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1080p (1920 × 1080 progressively displayedpixels; also known asFull HD orFHD, andBT.709) is a set ofHDTVhigh-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vertically;[1] thep stands forprogressive scan,i.e. non-interlaced. The term usually assumes awidescreenaspect ratio of16:9, implying a resolution of 2.1megapixels. It is often marketed as Full HD or FHD, to contrast 1080p with720p resolution screens. Although 1080p is sometimes referred to as2K resolution[2][3][4] (meaning having a horizontalresolution of approximately 2,000pixels[5]), other sources differentiate between 1080p and (true) 2K resolution.
1080p video signals are supported byATSC standards in the United States andDVB standards in Europe. Applications of the 1080p standard include television broadcasts,Blu-ray Discs,smartphones, Internet content such as YouTube videos andNetflix TV shows and movies, consumer-gradetelevisions andprojectors,computer monitors andvideo game consoles. Smallcamcorders,smartphones anddigital cameras can capture still and moving images in 1080p (sometimes 4K, or even 8K) resolution.
Any display device that advertises 1080p typically refers to the ability to accept a 1080p signal and display it with a native resolution of at least 1080 lines vertically (as well as the ability toupscale lower-resolution material to 1080p). This means that the display is not over-scanning, under-scanning, or reinterpreting the signal to a lower resolution. TheHD ready 1080p logo program, byDigitalEurope, requires that certified TV sets support 1080p 24 fps, 1080p 25 fps, 1080p 50 fps, and 1080p 60 fps formats, among other requirements, with fps meaningframes per second. For live broadcast applications, a high-definition progressive scan format operating at 1080p at 50 or 60 frames per second was being evaluated as a future standard for moving picture acquisition, although 24 fps was used for shooting movies.[6][7] Until the early 2010s,EBU was endorsing 1080p50 as afuture-proof production format because it improved resolution and required nodeinterlacing, allowed broadcasting of standard 1080i50 and 720p50 signal alongside 1080p50 even in the current infrastructure and was compatible withDCI distribution formats.[8][9]
1080p50/p60 production format requires a whole new range of studio equipment including cameras, storage and editing systems,[10] and contribution links (such asDual-link HD-SDI and3G-SDI) as it has doubled the data rate of current 50 or 60 fields interlaced 1920 × 1080 from 1.485 Gbit/s to nominally 3 Gbit/s using uncompressed RGB encoding. Most current revisions ofSMPTE 372M,SMPTE 424M and EBU Tech 3299 requireYCbCr color space and 4:2:2chroma subsampling for transmitting 1080p50 (nominally 2.08 Gbit/s) and 1080p60 signal. Studies from 2009 show that for digital broadcasts compressed with H.264/AVC, transmission bandwidth savings ofinterlaced video over fully progressive video are minimal even when using twice theframe rate; i.e., 1080p50 signal (50 progressive frames per second) actually produces the same bit rate as 1080i50 signal (25 interlaced frames or 50 sub-fields per second).[8][9][11]
In the United States, the originalATSC standards for HDTV supported 1080p video, but only at the frame rates of 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97 and 30 frames per second (colloquially known as1080p24,1080p25 and1080p30). In July 2008, the ATSC standards were amended to includeH.264/MPEG-4 AVC compression and 1080p at 50, 59.94 and 60 frames per second (1080p50 and1080p60). Suchframe rates require H.264/AVCHigh Profile Level 4.2, while standard HDTV frame rates only require Level 4.0. This update is not expected to result in widespread availability of 1080p60 programming, since most of the existing digital receivers in use would only be able to decode the older, less-efficientMPEG-2 codec, and because there is a limited amount of bandwidth forsubchannels.
In Europe, 1080p25 signals have been supported by theDVB suite of broadcasting standards. The 1080p50 format is considered to be a future-proof production format and, eventually, a future broadcasting format.[6] 1080p50 broadcasting should require the same bandwidth as 1080i50 signal and only 15–20% more than that of 720p50 signal due to increased compression efficiency,[8] though 1080p50 production requires more bandwidth or more efficientcodecs such asJPEG 2000, high-bitrateMPEG-2, orH.264/AVC andHEVC.[9][12] In September 2009,ETSI andEBU, the maintainers of the DVB suite, added support for 1080p50 signal coded with MPEG-4 AVCHigh Profile Level 4.2 withScalable Video Coding extensions orVC-1Advanced Profile compression; DVB also supports 1080p encoded at ATSC frame rates of 23.976, 24, 29.97, 30, 59.94 and 60.[13][14]
EBU requires that legacy MPEG-4 AVC decoders should avoid crashing in the presence of SVC or 1080p50 (and higher resolution) packets.[13] SVC enablesforward compatibility with 1080p50 and 1080p60 broadcasting for older MPEG-4 AVC receivers, so they will only recognize baseline SVC stream coded at a lower resolution or frame rate (such as 720p60 or 1080i60) and will gracefully ignore additional packets, while newer hardware will be able to decode full-resolution signal (such as 1080p60).
