640x480 resolution
640 × 480
VGA · 4:3 · 307,200 pixels · 0.31 megapixels · Legacy
What 640x480 is
The IBM VGA standard of 1987 and the resolution every fallback mode still assumes. It survives as the size of a webcam stream and the smallest layout anyone tests.
The numbers
| Width | 640 px |
| Height | 480 px |
| Aspect ratio | 4:3 |
| Total pixels | 307,200 |
| Megapixels | 0.31 MP |
| Compared with 1080p | 0.15× the pixels |
| Compared with 4K UHD | 0.04× the pixels |
What 640x480 costs to move and to store
A frame is width × height × three bytes of colour, before any compression touches it. At 640 × 480 that is 0.92 MB per frame, and video is frames per second:
| Frame rate | Uncompressed | An hour of it |
|---|---|---|
| 24 fps | 22 MB/s | 0.08 TB |
| 30 fps | 28 MB/s | 0.1 TB |
| 60 fps | 55 MB/s | 0.2 TB |
| 120 fps | 111 MB/s | 0.4 TB |
Nobody ships that. It is the number codecs exist to get away from — a streamed 640x480 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 640x480 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 | 1.45 m (4.8 ft) |
| 15.6 in monitor or laptop | 1.7 m (5.6 ft) |
| 24 in monitor or laptop | 2.62 m (8.6 ft) |
| 27 in monitor or laptop | 2.95 m (9.7 ft) |
| 32 in monitor or laptop | 3.49 m (11.5 ft) |
| 43 in television | 4.69 m (15.4 ft) |
| 55 in television | 6 m (19.7 ft) |
| 65 in television | 7.09 m (23.3 ft) |
| 75 in television | 8.19 m (26.9 ft) |
Sitting further back than the figure for your screen, 640x480 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 640x480 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 | 60 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
| 15.6 in | 51 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
| 24 in | 33 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
| 27 in | 30 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
| 32 in | 25 PPI | Coarse — individual pixels are visible at desk distance |
Other legacy resolutions
| Resolution | Name | Ratio | Megapixels |
|---|---|---|---|
| 800×600 | SVGA | 4:3 | 0.48 MP |
| 1024×768 | XGA | 4:3 | 0.79 MP |
| 1280×1024 | SXGA | 5:4 | 1.31 MP |
| 1600×1200 | UXGA | 4:3 | 1.92 MP |
| 1680×1050 | WSXGA+ | 8:5 | 1.76 MP |
Closest in total pixels
- 800×600 — SVGA
- 1024×768 — XGA
- 1280×720 — HD (720p)
- 1280×800 — WXGA
- 1366×768 — HD (laptop)
- 1440×900 — WXGA+
- 1280×1024 — SXGA
- 1600×900 — HD+
Frequently asked questions
What is the aspect ratio of 640x480?
4:3.
How many pixels is 640x480?
307,200 pixels, or 0.31 megapixels.
Is 640x480 higher resolution than 1080p?
640x480 has 15% of the pixels of a 1920×1080 frame.
What size screen suits 640x480?
Pixel density is what decides that. 60 PPI at 13.3 in, 51 PPI at 15.6 in, 33 PPI at 24 in, 30 PPI at 27 in, 25 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.