Computer Display Standards

Computer display standards are a combination of aspect ratio, display

size, display resolution, color depth, and refresh rate. They are associated
with specific expansion cards, video connectors and monitors.
History
Various computer display standards or display modes have been used in the
history of the personal computer. They are often a combination of aspect
ratio(specified as width-to-height ratio), display resolution (specified as the
width and height in pixels), color depth (measured in bits per pixel),
and refresh rate(expressed in hertz). Associated with the screen resolution
and refresh rate is a display adapter. Earlier display adapters were simple
frame-buffers, but later display standards also specified a more extensive
set of display functions and software controlled interface.
Beyond display modes, the VESA industry organization has defined several
standards related to power management and device identification, while
ergonomics standards are set by the TCO.
Standards
A number of common resolutions have been used with computers
descended from the original IBM PC. Some of these are now supported by
other families of personal computers. These are de facto standards, usually
originated by one manufacturer and reverse-engineered by others, though
the VESA group has co-ordinated the efforts of several leading video display
adapter manufacturers. Video standards associated with IBM-PC-descended
personal computers are shown in the diagram and table below, alongside
those of early Macintosh and other makes for comparison. (From the early
1990s onwards, most manufacturers moved over to PC display standards
thanks to widely available and affordable hardware).

Table of computer display standards

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

Asp
ect
rati
o

Quarter
Quarter
Video
Graphics
Array

Used for some portable devices, and

a common alternative resolution to
QCIF forwebcams and other online
video streams in low bandwidth
situations, and the video modes of
early digital cameras.

160x120
(19k)

4:3

UNNAMED

A common size for LCDs

manufactured for small consumer
electronics and mobile phones,
typically in a 1.7" to 1.9" diagonal
size. This LCD is often used in the
portrait (128x160) orientation. The
unusual 5:4 aspect ratio makes the
display slightly different from the
QQVGA dimensions.

160x128
(20k)

5:4

UNNAMED

A shared size for older portable

video game systems. The nearlysquare (but landscape) aspect and
coarse pixel resolution gave these
games a characteristic visual style.
Colour depth ranged from 4 colours
(2 bpp) with the original Game Boy,
through 16~32 colours (4~5 bpp)
with the Atari Lynx and Game Gear,
to a maximum of 56 colours
(equivalent of 6 bpp) from a wider
palette with the Game Boy Colour.
Also appears as a YouTube resolution
option.

160x144
(23k)

10:9

Video
standard

Full
name

QQVGA

UNNAMED

UNNAMED

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

2 bpp ~
6 bpp
effective

Table of computer display standards

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

Asp
ect
rati
o

Half
Quarter
Video
Graphics
Array

Used with some smaller, cheaper

portable devices, including lowerend cellphones and PDAs, and
perhaps most commonly the
Nintendo Game Boy Advance (with,
in that guise, 32k colours (15 bpp)
onscreen).

240x160
(38k)

3:2

Quarter
Video
Graphics
Array

Half the resolution in each dimension

as standard VGA. A retronym for
CGA "medium" and EGA/MCGA/VGA
"low" pixel resolution, normally used
when describing screens on portable
devices (pocket media players,
cellular phones, PDAs etc.). No set
colour depth or refresh rate is
associated with this standard or
320x240
those that follow, as it is dependent
(75k)
both on the manufacturing quality of
the screen and the capabilities of the
attached display driver hardware,
and almost always incorporates an
LCD panel with no visible linescanning. However, it would typically
be in the 8-to-12 bpp (256 to 4096
colour) through 18 bpp (262,144
colour) range.

4:3

Wide
Quarter
Video
Graphics
Array

Effectively one-sixteenth the total

resolution (one-quarter in each
dimension) of "Full HD", but with the
height aligned to an 8-pixel
"macroblock" boundary. Common in
small-screen video applications,
including portable DVD players and
the first-generation Sony PSP.

16:9

Video
standard

Full
name

HQVGA

QVGA

WQVGA

TV
Computer

Noninterlaced
TV-asmonitor

Various Apple, Atari, Commodore, Si

nclair, Acorn, Tandy and other home
and small-office computers
introduced from 1977 through to the
mid-1980s. They used televisions for
display output and had a typical
usable screen resolution from
102~320 pixels wide and usually
192~256 lines high, in noninterlaced (NI) mode for a more
stable image (displaying a full image
on each 1/50th / 1/60th-second field,
instead of splitting it across each
frame). The limited resolution led to
displays with a characteristic wide
overscan border around the active
area. Some more powerful machines
were able to display higher
horizontal resolutions - either in text-

480x272
(131k)

140x192 NI
(low-end),
320x200 NI
(typical),
640x256 NI
(high-end)

4:3
(nonsquare
pixels)

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

1~4 bpp
typical, 2 or
3 bpp
common.

