Screen resolution in age of 4K

Looking at the trends in the PC LCD monitor market, the second half of the 2000s saw a simultaneous shift from square to widescreen displays, and now the trend is towards larger screens and higher resolutions.

The best-selling LCD monitor is the 23-inch model with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (HD), but 4K screens, which offer four times the resolution, are improving and the new trend is to move up. resolution (increasing pixel density) without increasing screen size

4K is expected to replace full HD as the mainstream resolution in the coming years. Of course, 4K stands for 4,000 and refers to the horizontal pixel size of approximately a number. There are currently two standards for 4K resolution, namely "DCI 4K" and "UHD 4K".

DCI 4K corresponds to twice the resolution of 2048 x 1080 pixels for projectors (4096 x 2160 / approx. 17:9) and is the 4K resolution of the film industry. On the other hand, UHD 4K (also called UHDTV 4K) is the resolution of the 4K television sector defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It has twice the horizontal resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels in HD (3840 x 2160/16:9).

As screen resolution increases, a new element to consider when choosing a screen is pixel density. The pixel density of monitors is an indicator of the level of resolution and the value is commonly expressed in PPI which stands for "pixels per inch" (not per square inch). One inch equals 2.54 centimeters.

The transfer of high-resolution monitors does not stop at 4K. 27-inch screens (5120 x 2880 pixels / 16: 9) that support 5K are already on sale. The question is what to use with the very high resolution of 5K, but the advantage is that you can put toolbars and other elements on the screen when viewing the interior in 4K using video editing software.

If the distance between the pixels (pixel pitch) decreases without changing the size of the LCD screen, the ppi value increases, and the higher the value, the higher the screen resolution. For example, at 100 ppi, there are 100 pixels per 2.54 centimeters, and at 300 ppi, there are 300 pixels of the same width. For computers, most products have a pixel density of around 96 ppi, which corresponds to the 96 dpi (dots per inch) display density that is standard in the Windows desktop user interface.

The higher the pixel density of the screen, the higher the sharpness of the OS and applications, but there are no screens with such a high pixel density that it cannot be used in practice, so it does not cause any major problems. Depending on how high the pixel density is, icons and fonts will appear larger or smaller, but the sharpness is enough to be recognizable to the user.

Support for high pixel density display environment in PC OS is called HiDPI support. In addition to OS page support, application support is also improved, and the PC software environment around HiDPI has been upgraded to a practical level. This has stimulated the proliferation of very high pixel density displays such as 4K.

In terms of hardware, the GPU has been way overpowered for general purpose computing lately, so even a less powerful PC should be able to handle 4K displays (despite the enjoyment. 4K games and their videos might be a different story. ). When it comes to visuals, looking at the actual display always has more impact than a long description. After the introduction of the Retina display and its positive response, several manufacturers launched smartphones, tablets and computers with high pixel density displays, making this display more popular among mainstream users.

In recent years, products with ultra-wide-angle screens, with wider screens, have also come onto the market. These are 21:9 super wide screen products. It is not suitable for switches from a regular screen environment, but there is a replacement demand from business users who regularly work with spreadsheets and also from users from the environment that there are two side screens. When choosing an LCD in the future, you should also consider the pixel density, which results from the combination of screen size and resolution.

Screen Resolution is the number of horizontal and vertical pixels on a screen. The more pixels, the more information is visible without scrolling. 4K will soon replace HD as the mainstream resolution