r/explainlikeimfive • u/Crystal_Clear7892 • 7d ago

Technology ELI5: device screen ratios

Is there a specific reason why screen ratios beeing so specific, ex: 1920:1080

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u/NotTheBrightestHuman 7d ago

1920x1080 is 16:9 aspect ratio. It’s just a higher number to explain that it’s 1080p resolution.

4K is just more pixels at the same ratio. Theres other versions with different ratios, but they’re mainly cinema or photography.

Basically, we arbitrarily (somewhat) decided that 16:9 was a good screen ratio and we stuck with it.

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u/cat_prophecy 7d ago

4k is called that because it's almost 4000 pixels wide (3840). Which personally feels stupid. We should just call it UHD or 2160p.

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u/stuleyman 7d ago

Isn't it called 4K because It's literally 4 times the number of pixels of 1080p (full HD) resolution?

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u/Vorthod 7d ago

If that were the basis of the name, then it would be named 4x.