Resolution

What is resolution?

Resolution is the number of pixels in a video frame, written as width × height (1920×1080) or by the vertical pixel count with a "p" (1080p1080p (Full HD)Full HD at 1920×1080 — just over two million pixels. The default target for course, sales and web video.Open definition →). More pixels mean a sharper, more detailed image on a given screen — but also more data to encode and deliver.

The "p" stands for progressive scan, where every line of the frame is drawn in order (as opposed to the older interlaced "i" formats). In modern web video, effectively everything is progressive, so 720p720pHigh definition at 1280×720 — 921,600 pixels per frame. The entry point to HD and the fallback rung below Full HD.Open definition →, 1080p and 2160p are the labels you'll actually meet.

Common resolutions

720p–1080p covers most audiences; 4K when the content and screens justify the extra bandwidth.

Resolution isn't the whole story

Resolution sets the ceiling on sharpness, but it is not the same as quality. A 1080p frame starved of bitrateBitrateThe amount of data used per second of video. Higher bitrate means more detail and a larger file; the core lever behind streaming quality.Open definition → shows blocking and smearing and can look worse than a well-encoded 720p. Three things decide how good video actually looks:

There's also diminishing returns from the viewer's side: 4K4K (2160p)Ultra HD at 3840×2160 — four times the pixels of Full HD, and the point where codec choice starts paying for itself.Open definition → only looks meaningfully sharper than 1080p on a large screen viewed up close. On a phone held at arm's length, most people can't tell 1080p from 4K — so the extra bandwidth buys nothing.

Aspect ratio & orientation

Resolution pairs with aspect ratio — the shape of the frame. Most video is 16:9 landscape (1920×1080), but vertical 9:16 (1080×1920) has become standard for phone-first and social formats, and 1:1 square is common in feeds. The resolution labels stay the same; what changes is which dimension is larger. A platform that transcodes automatically preserves your source's aspect ratio across the whole rendition ladder.

Further reading

• Display resolution — Wikipedia — a vendor-neutral overview.

Written by

Denis Konnov Verified

CMO at Kinescope

Denis leads marketing and content at Kinescope, working closely with the platform's engineers. This glossary is reviewed and kept up to date by the team building Kinescope's streaming, encoding and CDN delivery infrastructure.