Computer Department

Understanding monitor, projector, plasma and notebook resolution

Common Resolutions
The sharpness and clarity of the picture on screen is its resolution, determined by the number of pixels. Resolution is measured in the number of pixels horizontally multiplied by the number of pixels vertically. The higher number of pixels, the better. Plasma screens, projectors and LCD screens have a fixed number of pixels, referred to as the 'native resolution. This is the device's optimum resolution. LCD images used in front projectors and rear-projection monitors typically offer XGA (1024 x 768 pixels) or SXGA (1280 x 1024 pixels) resolution. Front projection monitors also use SVGA (800 x 600 pixels) and XGA.

Projector Resolutions
Multimedia video projectors are often UXGA (1600 x 1200), SXGA (1280 x 1024), XGA (1024 x 768) and SVGA (800 x 600), the most popular format for projectors.

Notebook Computer Resolutions
Bigger isn't always better when it comes to laptops. That's because the higher the resolution, the smaller the pixels and, consequently, you can fit more onto your display, but the print will also be much smaller and harder to read. Sp high-resolution displays may be best for users who need many windows open simultaneously and who have eyes that are sharp enough to read the small fonts. Notebooks which have a 4:3 aspect ratio usually offer the following resolutions: XGA (1024x768), SXGA+ (1400x1050) and UXGA (1600x1200). Some of the latest notebooks feature a 16:10 ratio wide-aspect display offering resolutions of WXGA (1280x800), WXGA+ (1440x900), WSXGA+ (1680x1050) and WUXGA (1920x1200).

HD ready sets
Many televisions marked 'HD Ready' offer 720 horizontal lines of picture. The highest HDTV can go is 1080 lines, but this is rare amongst the HD Ready sets. Current TV screns offer 625 lines, so even 720 lines is a significant improvement. Is anyone old enough to remember the grainy old 425 lines of the black & white days?

Plasma Screens
Some plasma TVs only have a vertical resolution of 576 or 625 lines meaning that they are not capable of producing HDTV pictures. Plasma TVs that are displaying HDTV signals generally have resolution of 1280 x 720 or higher.