 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 sometimes unofficially called "SXGA-" (to avoid confusion with the "standard" SXGA) that preserves the common 4:3 aspect ratio.

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", 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 is the most common for the time being.

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 MB of video RAM. 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 pixels×1024 pixels = 1,310,720 pixels : 1,310,720 pixels×8 bits/pixel = 10,485,760 bits : 10,485,760 bits ÷ 8 bits/byte = 1,310,720 bytes ÷ 1,024 Bytes/MiB = 1.25 MiB

: 1,310,720 pixels×24 bits/pixel = 31,457,280 bits : 31,457,280 bits ÷ 8 bits/byte = 3,932,160 bytes ÷ 1,024 Bytes/MiB = 3.75 MiB

SXGA+ (1400×1050)

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 & X61 (both only as Tablet) and the Toshiba Portégé M200 and M400, but these are much less common. 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)

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 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 1920x1200 pixels.

UXGA (1600x1200)

UXGA is an abbreviation for Ultra eXtended Graphics Array referring to a standard monitor resolution of 1600x1200 pixels (totaling 1,920,000 pixels), which is exactly four times the default of SVGA (800x600) (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 (1280x960 or 1280x1024), but some resolutions (such as the unnamed 1360x1024 and SXGA+ at 1400x1050) fit in 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 1600x768 and one called WUXGA with 1920x1200 resolution.

WUXGA (1920×1200)

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 is appropriate for viewing HDTV content. These formats use a 1920×1080 image at a 16:9 ratio, which is displayed well on WUXGA – the image is slightly letterboxed, but maintains aspect ratio. Since the display is slightly larger than the corresponding 1080 HDTV source, the video can play at native resolution with no scaling required; the extra 60 lines above and below the image are simply unused.

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. It also allows viewing of 16:9 video on a computer with player controls visible. The 16:10 screen (and display device profile) also comes very close to a golden rectangle, which is often considered the most aesthetically pleasing.

WUXGA resolution is equivalent to 2.3 megapixels. An 8-bit RGB WUXGA image has an uncompressed size of around 6.6 MiB.

This resolution is currently available in high-end LCD televisions and computer monitors, the latter of which are typically in the size range of approximately 23"–28" for desktop monitors and on notebook monitors in the size range of 15.4"-18.4" since at least 2003. 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 1600x768 (25:12) and UW-UXGA that has 2560x1080 pixels, a 2.39:1 or 21:9 aspect ratio.

Quad-extended graphics array

The QXGA, or Quad eXtended Graphics Array, display standard is a resolution standard in display technology. Their high pixel counts and heavy display hardware requirements mean that there are currently few CRT and LCD monitors which have pixel counts at these levels. These terms are currently relegated to the highest-end consumer computer display hardware for those buying LCD.

WQXGA is often found in 30" displays like the Dell 3008WFP and the Apple Cinema Display. As of this date, there are few WQXGA displays in the consumer marketplace, but their price is higher than most displays used by graphic professionals, and their refresh speed is not close to that used in current consumer displays. It is unlikely that WQXGA, or next-generation HXGA, displays will be commonplace anytime soon. It should also be noted, however, that many standard 21" / 22" CRT monitors can be used at the QXGA resolution. Some of the highest-end 19" CRTs also support this resolution.

QXGA (2048×1536)

{| "QXGA display resolutions" style="float: right" class="wikitable" !Computer Standard!!Resolution!!Ratio!!Ratio (Decimal)!!Pixels |- |QWXGA||2048×1152||16:9||1.78||2.4M |- |QXGA||2048×1536||4:3||1.3333||3.1M |- |WQXGA||2560×1600||16:10||1.6||4.1M |- |QSXGA||2560×2048||5:4||1.25||5.2M |- |WQSXGA||3200×2048||25:16||1.5625||6.6M |- |QUXGA||3200×2400||4:3||1.3333||7.7M |- |WQUXGA||3840×2400||16:10||1.6||9.2M |- |}

QXGA (Quad eXtended Graphics Array) is a display resolution of 2048×1536 pixels with a aspect ratio. The name comes from the fact that it has four times as many pixels as an XGA display. As of 2007, this is the highest non-experimental and non-widescreen resolution, and the number of monitors that can display images at this resolution are somewhat limited, especially among LCDs. The number of CRT monitors offering this resolution has actually dropped off, as CRT makers such as NEC and Sony have stopped offering their higher end models. 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 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. As recently as last year, 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.

WQXGA (2560×1600)

WQXGA (Wide Quad eXtended Graphics Array) is a display resolution of 2560×1600 pixels with a aspect ratio. The name comes from the fact that it is a wide version of QXGA and has four times as many pixels as an WXGA display.

Prior to 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 and 3008WFP, the Hewlett-Packard LP3065, the Gateway XHD3000, and the Samsung 305T. Specialist manufacturers like Eizo, Planar Systems, Barco (LC-3001) and possibly others offer similar models.

One feature which is currently unique to the 30" WQXGA monitors are their ability to function as the centerpiece & main display of a three-monitor array of complementary aspect ratios, with two UXGA (1600x1200) 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, 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 4960x1600 composite image has a 3.1:1 aspect ratio.