Table of computer display standards

Video
standard

Full
name

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

Asp
ect
rati
o

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

640x200,
320x200

4:3 (or
16:10
with
square
pixels)

2~4 bpp for

ST, 8~15 bpp
on later
models (TT,
Falcon).

4:3 (or
16:10
with
square
pixels)

1 bpp for ST,

4~6 bpp
greyscale on
later models
(TT, Falcon),
plus 8 bpp
colour on VGA
monitors.

mode alone, or in low-colour bitmap

graphics, and typically by halving
the width of each pixel rather than
physically expanding the display
area - but were still confined in the
vertical dimension by the relatively
slow horizontal scanning rate of
domestic TV. These same standards albeit with progressively greater
colour depth, and upstream
graphical processing ability - would
see extended use and popularity in
TV-connected home games consoles
right through to the end of the 20th
century.

ST Colour

ST Mono

Video
monitor
I/NI

Atari ST
(etc.)
Colour,
Broadcaststandard

Atari ST line. Colour modes

using NTSC or PAL-compliant
televisions and monochrome,
composite video or RGB-component
monitors.

Atari ST
(etc.)
Monochrom
e,
proprietary
standard

Atari ST line. Hi-res monochrome

mode using a custom non-interlaced
monitor, possibly derived from
monochrome VGA, with the slightly
lower vertical resolution (imposed by
limited video memory) allowing a
higher, "flicker free" 70 Hz refresh
rate. Later machines in the series
could also use colour VGA monitors.

640x400

Commodore Amiga line and others

e.g. Acorn Archimedes, later Atari
models (TT,Falcon). They
used NTSC or PAL-compliant
televisions and monochrome,
composite video or RGB-component
monitors. The interlaced (I) mode
produced visible flickering of finer
details, eventually fixable by use of
scan doubler devices and VGA
monitors.

720x480i/57
6i
maximum.
Typically
640x400i/51
2i or
640x200/25
6 NI, and
320x200/25
6 NI for
games.

Fullbroadcast
resolution
video
monitor or
television

4:3
(nonsquare
pixels)

Up to 6 bpp
for Amiga
(8 bpp with
later models),
typically
2~4 bpp for
most hi-res
applications
(saving
memory and
processing
time),
4~5 bpp for
games and
"fake"
12/18 bpp for
static images
(HAM mode).
Up to 15 bpp
for
Archimedes
and Falcon
(12 bpp for
TT), but

Table of computer display standards

Video
standard

Full
name

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

Asp
ect
rati
o

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)
typically
4 bpp in use.

Mac Mono
9"

Mac Colou
r

Original
Apple
Macintosh
display

Apple Mac
II and later
models

The single, fixed screen mode used

in the first generation (128k and
512k) Apple Mac computers,
launched in 1984, with a
monochrome, 9" CRT integrated to
the body of the computer. Used to
display one of the first mass-market
full-time GUIs, and one of the
earliest non-interlaced default
displays with more than 256 lines of
vertical resolution. (Early models
used a 384x256 screen; both
standards are cut-down from the
720x364 of the
preceding Lisa model)

The second generation Macintosh,

launched in 1987, came with colour
(and greyscale) capability as
standard, at two levels depending on
monitor size - 512x384 pixel (onequarter of the later XGA standard)
on a 12" (4:3) colour or greyscale
("monochrome") monitor, 640x480
with a larger (13" or 14") high
resolution monitor (superficially
similar to VGA but at a higher 67 Hz
refresh rate) - with 8-bit colour/256
grey shades at the lower resolution,
and either 4 or 8 bit colour (16/256
grey) in high resolution depending
on installed memory (256 or
512 kB), all out of a full 24-bit
master palette. The result was
equivalent to VGA or even PGC - but
with a wide palette - at a point
simultaneous with the IBM launch of
VGA.
Later, larger monitors (15" and 16")
allowed use of an SVGA-a-like,

512x342
(175k)

512x384
(197k),
640x480
(307k),
832x624
(519k)

