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Digital Media Through Photoshop

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Display Basics

3:07 with Shon Dempsey

In this video, we’ll learn about resolution as it concerns displays.

Let's kick off with resolution. 0:00
In this course, we're gonna tackle two types of resolution, image resolution and 0:03
display resolution. 0:08
When referring to images, resolution is the density of information, 0:09
typically within an inch, contained within the image file. 0:14
PPI, or pixels per inch, 0:18
tells us how many pixels are represented in a square inch when printed. 0:20
Or, put simply, resolution is the amount of detail available in the image. 0:25
For displays or screens, resolution it how many pixels a display contains. 0:31
Typically represented in columns by rows, for example, 1920 pixels by 1080 pixels. 0:36
Let's have a closer look. 0:43
Displays are made of pixels, the smallest unit of measurement for any display. 0:45
Put the pixels together in rows and columns, and 0:50
we're able to display our content. 0:53
The resolution of our display is conveyed in the number of columns of pixels 0:55
by the number of rows. 0:59
For example, 1:01
that old CRT display I had back in the day, it's resolution was 640 by 480. 1:02
Today, the common resolution for an LCD monitor is 1366 by 768, 1:07
and HDTV can be 1920 by 1080. 1:13
Now a days, we're seeing screens that fit more pixels into smaller areas, 1:19
resulting in high pixel density displays. 1:23
For example, a 4K TV, or Apple's Retina displays. 1:26
Because these displays have smaller pixels, it allows for 1:31
finer detail at a closer viewing distance. 1:34
Which brings us to the next consideration when talking about resolution, 1:37
the physical dimensions of the display. 1:41
Here's my old-school CRT display, 1:43
a 13" screen measured diagonally, displaying 640 by 480 pixels. 1:47
And here's my original iPhone, displaying 320 by 480 on a 3.5" diagonal. 1:54
For additional context, here's a Macbook Pro Retina display, and a 4K 55-inch TV. 2:00
So our takeaway, a pixel isn't the same size on all devices. 2:08
Sometimes it's super tiny, and sometimes it's fairly large. 2:13
An example of large pixels are those displays at Times Square in New York. 2:17
If you were to get close to them, the pixels would be quite large. 2:22
While from the street, it may be tougher to discern individual pixels. 2:25
Which leads me to the last time to think about when considering resolution, 2:30
the distance that which you're viewing the display. 2:34
The closer our eyes are supposed to be to the screen, 2:36
the smaller the pixel should be. 2:39
And as you get further out, you can grow the size of the physical pixel and 2:42
still maintain that crisp image or video. 2:47
That's why we're not able to discern individual pixels on a HDTV or 2:51
a phone that are similar resolution, but different physical sizes. 2:55
In the next video, we'll take a look at an example 3:00
of how display resolution affects images on different devices. 3:03