Of course, this also means one UXGA 20" monitor in portrait orientation can also be flanked by two 30" WQXGA monitors for a 6320x1600 composite image with a 15.8:3 (79:15, 5.267:1) aspect ratio.

QWXGA (2048×1152)

QWXGA (Quad Wide eXtended Graphics Array) is a display resolution of 2048×1152 pixels with a 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.

QSXGA (2560×2048)

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.

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

WQSXGA (3200x2048)

WQSXGA (Wide Quad Super eXtended Graphics Array) describes a display standard that can support a resolution up to 3200x2048 pixels, assuming a 1.56:1 (25:16) aspect ratio. As of July 2008, the Coronis Fusion 6MP DL by Barco supports 3280x2048.

QUXGA (3200x2400)

QUXGA (Quad Ultra Extended Graphics Array) describes a display standard that can support a resolution up to 3200x2400 pixels, assuming a 4:3 aspect ratio.

WQUXGA (3840x2400)

WQUXGA (Wide Quad Ultra eXtended Graphics Array) describes a display that supports a resolution of 3840x2400 pixels, which provides a 16:10 aspect ratio. This resolution is exactly four times 1920x1200 (in pixels).

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, 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.

Most display cards with a DVI connector are capable of supporting the 3840x2400 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.

As of January 2007, none of the WQUXGA monitors (IBM, ViewSonic, Iiyama, ADTX) are in production anymore. Toshiba announced its intention to market a new WQUXGA 22" monitor in November 2007. However, it has not done so to date. Neither Toshiba nor public speculation on the Internet has provided any new information since the November 2007 press release.

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 don't necessarily maximize that standard's highest possible resolution.

Hyper-extended graphics array

{| "HXGA display resolutions" style="float: right" class="wikitable" !Computer Standard!!Resolution!!Ratio!!Pixels |- |HXGA||4096×3072||4:3||12.6M |- |WHXGA||5120×3200||16:10||16.4M |- |HSXGA||5120×4096||5:4||21M |- |WHSXGA||6400×4096||25:16||26M |- |HUXGA||6400×4800||4:3||31M |- |WHUXGA||7680×4800||16:10||37M |- |} The HXGA display standard and its derivatives are a relatively new (as of 2005) standard in display technology. Their high pixel counts and heavy display hardware requirements mean that there is currently no monitor that singly displays at these levels. These terms are currently relegated to the highest-end scientific and professional digital camera hardware. An example can be found in HIPerSpace of a case where multiple WQXGA displays must be stacked to exceed HXGA or WHXGA resolution.

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.

HXGA (4096×3072)

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 the fact that it has sixteen (hexadecatuple) times as many pixels as an XGA display. As of 2005, this is the highest experimental and non-widescreen resolution, and there are no devices that can render images at such high resolution, but several digital cameras can record such images. A related display size is WHXGA, which is a wide screen version.

WHXGA (5120×3200)

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 the fact that it is a wide version of HXGA, which in turn has sixteen (hexadecatuple) times as many pixels as an XGA display. As of 2007, there are only high-end digital cameras capable of rendering images at this resolution. 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)

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 the fact that it has sixteen (hexadecatuple) times as many pixels as an SXGA display.

As of January 2007, there is no display with a maximum resolution 5120×4096. If this display were to exist, it would have a maximum resolution 10 times that of the 1080 ATSC HDTV video standard.

WHSXGA (6400×4096)

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

HUXGA (6400×4800)

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 the fact that it has sixteen (hexadecatuple) times as many pixels as an UXGA display.

WHUXGA (7680×4800)

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 16:10 aspect ratio. The name comes from the fact that it has sixteen (hexadecatuple) times as many pixels as a WUXGA display. A WHUXGA image consists of 36,864,000 pixels (approximately 37 megapixels). A monitor of 7680×4320 would also qualify as a WHUXGA display. UHDTV video requires a display of similar resolution (7680×4320) for properly displaying UHDTV content, which is 16 times the pixel count of 1080 ATSC HDTV video standard.

Multiples of 720 and 1080

qHD (960×540)

qHD is a display resolution of 960×540 pixels arranged in a 16:9 aspect ratio. It is three quarters of the resolution of the 720p ATSC HDTV video standard.

WQHD (2560x1440)

The WQHD, or Wide Quad High Definition, display standard is a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels in a 16:9 aspect ratio. It is four times the resolution of the 720p ATSC HDTV video standard, hence the name. Their high pixel counts and heavy display hardware requirements mean that there are currently few LCD monitors which have pixel counts at these levels. It is a resolution found in some displays, such as the Dell UltraSharp U2711, NEC MultiSync PA271W, and the 27" iMac.

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

QFHD (3840x2160)

QFHD (Quad Full High Definition) is a non-standard display resolution of 3840x2160 pixels arranged in a 16:9 aspect ratio. It is four times the resolution of the 1080p ATSC HDTV video standard, hence the name.

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

Eyevis produces a 56" LCD named EYELCD 56 QHD HD while Toshiba makes the P56QHD, and Sony the SRM-L560, all which can deliver a resolution of 3840x2160.

CMI has built a 27.84" 158dpi QFHD IPS panel for medical displays since November 2010.

Comparison chart

References

See also

Display resolution

VGA

720

1080

4K

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

Category:Computer display standards