Very
nearly
3:2 (to
within
0.2%);
256:17
1
exact.
Display
ed with
square
pixels
on a
moder 1 bpp
ately
widescreen
monito
r
(equiv
alent
to
16:10.
67 in
moder
n
terms).
4:3

4 bpp, 8 bpp,
and later
16/24 bpp

Table of computer display standards

Video
standard

Full
name

Asp
ect
rati
o

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

The first PowerBook, in 1991,

replaced the original Mac Portable
(basically an original Mac with an
LCD, keyboard and trackball in a
lunchbox-style shell) and introduced
a new 640x400 greyscale screen.
640x400
This was joined in 1993 with the
(256k)
"165c" model, which kept the same
resolution but added colour
capability similar to that of the Mac II
(256 colours from a palette of 16.7
million).

16:10 /
8:5
(squar
e
pixels)

8 bpp

The original standard on IBM

PCs and IBM PC XTs with 4 kB video
RAM. Introduced in 1981 by IBM.
Supports text mode only.[1]

72:35
(effecti
vely
4:3
(nonsquare
pixels)
on
CRTs
but
could
be a
variety
of
aspect
s on
LCDs)

1 bpp

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

binary-half-megapixel 832x624
resolution (at 75 Hz) that was
eventually used as the default
setting for the original, late 90s
iMac. Even larger 17" and 19"
monitors could attain higher
resolutions still, when connected to a
suitably capable computer, but apart
from the 1152x870 "XGA+" mode
discussed further below, Mac
resolutions beyond 832x624 tended
to fall into line with PC standards,
using what were essentially
rebadged PC monitors with a
different cable connection. Mac
models after the II (Power Mac,
Quadra, etc.) also allowed at first 16bit High Colour (65536 or
"Thousands of" colours) and then 24bit True Colour (16.7m or "Millions
of" colours), but much like PC
standards beyond XGA, the increase
in colour depth past 8 bpp was not
strictly tied to changing resolution
standards.

PowerBoo
kinternal
panel

MDA

PowerBook,
early
generation
s

Monochrom
e Display
Adapter

720x350
(text)

Table of computer display standards

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

Asp
ect
rati
o

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

Introduced in 1981 by IBM, as the

first color display standard for
the IBM PC. The standard CGA
graphics cards were equipped with
16 kB video RAM.[1]

640x200
(128k)
320x200
(64k)
160x200
(32k)

16:5
16:10/
8:5
4:5
(effecti
vely
4:3 on
CRTs;
various
aspect
s on
LCDs)

1 bpp
2 bpp
4 bpp

Hercules

A monochrome display capable of

sharp text and graphics for its time.
Very popular with the Lotus 1-23 spreadsheet, which was one of the
PC's first killer apps. Introduced in
1982.

720x348
(251k)

60:29
(effecti
vely
4:3)

1 bpp

Orchid
Graphics
Adapter

A monochrome display that

expanded Monochrome Display
Adapter's capabilities with graphics.
Introduced in 1982.

720x350

60:29
(effecti
vely
4:3)

1 bpp

EGA

Introduced in 1984 by IBM. A

resolution of 640x350 pixels of 16
different colors (4 bits per pixel,
or bpp), selectable from a 64color palette (2 bits per each of redgreen-blue).[1] Other commonly used
modes were the existing CGA
320x200 and 640x200 resolutions in
4 bpp, with a fixed palette
corresponding to the 16 colours
available in CGA text mode, allowing
an EGA card to be used in full colour
with an unmodified CGA monitor by
setting the correct dip switch
options; plus full EGA resolution (and
CGA hi-res) in monochrome if
installed memory was insufficient for
full colour above 320x200.

640x350
(224k),
640x200
(128k),
320x200
(64k)

64:35,
16:5
and
16:10/
8:5 (all
effecti
vely
4:3)

4 bpp

With on-board 2D and 3D

acceleration introduced in 1984 for
the 8-bit PC-bus, intended for CAD
applications, a triple-board display
adapter with built-in processor, and
displaying high-resolution, full-colour
graphics with a 60 Hz frame rate.[1]

640x480
(307k)

