Editing Display resolution (section)

== Computer monitors ==
{{Further information|Display resolution standards|List of computer display standards|List of common display resolutions}}

Computer monitors have traditionally possessed higher resolutions than most televisions.

=== Evolution of standards ===
[[File:C64 startup animiert.gif|thumb|In this image of a [[Commodore 64]] startup screen, the [[overscan]] region (the lighter-coloured border) would have been barely visible when shown on a normal television.]]
[[File:CGA CompVsRGB Text.png|thumb|A {{resx|640|200}} display as produced by a monitor (left) and television (right)]]
[[File:Torak.gif|thumb|16-color (top) and 256-color (bottom) progressive images from a 1980s [[VGA]] card. [[Dither]]ing is used to overcome color limitations.]]

Many personal computers introduced in the late 1970s and the 1980s were designed to use television receivers as their display devices, making the resolutions dependent on the television standards in use, including [[PAL]] and [[NTSC]]. Picture sizes were usually limited to ensure the visibility of all the pixels in the major television standards and the broad range of television sets with varying amounts of over scan. The actual drawable picture area was, therefore, somewhat smaller than the whole screen, and was usually surrounded by a static-colored border (see image below). Also, the interlace scanning was usually omitted in order to provide more stability to the picture, effectively halving the vertical resolution in progress. {{resx|160|200}}, {{resx|320|200}} and {{resx|640|200}} on NTSC were relatively common resolutions in the era (224, 240 or 256 scanlines were also common). In the IBM PC world, these resolutions came to be used by 16-color [[Enhanced Graphics Adapter|EGA]] video cards.

One of the drawbacks of using a classic television is that the computer display resolution is higher than the television could decode. Chroma resolution for NTSC/PAL televisions are bandwidth-limited to a maximum 1.5{{nbsp}}MHz, or approximately 160 pixels wide, which led to blurring of the color for 320- or 640-wide signals, and made text difficult to read (see example image below). Many users upgraded to higher-quality televisions with [[S-Video]] or [[Color Graphics Adapter|RGBI]] inputs that helped eliminate chroma blur and produce more legible displays. The earliest, lowest cost solution to the chroma problem was offered in the [[Atari 2600]] Video Computer System and the [[Apple II+]], both of which offered the option to disable the color and view a legacy black-and-white signal. On the Commodore 64, the [[GEOS (8-bit operating system)|GEOS]] mirrored the Mac OS method of using black-and-white to improve readability.

The {{resx|640|400i}} resolution ({{resx|720|480i}} with borders disabled) was first introduced by home computers such as the [[Commodore Amiga]] and, later, Atari Falcon. These computers used interlace to boost the maximum vertical resolution. These modes were only suited to graphics or gaming, as the flickering interlace made reading text in word processor, database, or spreadsheet software difficult. (Modern game consoles solve this problem by pre-filtering the 480i video to a lower resolution. For example, [[Final Fantasy XII]] suffers from flicker when the filter is turned off, but stabilizes once filtering is restored. The computers of the 1980s lacked sufficient power to run similar filtering software.)

The advantage of a {{resx|720|480i}} overscanned computer was an easy interface with interlaced TV production, leading to the development of Newtek's [[Video Toaster]]. This device allowed Amigas to be used for CGI creation in various news departments (example: weather overlays), drama programs such as NBC's ''[[seaQuest]]'' and The WB's ''[[Babylon 5]]''.

In the PC world, the [[IBM PS/2]] VGA (multi-color) on-board graphics chips used a non-interlaced (progressive) 640 × 480 × 16 color resolution that was easier to read and thus more useful for office work. It was the standard resolution from 1990 to around 1996.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} The standard resolution was {{resx|800|600}} until around 2000. Microsoft [[Windows XP]], released in 2001, was designed to run at {{resx|800|600}} minimum, although it is possible to select the original {{resx|640|480}} in the Advanced Settings window.

Programs designed to mimic older hardware such as Atari, Sega, or Nintendo game consoles (emulators) when attached to multiscan CRTs, routinely use much lower resolutions, such as {{resx|160|200}} or {{resx|320|400}} for greater authenticity, though other emulators have taken advantage of pixelation recognition on circle, square, triangle and other geometric features on a lesser resolution for a more scaled vector rendering. Some emulators, at higher resolutions, can even mimic the aperture grille and shadow masks of CRT monitors.

In 2002, {{resx|1024|768}} [[XGA|eXtended Graphics Array]] was the most common display resolution. Many web sites and multimedia products were re-designed from the previous {{resx|800|600}} format to the layouts optimized for {{resx|1024|768}}.

