1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:10,000 Speaker 1: I'm Lauren Vogelbaum, and this is another classic episode from 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: our former host, Christian Sagar. If you've ever been in 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: the market for new entertainment electronics, you'll have almost certainly 5 00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: gotten an earful about the resolution of whatever TV screens 6 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 1: or monitors you were considering. But how much does resolution 7 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:30,920 Speaker 1: really matter? Hey brain Stuff, Christian Sager. Here, when we're 8 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:36,360 Speaker 1: talking about TV, we're talking about one big thing. Resolution, 9 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 1: sharper images, crisper action, immaculate detail in everything from sports 10 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: to documentaries to video games. In just a few years, 11 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,319 Speaker 1: we've seen the race move from seven twenty to ten 12 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: a DP to four K and beyond. And this brings 13 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: us to today's question, does TV resolution matter? Spoiler alert? 14 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,680 Speaker 1: The answer is yes at slutely, or maybe a better 15 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,120 Speaker 1: way to say it is yes, absolutely, but with a footnote. 16 00:01:05,400 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: Before we get to all the weird stuff that footnote represents, 17 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:13,840 Speaker 1: we need to understand resolution itself. Resolution starts with the pixel. 18 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,080 Speaker 1: A pixel is the smallest possible unit of a digital image, 19 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:22,199 Speaker 1: a single point of light. When you hear manufacturers talking 20 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: about resolution, they're describing the number of pixels on a 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: given screen, So an old school cathode ray TV would 22 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: display the equivalent of three hundred thousand pixels on a screen, 23 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,680 Speaker 1: while an HDTV could pack more than two million pixels 24 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: into a screen. The standard way for TV makers to 25 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: classify resolution is with numbers followed by a letter. The 26 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: numbers indicate the rows of horizontal pixels, so think four 27 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 1: A D I, ten A d P and so on. 28 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,840 Speaker 1: The bigger the number, the more pixels on the screen. 29 00:01:57,280 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: The letters at the end of the numbers stand for 30 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: I is interlaced, and P for progressive scan. The differences 31 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: are important, but fairly complicated, so let's save that one 32 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 1: for another day. Using more pixels to create an image 33 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:16,080 Speaker 1: creates a smoother, less blocky, or pixelated image. So at 34 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: first glance, it sounds as if more pixels equal a 35 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 1: better experience, Right, Not so fast. Like here's where our 36 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: footnote comes in. Pixel density itself is not the only 37 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:32,080 Speaker 1: factor in the race toward a better sharper image. If 38 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:35,919 Speaker 1: we're looking at resolution as the ability to discern fine details, 39 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 1: several other factors come into play. For instance, what's the 40 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,359 Speaker 1: source of the image, what roll does color play, how 41 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:47,320 Speaker 1: close or far are you from the screen and how 42 00:02:47,560 --> 00:02:50,520 Speaker 1: big is the screen? For example, if you're watching a 43 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: small enough screen, say inches from ten or more feet away, 44 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 1: your I won't be able to tell the difference between 45 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: anything from four eight to four K. The farther you 46 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,720 Speaker 1: are away from the image source, the smoother the picture appears. 47 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 1: As for the size of the screen, well, sure, you 48 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: could have a twenty six inch TV with ten a 49 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: D line resolution and it would still have the same 50 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: number of pixels as a fifty five inch TV with 51 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: otherwise identical specs, but the pixels would be physically smaller. 52 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:24,680 Speaker 1: So in this context, size definitely matters. If you put 53 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,440 Speaker 1: a h D t V with seven twenty line resolution 54 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 1: next to another h D t V with ten a 55 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 1: D you may not be able to tell the difference 56 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:37,320 Speaker 1: between the two. These are just a few of the 57 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: pertinent factors in the overall equation. There's another big question 58 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: here too. Does the human eye have a resolution limit? 59 00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:49,600 Speaker 1: How many individual pixels can the human eye perceive? And 60 00:03:49,680 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: that's a tricky question to our eyes are not cameras. Instead, 61 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: they're an initial step to an intricate process involving loads 62 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:02,120 Speaker 1: of unconscious estimation and guesswork in our brains. It is 63 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: true that after a certain point, the human eye is 64 00:04:04,840 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: unable to differentiate or appreciate the differences between some pixel densities. 65 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: With the right source, material, equipment, and viewing distance, four 66 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: K really can make a difference. For example, if you're 67 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 1: sitting a few feet from a sixty four K television 68 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,200 Speaker 1: with an ultra high definition video feed, you'll be able 69 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: to tell if it suddenly switches to regular HD or 70 00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: brace yourself standard definition. The limits of HD TV aren't 71 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: a failure of technology, there a limit of our biology. 72 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,120 Speaker 1: If we can't tell the difference between a lower resolution 73 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: in TV and an HD version, then there's not much 74 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: incentive to buy the latest ultra high definition TV set. 75 00:04:47,640 --> 00:04:50,320 Speaker 1: But this isn't the end of the story. The race 76 00:04:50,400 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 1: for higher resolution continues. Cameras that shooting four K have 77 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:58,719 Speaker 1: already become the norm, and each year bring new innovations. 78 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: These ultra high definition technologies may not make for a 79 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: better picture on a home television, but in a movie 80 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: theater it makes a big difference, and in the future 81 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:12,560 Speaker 1: we might not care as much about resolution. It's possible 82 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 1: that other technologies like high dynamic range may become the 83 00:05:16,960 --> 00:05:20,599 Speaker 1: next big thing. Today's episode was written by Ben Bullen 84 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: and produced by Tyler Clang. For more on this and 85 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:25,680 Speaker 1: lots of other Crystal Clear topics, visit how Stuff works 86 00:05:25,720 --> 00:05:28,239 Speaker 1: dot com. Brain Stuff is a production of My heart Radio. 87 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 1: From more podcasts in my heart Radio, visit the heart 88 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 89 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:33,920 Speaker 1: favorite shows.