4:3

8 bpp

16:10
(effecti
vely
4:3)
4:3

8 bpp
1 bpp

Video
standard

CGA

Full
name

Color
Graphics
Adapter

Enhanced
Graphics
Adapter

Profession
al
Graphics
Controller
MCGA

Multicolor
Graphics
Adapter

Description

Introduced by IBM on ISAbased PS/2 models in 1987, with

reduced cost compared to VGA.
MCGA had a 320x200 256 color
(from a 262,144 color palette) mode,

320x200
(64k)
640x480
(307k)

Table of computer display standards

Video
standard

Full
name

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

and a 640x480 mode only in

monochrome due to 64k video
memory, compared to the 256k
memory of VGA.[1]

VGA

8514

Video
Graphics
Array

Asp
ect
rati
o

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

(squar
e
pixels)

Introduced on MCA-based PS/2

models in 1987. VGA is actually a set
of different resolutions, but is most
commonly used today to refer to
640x480 pixel displays with 16
colors (4 bits per pixel) and a 4:3
aspect ratio. Other display modes
are also defined as VGA, such as
320x200 at 256 colors (8 bits per
pixel) and a text mode with 720x400
pixels. VGA displays and adapters
are generally capable of Mode
Xgraphics, an undocumented mode
to allow increased non-standard
resolutions, most commonly
320x240 (with 8 bpp and square
pixels).[1] VGA, like the majority of
the following standards, was capable
of displaying most standard modes
featured by IBM-compatible PCs CGA, EGA, MDA and MCGA - but
typically not Hercules or PGA/PGC.

640x480
(307k) (hires graphics
and LCD
text)
720x400
(CRT text;
288k
equivalent)

4:3
9:5
(effecti
vely
4:3)

4 bpp
4 bpp

Precursor to XGA and released

shortly after VGA in 1987. 8514/A
cards displayed interlaced video at
43.5 Hz in 1024x768 resolution, and
at 640x480, 60 Hz non-interlaced,
both with up to 256 colours.[1]
The high resolution mode introduced
by 8514/A became a de facto
general standard in a succession of
computing and digital-media fields
for more than two decades, arguably
more so than SVGA, with successive
IBM and clone videocards and CRT
monitors (a multisync monitor's
grade being broadly determinable by
whether it could display 1024x768 at
all, or show it interlaced, noninterlaced, or "flicker-free"...), LCD
panels (the standard resolution for
14- and 15-inch 4:3 desktop
monitors, and a whole generation of
11~15-inch laptops), early Plasma
and LCD "HD Ready" televisions
(albeit at a stretched 16:9 aspect
showing down-scaled material),
professional video projectors, and
latterly tablet computers.

1024x768
(786k),
640x480
(307k)

4:3

8 bpp

Table of computer display standards

Video
standard

SVGA

XGA

Full
name

Super
Video
Graphics
Array

Extended
Graphics
Array

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

Asp
ect
rati
o

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

A video display standard created

by VESA for IBM PC compatible
personal computers. Introduced in
1989. Displayed the regular VGA
modes, plus 800x600 in 16 colours
at a slightly lower 56 Hz refresh rate.
As it was one of the feature modes
on third-party video cards offering a
wide array of "extended" video
modes (making best use of whatever
memory they had available, e.g.
384 kB instead of the minimum
256 kB to meet the VESA standard),
"SVGA" - and later "VESA" - became,
for a while, a catch-all term
describing any video card or mode
over and above "standard" 640x480,
4 bpp VGA - including base
resolution VGA in 8 bpp colour (a
common choice for "SVGA" mode in
PC games), and a wide variety of
high- and true-colour modes, until
high-resolution, true-colour displays
became commonplace enough to no
longer be deemed worthy of a
special group designation.

800x600
(480k)

4:3

4 bpp

4:3
4:3,
66:25
(effecti
vely
4:3)

8 bpp
16 bpp

An IBM display standard introduced

in 1990. XGA added built on
8514/A's existing 1024x768 mode
and added support for "high color"
(65,536 colour, 16 bpp) at 640x480.
The second revision ("XGA-2") was a
more thorough upgrade, offering
higher refresh rates (75 Hz and up,
non-interlaced, up to at least
1024x768), improved performance,
and a fully programmable display
engine capable of almost any
resolution within its physical limits.
For example, 1280x1024 (5:4) or
1360x1024 (4:3) in 16 colors at
60 Hz, 1056x400 [14h] Text Mode
(132x50 characters), 800x600 in 256
or 64k colour, and even as high as
1600x1200 (at a reduced 50 Hz scan
rate) with a high quality multisync
monitor (or an otherwise nonstandard 960x720 at 60 Hz on a
lower-end one capable of high
refresh at 800x600, but only
interlaced mode at 1024x768).
[1]
However, the extended modes
required custom drivers, and so only
the basic options (1024x7688 I,