The availability of inexpensive LCD monitors made the {{ratio|5:4}} aspect ratio resolution of {{resx|1280|1024}} more popular for desktop usage during the first decade of the 21st century. Many computer users including [[CAD]] users, graphic artists and video game players ran their computers at {{resx|1600|1200}} resolution ([[UXGA]]) or higher such as {{resx|2048|1536}} [[QXGA]] if they had the necessary equipment. Other available resolutions included oversize aspects like {{resx|1400|1050}} [[SXGA+]] and wide aspects like {{resx|1280|800}} [[Wide XGA|WXGA]], {{resx|1440|900}} [[WXGA+]], {{resx|1680|1050}} [[WSXGA+]], and {{resx|1920|1200}} [[WUXGA]]; monitors built to the 720p and 1080p standard were also not unusual among home media and video game players, due to the perfect screen compatibility with movie and video game releases. A new more-than-HD resolution of {{resx|2560|1600}} [[WQXGA]] was released in 30-inch LCD monitors in 2007.

In 2010, 27-inch LCD monitors with the {{resx|2560|1440}} resolution were released by multiple manufacturers, and in 2012, Apple introduced a {{resx|2880|1800}} display on the [[Retina MacBook Pro|MacBook Pro]]. Panels for professional environments, such as medical use and air traffic control, support resolutions up to {{resx|4096|2160}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Eizo industrial monitor does 4K resolution at 36-inches, start saving now|url=https://www.engadget.com/2011-06-21-eizo-industrial-monitor-does-4k-resolution-at-36-inches-start-s.html|access-date=2021-05-15|website=Engadget|date=21 June 2011 |language=en-US}}</ref> (or, more relevant for control rooms, {{ratio|1:1}} {{resx|2048|2048}} pixels).<ref>{{Cite web|title=EIZO Releases 5th Generation 2K x 2K Primary Control Monitor with New Design and Extensive Customizability for ATC Centers {{!}} EIZO|url=https://www.eizoglobal.com/press/releases/htmls/sq2825.html|access-date=2021-05-15|website=www.eizoglobal.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=nikolai|title=Eizo outs Raptor WS3001 30-inch LCD monitor|date=February 2010|url=https://www.hitechreview.com/it-products/monitors/eizo-raptor-ws3001-30-inch-lcd-monitor/21781/,%20https://www.hitechreview.com/it-products/monitors/eizo-raptor-ws3001-30-inch-lcd-monitor/21781/|access-date=2021-05-15|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Common display resolutions ===
{{Further|Display resolution standards|List of common computer display resolutions|List of computer display standards}}

