1280x720 resolution
1280 × 720
HD (720p) · 16:9 · 921,600 pixels · 0.92 megapixels · Broadcast and TV
What 1280x720 is
The lower of the two original HDTV formats and the floor for anything described as high definition. It is still a common upload resolution because it encodes cheaply: a ninth of the pixels of 4K, and 44% of a 1080p frame.
The numbers
| Width | 1,280 px |
| Height | 720 px |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Total pixels | 921,600 |
| Megapixels | 0.92 MP |
| Compared with 1080p | 0.44× the pixels |
| Compared with 4K UHD | 0.11× the pixels |
What 1280x720 costs to move and to store
A frame is width × height × three bytes of colour, before any compression touches it. At 1280 × 720 that is 2.76 MB per frame, and video is frames per second:
| Frame rate | Uncompressed | An hour of it |
|---|---|---|
| 24 fps | 66 MB/s | 0.24 TB |
| 30 fps | 83 MB/s | 0.3 TB |
| 60 fps | 166 MB/s | 0.6 TB |
| 120 fps | 332 MB/s | 1.19 TB |
Nobody ships that. It is the number codecs exist to get away from — a streamed 1280x720 feed runs at a few tens of megabits, which is a compression ratio of several hundred to one, and it is why a still frame from a stream looks worse than a photograph of the same scene.
How close you have to sit for 1280x720 to be worth it
The eye resolves about one arcminute of detail. Past a certain distance the pixels merge whatever the panel does, and a higher resolution stops being visible rather than stopping being better. That distance is the pixel pitch divided by the tangent of one arcminute:
| Screen | Pixels merge beyond |
|---|---|
| 13.3 in monitor or laptop | 0.79 m (2.6 ft) |
| 15.6 in monitor or laptop | 0.93 m (3 ft) |
| 24 in monitor or laptop | 1.43 m (4.7 ft) |
| 27 in monitor or laptop | 1.61 m (5.3 ft) |
| 32 in monitor or laptop | 1.9 m (6.2 ft) |
| 43 in television | 2.56 m (8.4 ft) |
| 55 in television | 3.27 m (10.7 ft) |
| 65 in television | 3.86 m (12.7 ft) |
| 75 in television | 4.46 m (14.6 ft) |
Sitting further back than the figure for your screen, 1280x720 and the next resolution down look the same. That is the whole argument about 4K televisions in ordinary living rooms: the resolution is real and the seating position usually is not close enough to show it.
Pixel density at common screen sizes
A resolution on its own says nothing about sharpness — the same 1280x720 panel is dense on a laptop and coarse on a television. Density is the diagonal in pixels divided by the diagonal in inches.
| Diagonal | Pixel density | |
|---|---|---|
| 13.3 in | 110 PPI | Comfortable at native size |
| 15.6 in | 94 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
| 24 in | 61 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
| 27 in | 54 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
| 32 in | 46 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
Other broadcast and tv resolutions
| Resolution | Name | Ratio | Megapixels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920×1080 | Full HD (1080p) | 16:9 | 2.07 MP |
| 3840×2160 | 4K UHD (2160p) | 16:9 | 8.29 MP |
| 7680×4320 | 8K UHD | 16:9 | 33.18 MP |
Closest in total pixels
- 1280×800 — WXGA
- 1366×768 — HD (laptop)
- 1024×768 — XGA
- 1440×900 — WXGA+
- 1280×1024 — SXGA
- 800×600 — SVGA
- 1600×900 — HD+
- 640×480 — VGA
Frequently asked questions
What is the aspect ratio of 1280x720?
16:9.
How many pixels is 1280x720?
921,600 pixels, or 0.92 megapixels.
Is 1280x720 higher resolution than 1080p?
1280x720 has 44% of the pixels of a 1920×1080 frame.
What size screen suits 1280x720?
Pixel density is what decides that. 110 PPI at 13.3 in, 94 PPI at 15.6 in, 61 PPI at 24 in, 54 PPI at 27 in, 46 PPI at 32 in. Below roughly 110 PPI text starts to look coarse; above about 200 the operating system will usually scale the interface rather than render it at native size.