1024x768
(786k)
640x480
(307k),
1056x400
(text, 422k
equivalent)

Table of computer display standards

Video
standard

Full
name

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

Asp
ect
rati
o

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

1152x864
(995k)
1152x870
(1002k),
1152x900
(1037k)

4:3

8 bpp
16 bpp

24 bpp

640x48016 NI, high-res text) were

commonly used outside Windows
and other hardware-abstracting
graphical environments.

XGA+

Extended
Graphics
Array Plus

Although not an official name, this

term is now used to refer to
1152x864, which is the largest 4:3
array yielding less than a binary
megapixel (2^20, 1048576 pixels,
1048 decimal kilopixels), thus
allowing the greatest "normal"
resolution at common colour depths
with a standard amount of video
memory (128 kB, 512 kB, 1 MB,
2 MB...). Variants of this were used
by Apple Computer (at 1152x870)
and Sun Microsystems (at
1152x900) for 21-inch (530 mm) CRT
displays.

HD

High
Definition
(720p)

This display aspect ratio is among

the most common in recent
notebook computers and desktop
monitors.

1360x768
(1044k)
1366x768
(1049k)

16:9 to
within
0.05%
accura
cy
(683:3
84
exact)

WXGA

Widescreen
Extended
Graphics
Array

A wide version of the XGA format.

This display aspect ratio was
common in widescreen notebook
computers until ca. 2010.

1280x800
(1024k)

16:10

24 bpp

Super
Extended
Graphics
Array

A widely used de facto standard,

introduced with XGA-2 and other
early "multiscan" graphics cards and
monitors, with an unusual aspect
ratio of 5:4 (1.25:1) instead of the
more common 4:3 (1.33:1), meaning
even 4:3 pictures and video will
appear letterboxed on the narrower
5:4 screens. This is generally the
native resolution - with, therefore,
square pixels - of standard 17" and
19" LCD monitors. It was often a
recommended resolution for 17" and
19" CRTs also, although as they were
usually produced in a 4:3 aspect it
either gave non-square pixels or
required adjustment to show small
vertical borders at each side of the
image. Allows 24-bit colour in 4 MB
of graphics memory, or 4-bit in
640 kB.
Some manufacturers,[who?] noting that

5:4

24 bpp

SXGA

1280x1024
(1310k)

Table of computer display standards

Video
standard

Full
name

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

Asp
ect
rati
o

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

the de facto industry standard was

VGA (Video Graphics Array), termed
this the Extended Video Graphics
Array or XVGA.

SXGA+

Super
Extended
Graphics
Array PLUS

Used on 14-inch (360 mm) and 15inch (380 mm) notebook LCD
screens and a few smaller screens,
until the eventual market-wide
phasing-out of 4:3 aspect displays.

1400x1050
(1470k)

4:3

24 bpp

WXGA+
(WSXGA)

Widescreen
Extended
Graphics
Array PLUS

An enhanced version of the WXGA

format. This display aspect ratio was
common in widescreen notebook
computers and many 19"
widescreen LCD monitors until ca.
2010.

1440x900
(1296k)

16:10

24 bpp

HD+

High
Definition
Plus (900p)

This display aspect ratio is becoming

popular in recent notebook
computers and desktop monitors.

1600x900
(1440k)

16:9

24 bpp

UXGA

Ultra
Extended
Graphics
Array

A de facto high-resolution standard.

This is the native resolution for many
20" LCD monitors, and was a
recommended mode for some high
end 21" CRTs.

1600x1200
(1920k)

4:3

24 bpp

WSXGA+

Widescreen
Super
Extended
Graphics
Array Plus

A wide version of the SXGA+ format,

the native resolution for many 22"
widescreen LCD monitors, also used
in larger, widescreen notebook
computers until ca. 2010.

1680x1050
(1764k)

16:10

24 bpp

Full High
Definition
(1080p)

This display aspect ratio is the native

resolution for many 24" widescreen
LCD monitors, and is expected to
1920x1080
also become a standard resolution
(2073k)
for smaller to medium-size, wideaspect tablet computers in the near
future (as of 2012).

