HD, Full HD, Ultra HD Explained | 720p vs 1080p vs 4K vs 8K Resolutions

Screen’s is what people look at whenever people use tech these days. There are screens everywhere from your car’s infotainment system to your mobiles, laptops, and tablets. Quality of screens matters allot, it basically decides the quality of viewing experience a user is getting. One major factor which comes into play is the resolution of the screen. The resolution of the screen tells the crispiness, sharpness of the video which you are seeing. A high-resolution display will definitely look good to eyes and have a better overall quality of the content you are watching. So here we have a comparison of a few of the major display resolutions starting from 720p vs 1080p vs 4k vs 8k resolution.

HD, Full HD, Ultra HD Explained

HD, Full HD, Ultra HD Explained

Don’t forget that the quality of the content should also be equally in good resolution otherwise despite having a higher resolution display your viewing experience can be impacted. For example, if you are watching a 720p video on an 8k resolution tv you won’t get to utilize the full potential of the display and the experience won’t be the same as of watching an 8k video on 8k display. Similarly, if you watch an 8k video on a 720p display it will eventually be scaled down to 720 resolution only because a 720p resolution cannot push as many pixels as an 8k display can.

720p resolution

A 720p resolution is also called as HD or HD ready it has 1280 by 720 pixels across the display. It is mostly seen in the budget segment of every piece of tech. If you a budget phone or a budget laptop or even TV chances are you will be getting a 720p resolution display. In some displays like laptops and TVs, they have a native 1366 by 768 resolution on their displays which is equivalent to 720p only.

The 720p is the basic standard and the starting point of the term called High-definition or HD. For small displays like a mobile phone of 720p display won’t matter much, as a matter of fact, the 2021 iPhone 11 has a resolution of 1792 x 828 which is slightly above 720p resolution and below 1080p resolution. But if the display is bigger in size like a TV or a monitor than it can be a matter of issue as you might be able to distinguish individual pixels on the screen.

1080p resolution

The 1080p resolution is also called as FULL HD or FHD. It is the standard of every display in the market. Most of the display currently in the market is of 1080p only. The resolution of 1080p is 1920 by 1080. The major difference between 720p and 1080p is the extra number of pixels the 1080p resolution has. From the naked eye, it is very hard to see the individual pixels on a 1080p display.

Most of the videos are also recorded in 1080p only. So we can easily say that this is the golden resolution for anything related to videos or displays as of now. Most of the phones, laptops are shipped with a 1080p resolution display only. Most of the tech of this resolution is said to be the best value for money also.

4k Resolution

The 4k resolution is a matter of taste and priority. The 4k resolution has 4 times the number of pixels 1080p resolution has. The resolution of 4k is 3,840 x 2,160 which is insane. The displays of this level of resolution look astonishingly clear and crisp. Usually, the 4K displays are called as UHD or Ultra HD. Most of the high-end TVs and monitors are shipped with this resolution. In recent years smartphones and cameras have also got the option to shoot videos in 4k resolution.

Sony has made a few of their smartphones which has a UHD or 4k display and no other smartphones have a 4k resolution display to date. The displays of this resolution especially in high-end TVs give an immersive viewing experience. Though most of the streaming services have just started to give out 4k content to watch but still the choices are very less. Majorly, all of the videos, movies or Tv series are available in 1080p only. Also, there is a resolution that is between 1080p and 4k which is 2k resolution. It is not very famous or any kind of ideal resolution for any tech. But many of the flagship phones are these days launched with 2k resolution or 1440p. it is also called as QHD or QUAD HD.

8k Resolution

The resolution from the future. The 8k resolution is currently way ahead of its time. There are very very few devices that support 8k shooting of videos. And even fewer display devices that have 8k resolution. Forget about smartphones or laptops. Only the extreme high-end monitors and TVs have 8k resolution. even if you buy an 8k TV or monitor. You really won’t be having much content to watch in 8k. 8K has a resolution of 7680 x 4320 Pixels which is humungous.

There is particular hardware that is developed to run 8k videos. Particular HDMI ports a processor in a display device to render an 8k resolution. The world has gradually reached up to 4k but for 8k there’s plenty of time. Remember 8k resolution is 8 times the resolution of a 1080p which is the ideal as of now. So buying anything which advertises about 8k is just a waste of money as of now. Surely you will be future proof but imagine watching something on a 1080p resolution on an 8k display.

Final verdict

For the best as of now is 1080p but if you want to go that extra mile people should go for 4k which should be enough for at least the next couple of years. Until 8K really becomes a thing to shoot and watch in.