What Are Common Monitor Resolutions?

Monitor resolutions describe how many pixels a screen has across and down. A 1920 × 1080 monitor has 1,920 columns and 1,080 rows of pixels, just over two million in total. More pixels on the same screen size give finer detail and sharper text.

Resolution is usually quoted with a short name that dates back to PC graphics standards, such as SVGA or XGA, or to TV formats, such as HD, FHD and UHD. The two numbers also set the aspect ratio, the shape of the screen: 1920 × 1080 is 16:9, 1920 × 1200 is 16:10, 1024 × 768 is 4:3 and 1280 × 1024 is 5:4.

Resolution on its own does not say how sharp a screen looks. That depends on pixel density, the number of pixels per inch (PPI), which comes from resolution and screen size together, and on how far away the viewer stands.

These are the names you will meet on monitor and panel PC datasheets, from legacy industrial screens to current 4K displays.

WXGA is also used for 1366 × 768 and 1280 × 768 panels, so check the pixel count rather than the name.

An LCD has a fixed grid of pixels, and its native resolution is the size of that grid. Send it exactly that resolution and each pixel in the signal lands on one pixel on the glass, so text and lines are as sharp as the panel allows.

Send a different resolution and the monitor has to scale the image. Scaling up from a lower resolution makes edges soft. Sending a different aspect ratio either stretches the picture or adds black bars. For an HMI, the safest approach is to design the screens at the panel’s native resolution and set the computer’s output to match.

Scaling in the operating system is a separate setting. On a small, high-resolution screen, Windows and Linux can enlarge text and buttons, say to 125% or 150%, while still sending the panel its native resolution. That keeps the image sharp and the controls large enough to touch. Many industrial monitors also offer a 1:1 or aspect mode in their on-screen menu, which shows a lower-resolution source unscaled or with black bars instead of stretching it.

To check the resolution a monitor is running at, open the display settings on the connected computer. To find its native resolution, look at the datasheet or the recommended setting in those display settings.

Office monitors moved to 16:9 years ago, but many machines did not. HMI software, SCADA screens and machine controls written for 1024 × 768 or 1280 × 1024 expect that shape, and the cabinet cut-outs were made for it. Replacing a screen with the same aspect ratio and native resolution avoids redrawing every page of the HMI or living with a stretched image.

That is why our range keeps 4:3 monitors in SVGA and XGA and 5:4 monitors in SXGA alongside current widescreen models.

The same resolution looks very different on different screen sizes. XGA on a 10.4 inch screen gives around 123 pixels per inch, while XGA on a 15 inch screen gives around 85. Stretch FHD across 32 inches and the density falls to around 69 pixels per inch, which is fine across a control room but coarse from arm’s length.

As a rough guide, people at arm’s length, around 50 to 70 cm, start to see individual pixels below about 90 to 100 pixels per inch. At two metres or more, much lower densities look smooth. That is why a wall-mounted status screen can use a modest resolution, while a desk or cabinet-door screen that people read up close benefits from more pixels.

Our 15 inch industrial monitors show the spread: XGA 4:3 models for existing HMIs sit beside FHD widescreen models for denser layouts, in the same panel mount and chassis formats.

Higher is not always better on an industrial display. Match the resolution to the content, the viewing distance and the computer driving it.

We supply industrial monitors and panel PCs at the resolution and aspect ratio the application needs, and configure and test each one with its computer before it ships.