16:9

24 bpp

Widescreen
Ultra
Extended
Graphics
Array

A wide version of the UXGA format.

This display aspect ratio was popular
on high-end 15" and 17" widescreen
notebook computers, as well as on
many 2327" widescreen LCD
monitors, until ca. 2010. It is also a
popular resolution for home cinema
projectors, besides 1080p, in order
to show non-widescreen material
slightly taller than widescreen (and
therefore also slightly wider than it
might otherwise be), and is the
highest resolution supported by
single-link DVI at standard colour
depth and scan rate (I.E. no less
than 24 bpp and 60 Hz noninterlaced)

16:10

24 bpp

Full HD

WUXGA

1920x1200
(2304k)

Table of computer display standards

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

Asp
ect
rati
o

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

Full High
Definition
Plus

Used on the Microsoft Surface 3.

1920x1280
(2458k)

3:2

24 bpp

2K

DLP
Cinema
Technology

Digital Film Projection standard.

2048x1080
(2212k)

1.8962
:1

48 bpp (at 24
frame/s)

QWXGA

Quad Wide
Extended
Graphics
Array

Samsung has a QWXGA resolution

23-inch (580 mm) LCD monitor, the
2342BWX.

2048x1152
(2359k)

16:9

QXGA

Quad
Extended
Graphics
Array

This is the highest resolution that

generally can be displayed on
analog computer monitors (most
CRTs), and the highest resolution
that most analogue video cards and
other display transmission hardware
(cables, switch boxes, signal
boosters) are rated for (at 60 Hz
refresh). 24-bit colour requires 9 MB
of video memory (and transmission
bandwidth) for a single frame. Also
the native resolution of medium to
large latest-generation (2012),
standard-aspect tablet computers.

2048x1536
(3146k)

4:3

24 bpp

QHD

Quad High
Definition

Used on the Microsoft Surface Pro 3.

2160x1440
(3110k)

3:2

24 bpp

WQHD

Wide Quad
High
Definition

The native resolution for many

higher end 27" widescreen IPS
panels.

2560x1440
(3686k)

16:9

24 bpp

WQXGA

Widescreen
Quad
Extended
Graphics
Array

A version of the XGA format, the

native resolution for many 30"
widescreen LCD monitors. Also, the
highest resolution supported by
dual-link DVI at a standard colour
depth and non-interlaced refresh
rate (I.E. at least 24 bpp and 60 Hz).
Used on theMacBook Pro with Retina
display (13.3"). Requires 12 MB of
memory/bandwidth for a single
frame.

2560x1600
(4096k)

16:10

24 bpp

QSXGA

Quad Super
Extended
Double the resolution of SXGA in
Graphics
each dimension.
Array

2560x2048
(5243k)

5:4

24 bpp

16:10

24 bpp

25:16

24 bpp

Video
standard

Full
name

Full HD
Plus

QWXGA+
WQSXGA

[2]

Quad Wide
Extended
Graphics
Array Plus

Used on the MacBook Pro with Retina

display (15.4"). Double the
2880x1800
resolution of the previous 1440x900
(5184k)
standard in each dimension.

Wide Quad
Super
Extended

3200x2048
(6554k)

Table of computer display standards

Video
standard

Full
name

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

Asp
ect
rati
o

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

3200x2400
(7680k)

4:3

24 bpp

3840x2160
(8294k)

16:9

24 bpp

Graphics
Array
QUXGA

Quad Ultra
Extended
Graphics
Array

QFHD

Quad Full
HighDefinition

Four times the resolution of 1080p,

available in some 56" and 24"
displays. Requires a dual-link DVI,
category 2 (high-speed) HDMI,
Displayport or single Thunderbolt
link, and a reduced scan rate (up to
30 Hz); a twin link Thunderbolt
connection or a single DisplayPort
1.2 connection could support this
resolution at a full 60 Hz, or 30 Hz in
stereoscopic 3D.

WQUXGA

Wide Quad
Ultra
Extended
Graphics
Array

The IBM T220/T221 LCD

monitors supported this resolution,
but they are no longer available.

3840x2400
(9216k)

16:10

24 bpp

4K

DLP
Cinema
Technology

Digital Film Projection. The current

standard (2012) in digital cinema.

