Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and this is another classic episode from our former host, Christian Sagar. If you've ever been in the market for new entertainment electronics, you'll have almost certainly gotten an earful about the resolution of whatever TV screens or monitors you were considering. But how much does resolution really matter? Hey brain Stuff, Christian Sager. Here, when we're
talking about TV, we're talking about one big thing. Resolution, sharper images, crisper action, immaculate detail in everything from sports to documentaries to video games. In just a few years, we've seen the race move from seven twenty to ten a DP to four K and beyond. And this brings us to today's question, does TV resolution matter? Spoiler alert? The answer is yes at slutely, or maybe a better way to say it is yes, absolutely, but with a footnote.
Before we get to all the weird stuff that footnote represents, we need to understand resolution itself. Resolution starts with the pixel. A pixel is the smallest possible unit of a digital image, a single point of light. When you hear manufacturers talking about resolution, they're describing the number of pixels on a given screen, So an old school cathode ray TV would display the equivalent of three hundred thousand pixels on a screen, while an HDTV could pack more than two million pixels
into a screen. The standard way for TV makers to classify resolution is with numbers followed by a letter. The numbers indicate the rows of horizontal pixels, so think four A D I, ten A d P and so on. The bigger the number, the more pixels on the screen. The letters at the end of the numbers stand for I is interlaced, and P for progressive scan. The differences are important, but fairly complicated, so let's save that one for another day. Using more pixels to create an image
creates a smoother, less blocky, or pixelated image. So at first glance, it sounds as if more pixels equal a better experience, Right, Not so fast. Like here's where our footnote comes in. Pixel density itself is not the only factor in the race toward a better sharper image. If we're looking at resolution as the ability to discern fine details,
several other factors come into play. For instance, what's the source of the image, what roll does color play, how close or far are you from the screen and how big is the screen? For example, if you're watching a small enough screen, say inches from ten or more feet away, your I won't be able to tell the difference between anything from four eight to four K. The farther you are away from the image source, the smoother the picture appears.
As for the size of the screen, well, sure, you could have a twenty six inch TV with ten a D line resolution and it would still have the same number of pixels as a fifty five inch TV with otherwise identical specs, but the pixels would be physically smaller. So in this context, size definitely matters. If you put a h D t V with seven twenty line resolution next to another h D t V with ten a D you may not be able to tell the difference between the two. These are just a few of the
pertinent factors in the overall equation. There's another big question here too. Does the human eye have a resolution limit? How many individual pixels can the human eye perceive? And that's a tricky question to our eyes are not cameras. Instead, they're an initial step to an intricate process involving loads
of unconscious estimation and guesswork in our brains. It is true that after a certain point, the human eye is unable to differentiate or appreciate the differences between some pixel densities. With the right source, material, equipment, and viewing distance, four K really can make a difference. For example, if you're sitting a few feet from a sixty four K television with an ultra high definition video feed, you'll be able to tell if it suddenly switches to regular HD or
brace yourself standard definition. The limits of HD TV aren't a failure of technology, there a limit of our biology. If we can't tell the difference between a lower resolution in TV and an HD version, then there's not much incentive to buy the latest ultra high definition TV set. But this isn't the end of the story. The race for higher resolution continues. Cameras that shooting four K have already become the norm, and each year bring new innovations.
These ultra high definition technologies may not make for a better picture on a home television, but in a movie theater it makes a big difference, and in the future we might not care as much about resolution. It's possible that other technologies like high dynamic range may become the next big thing. Today's episode was written by Ben Bullen and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other Crystal Clear topics, visit how Stuff works
dot com. Brain Stuff is a production of My heart Radio. From more podcasts in my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.