Readers like you help support MUO. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More.

Here's a line from the Wikipedia article on HD 1080:

"The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels."

My 22 inch monitor has the above resolution. Then what about a display or a much grater size? Won't the resolution be higher than 1920×1080? If itis so, won't 1080 content look say, stretched and not at its native resolution?

Jasjeev Singh Anand
2011-02-19 12:26:00
Yea so wouldn't it (have been) better to (have) define(d) HD as a pixel density(number of pixels per inch)?
MAKEUSEOF VIDEO OF THE DAY
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
Mike
2011-02-19 13:50:00
I'm not sure how to explain it with correct terms but I will give it a try Pixel density (or pixel per inch) is related to the technology used and the screen size.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_maskhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot_pitchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_densityHow do you want to calculate pixel density for a video at a single resolution?an 22" display at 3840×2400 (WQUXGA) has ~203 PPIan 10" display at 1920x1080 (HD) has ~200PPI an 5" display at 800x600 ( ) has ~200PPIA video looking good on the 5" screen probably won't on the other two displays although the pixel density is pretty much the same.In comparison an 24inch screen at 1920x1080 only has ~92PPI - yet a Blu Ray will look good on it, right?
2011-02-19 12:18:00
HiThere are 2 resolutions for HD broadcasts1) 720p = resolution of 1280 x720 pixels ~ 1 megapixel2) 1080i -= resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels ~ 2 megapixels1 megapixel1024 x 1024 = 1048576 pixels1366 x 768 = 1049088 pixels 16 by 9 image720p = 1280 x 720 = 921600 pixels. 16 by 9 HD standard .720p is just under 1 megapixel of data per screen.There are codes for resolution.They have the name EDID's and they are standards that exist across the globe, everywhere, but not always implemented in the same way and rarely include the 1366 x 768 resolution option.WUXGA = 1920 x 1080 = HD1080 16:9 ATSCWXGA = 1280 x 768/720 = HD720 16:9 generic PC& by way of example; VGA = 640 x 480.If you own a 1366 x 768 display then your image has been mashed about and re-scaled to fit your screen. Period. Meaning: you will not ever get a pixel for pixel rendering of anything coming into your display.some displays do a fantastic job of resizing and de-interlacing. Some 1366 displays do such a fuzzy job of scaling that the image seems about the same as regular TV, just bigger and wider, not Higher in Definition.
Josh Fox
2011-02-18 22:06:00
Many HD TVs use a higher resolution than it says. For instance, I run my home theater PC at 1366x768 for my 720p TV. Most of the videos I have encoded from DVD are at 480p, and still maintain DVD quality at the higher resolution. Yes, it will stretch video, but most video players will compensate by using various scaling methods. In short, yes, it should still look good.
Mike
2011-02-19 01:38:00
I agree with Josh.Also it depends on what you mean by stretched . If you watch a 1920x1080 video on a 1920x1200 resolution what happens is that the black borders will simply increase in height so it will keep the aspect ratio [assuming you don't force change it by a setting].For a 1080i video source on a computer screen you should be fine up to a resolution of 2048x1536 without noticeable quality degradation. On a TV screen you probably can go much higher since they are way better in upscaling.