4096x2160
(8847k)

1.8962
:1

48 bpp (at 24
frame/s)

HXGA

Hex[adecat
uple]
Extended
Graphics
Array

4096x3072
(12583k)

4:3

24 bpp

UNNAMED

UNNAMED

5120x2160
(11059k)

21:9

24 bpp

WSHD

Wide Sedec
imHigh
Definition
(2880p)

5120x2880
(14745k)

16:9

24 bpp

WHXGA

Wide
Hex[adecat
uple]
Extended
Graphics
Array

5120x3200
(16384k)

16:10

24 bpp

HSXGA

Hex[adecat
uple] Super
Extended
Graphics
Array

5120x4096
(20972k)

5:4

24 bpp

WHSXGA

Wide

6400x4096

25:16

24 bpp

Often referred to as "5K". Having

exactly double the dimensions of
WQHD's 2560x1440 (3686k), hence
used on Apple's late-2014 27"
"Retina 5K Display"qualityiMac screen.

Table of computer display standards

Video
standard

Full
name

Description

Display
resolutio
n(pixels)

Asp
ect
rati
o

Color
depth(2^
bppcolors)

Hex[adecat
uple] Super
Extended
Graphics
Array

(26214k)

HUXGA

Hex[adecat
uple] Ultra
Extended
Graphics
Array

6400x4800
(30720k)

4:3

24 bpp

8K UHD

8K Ultrahighdefinition
(Super HiVision)

7680x4320
(33177k)

16:9

30 bpp ~
36 bpp

WHUXGA

Wide
Hex[adecat
uple] Ultra
Extended
Graphics
Array

7680x4800
(36864k)

16:10

24 bpp

UNNAMED

UNNAMED

11200x4800
(53760k)

21:9

24 bpp

A digital format in testing by NHK in

Japan (with a partnership extending
to the BBCfor test coverage of the
2012 London Olympic Games),
intended to provide effectively
"pixel-less" imagery even on extralarge LCD or projection screens.

Display resolution prefixes

Although the common standard prefixes super and ultra do not indicate
specific modifiers to base standard resolutions, several others do:
Quarter (Q or q)
A quarter of the base resolution. E.g. QVGA, a term for a 320x240
resolution, half the width and height of VGA, hence the quarter total
resolution. The "Q" prefix usually indicates "Quad" (4 times as many, not 1/4
times as many) in higher resolutions, and sometimes "q" is used instead of

"Q" to specify quarter (by analogy with SI prefixes m/M)but this usage is not
consistent.[3]
Wide (W)
The base resolution increased by increasing the width and keeping the
height constant, for square or near-square pixels on a widescreen display,
usually with an aspect ratio of either 16:9 (adding an extra 1/3rd width vs a
standard 4:3 display) or 16:10 (adding an extra 1/5th). However, it is
sometimes used to denote a resolution that would have roughly the same
total pixel count as this, but in a different aspect and sharing neither the
horizontal OR vertical resolution - typically for a 16:10 resolution which is
narrower but taller than the 16:9 option, and therefore larger in both
dimensions than the base standard (e.g. compare 1366x768 and 1280x800,
both commonly labelled as "WXGA", vs the base 1024x768 "XGA").
Quad(ruple) (Q)
Four times as many pixels compared to the base resolution, i.e. twice the
horizontal and vertical resolution respectively.
Hex(adecatuple) (H)
Sixteen times as many pixels compared to the base resolution, i.e. four
times the horizontal and vertical resolutions respectively.
Super (S), eXtended (X), Plus (+) and/or Ultra (U)
Vaguer terms denoting successive incremental steps up the resolution
ladder from some comparative, more established base, usually somewhat
less severe a jump than quartering or Quadrupling - typically less than
doubling, and sometimes not even as much of a change as making a "wide"
version; for example SVGA (800x600 vs 640x480), SXGA (1280x1024 vs
1024x768), SXGA+ (1400x1050 vs 1280x1024) and UXGA (1600x1200 vs
1024x768 - or more fittingly, vs the 1280x1024 of SXGA, the conceptual
"next step down" at the time of UXGA's inception, or the 1400x1050 of
SXGA+). Given the use of "X" in "XGA", it is not often used as an additional
modifier (e.g. there is no such thing as XVGA except as an alternative
designation for SXGA) unless its meaning would be unambiguous.
These prefixes are also often combined, as in WQXGA or WHUXGA, with
levels of stacking not hindered by the same consideration towards
readability as the decline of the added "X" - especially as there is not even a
defined hierarchy or value for S/X/U/+ modifiers.