{| class="sortable wikitable"
|+ Common display resolutions ([[N/A]] = not applicable)
|-
! Standard !! [[Aspect ratio]] !! Width ([[Pixel|px]]) !! Height (px) !! [[Megapixels]] 
!!data-sort-type="number"| [[Steam (service)|Steam]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Steam Hardware & Software Survey |url=https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey?platform=combined |publisher=Valve |access-date=2020-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707214338/https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/ |archive-date=2020-07-07}}</ref> (%)
!!data-sort-type="number"| [[StatCounter]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gs.statcounter.com/screen-resolution-stats/desktop/worldwide/#monthly-202006-202006-bar |title=Desktop Screen Resolution Stats Worldwide |publisher=StatCounter |access-date=2020-07-16}}</ref> (%)
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#nHD|nHD]] ||data-sort-value="1.778"| 16:9 || 640 || 360 || 0.230 || data-sort-value="0"| N/A || 0.47
|-
| [[VGA]] ||data-sort-value="1.333"| 4:3 || 640 || 480 || 0.307 || data-sort-value="0"| N/A || N/A
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#SVGA|SVGA]] ||data-sort-value="1.333"| 4:3 || 800 || 600 || 0.480 || data-sort-value="0"| N/A || 0.76
|-
| [[XGA]] ||data-sort-value="1.333"| 4:3 || 1024 || 768 || 0.786 || 0.38 || 2.78
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#WXGA HD|WX<!-- Don't label this as HD, this section is about computer monitors not TVs. Discuss on talk page if there is any dispute. -->GA]] ||data-sort-value="1.778"| 16:9 || 1280 || 720 || 0.922 || 0.36 || 4.82
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#1280x800|WXGA]] ||data-sort-value="1.600"| 16:10 || 1280 || 800 || 1.024 || 0.61 || 3.08
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#SXGA|SXGA]] ||data-sort-value="1.250"| 5:4 || 1280 || 1024 || 1.311 || 1.24 || 2.47
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#1360x768|H<!-- Don't label this as WXGA, this section is about computer monitors not TVs. Discuss on talk page if there is any dispute. -->D]] ||data-sort-value="1.771"| ≈16:9 || 1360 || 768 || 1.044 || 1.55 || 1.38
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#1366x768|H<!-- Don't label this as WXGA, this section is about computer monitors not TVs. Discuss on talk page if there is any dispute. -->D]] ||data-sort-value="1.779"| ≈16:9 || 1366 || 768 || 1.049 || 10.22 || 23.26
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#WXGAplus|WXGA+]] ||data-sort-value="1.600"| 16:10 || 1440 || 900 || 1.296 || 3.12 || 6.98
|-
| N/A ||data-sort-value="1.778"| 16:9 || 1536 || 864 || 1.327 ||data-sort-value="0"| N/A || 8.53
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#1600x900|HD+]] ||data-sort-value="1.778"| 16:9 || 1600 || 900 || 1.440 || 2.59 || 4.14
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#UXGA|UXGA]] ||data-sort-value="1.333"| 4:3 || 1600 || 1200 || 1.920 || N/A || N/A
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#WSXGAplus|WSXGA+]] ||data-sort-value="1.600"| 16:10 || 1680 || 1050 || 1.764 || 1.97 || 2.23
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#FHD|FHD]] ||data-sort-value="1.778"| 16:9 || 1920 || 1080 || 2.074 || 64.81 || 20.41
|-
| [[Wide UXGA|WUXGA]] ||data-sort-value="1.600"| 16:10 || 1920 || 1200 || 2.304 || 0.81 || 0.93
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#QWXGA|QWXGA]] || data-sort-value="1.778" | 16:9 || 2048 || 1152 || 2.359 ||data-sort-value="0"| N/A || 0.51
|-
| [[Display_resolution_standards#2048_×_1536_(QXGA)|QXGA]] || data-sort-value="1.333" | 4:3 || 2048 || 1536 || 3.145 || || 
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#2560x1080|UWFHD]] || data-sort-value="2.370" | ≈21:9 || 2560 || 1080 || 2.765 || 1.13 || data-sort-value="0" | N/A
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#QHD|QHD]] || data-sort-value="1.778" | 16:9 || 2560 || 1440 || 3.686 || 6.23 || 2.15
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#WQXGA|WQXGA]] || data-sort-value="1.6" | 16:10 || 2560 || 1600 || 4.096 || <0.58 || <2.4
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#3440x1440|UWQHD]] || data-sort-value="2.389" | ≈21:9 || 3440 || 1440 || 4.954 || 0.87 || data-sort-value="0" | N/A
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#4K UHD|4K UHD]] ||data-sort-value="1.778"| 16:9 || 3840 || 2160 || 8.294 || 2.12 || data-sort-value="0" | N/A
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#5K|5K]] ||data-sort-value="1.778"| 16:9 || 5120 || 2880 ||14.745  || || data-sort-value="0" | N/A
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#6K| 6K]] ||data-sort-value="1.778"| 16:9 || 6144 || 3456 || 21.234 || ||
|-
| DUHD ||data-sort-value="3.556"| 32:9 || 7680 || 2160 || 16.588||  || data-sort-value="0" | N/A
|-
| [[Graphics display resolution#8K UHD|8K UHD]] ||data-sort-value="1.778"| 16:9 || 7680 || 4320 || 33.177 || || data-sort-value="0" | N/A
|- class="sortbottom"
| Other || || || || || 2.00 || 15.09
|}

In recent years the 16:9 aspect ratio has become more common in notebook displays, and {{resx|1366|768}} ([[720p|HD]]) has become popular for most low-cost notebooks, while {{resx|1920|1080}} ([[FHD]]) and higher resolutions are available for more premium notebooks.

When a computer display resolution is set higher than the physical screen resolution (''native resolution''), some video drivers make the virtual screen scrollable over the physical screen thus realizing a two dimensional [[virtual desktop]] with its viewport. Most LCD manufacturers do make note of the panel's native resolution as working in a non-native resolution on LCDs will result in a poorer image, due to dropping of pixels to make the image fit (when using DVI) or insufficient sampling of the analog signal (when using VGA connector). Few CRT manufacturers will quote the true native resolution, because CRTs are analog in nature and can vary their display from as low as 320 × 200 (emulation of older computers or game consoles) to as high as the internal board will allow, or the image becomes too detailed for the vacuum tube to recreate (i.e., analog blur). Thus, CRTs provide a variability in resolution that fixed resolution LCDs cannot provide.