In June 2016, EBU announced the "Advanced 1080p" format[15] which will includeUHD Phase A features such ashigh-dynamic-range video (usingPQ andHLG) at 10 and 12 bit color andBT.2020 color gamut, and optionalHFR 100, 120/1.001 and 120 Hz; an advanced 1080p video stream can be encoded alongside baseline HDTV or UHDTV signal usingScalable HEVC. The ITU-TBT.2100 standard that includes Advanced 1080p video was subsequently published in July 2016.
In practice, 1080p typically refers to a 1920 × 1080p raster with a 16:9picture aspect ratio. The following is a list of other resolutions with a picture height of 1080 lines that are sometimes referred as 1080p.[citation needed]
| Standard | Resolution | Picture aspect ratio |
|---|---|---|
| HDV 1080i | 1440 × 1080p | 4:3 |
| 3:2 wide | 1620 × 1080p | 3:2 |
| 16:10 wide | 1728 × 1080p | 16:10 |
| 5:3 widescreen | 1800 × 1080p | 5:3 |
| Full HD | 1920 × 1080p | 16:9 |
| Full HD+ | 2160 × 1080p | 18:9 |
| DCI 2K | 2048 × 1080p | 1.90:1 (256:135, ≈17:9) |
| Smartphone display | 2220 × 1080p | 18.5:9 |
| Smartphone 19:9 display | 2280 × 1080p | 19:9 |
| Smartphone display | 2340 × 1080p | 19.5:9 |
| Smartphone 20:9 display | 2400 × 1080p | 20:9 |
| Ultrawide | 2560 × 1080p | ≈ 21:9 |
| Vertical | 1080 × 1920p | 9:16 |
In the United States, 1080p over-the-air broadcasts are currently available in select stations in some cities in the US via ATSC 3.0 multiplex stations where as ATSC 3.0 is currently rolling out throughout the U.S. The majority of the stations that broadcast at 1080p are CBS and NBC stations and affiliates. All other stations do not broadcast at 1080p and usually broadcast at 720p60 (including when simulcasting in ATSC 3.0) or 1080i60 (outside of ATSC 3.0) encoded with MPEG-2. There is also technical restrictions with ATSC 3.0 multiplex stations that prevent stations from airing at 1080p. While converting to ATSC 3.0 is voluntary by TV Stations, there is no word when any of the major networks will consider airing at 1080p in the foreseeable future on a national scale, although they are required to broadcast ATSC signals for at least five years thereafter. However, satellite services (e.g.,DirecTV, XstreamHD andDish Network) use the 1080p/24-30 format with MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 encoding forpay-per-view movies that are downloaded in advance via satellite or on-demand via broadband. At this time, no pay service channel such as USA, HDNET, etc. nor premium movie channel such as HBO, etc., stream their services live to their distributors (MVPD) in this format because many MVPDs, especially DBS and cable, do not have sufficient bandwidth to provide the format streaming live to their subscribers without negatively impacting their current services.[citation needed]
For material that originates from a progressive scanned 24 frame/s source (such as film),MPEG-2 lets the video be coded as 1080p24, irrespective of the final output format. These progressively-coded frames are tagged with metadata (literally, fields of the PICTURE header) instructing a decoder how to perform a3:2 pulldown to interlace them. While the formal output of the MPEG-2 decoding process from such stations is 1080i60, the actual content is coded as 1080p24 and can be viewed as such (using a process known asinverse telecine) since no information is lost even when the broadcaster performs the 3:2 pulldown.[16]
In June 2016, German television stations began broadcasting 1080p50 high-definition video on eight channels via theHEVC-encoded DVB-T2 protocol. A total of 40 channels were available on March 29, 2017 (Phase 1).[17] Further changes took place on November 8, 2017 (Phase 2a), April 25, 2018 (Phase 2b), September 26, 2018 (Phase 3a-I), October 24, 2018 (Phase 3a-II), November 8, 2018 (Phase 3a-III), November 28, 2018 (Phase 3a-IV), December 5, 2018 (Phase 3a-V), March 13, 2019 (Phase 3b-I), April 3, 2019 (Phase 3b-II), May 22, 2019 (Phase 3b-III) and August 29, 2019 (Phase 3b-IV).[18][19][20]
Blu-ray Discs are able to hold 1080p HD content, and most movies released onBlu-ray Disc produce a full 1080p HD picture when the player is connected to a 1080pHDTV via anHDMI cable. The Blu-ray Disc video specification allows encoding of 1080p23.976, 1080p24, 1080i50, and 1080i59.94. Generally this type of video runs at 30 to 40 megabits per second, compared to the 3.5 megabits per second for conventional standard definition broadcasts.[21]
Smartphones with 1080p Full HD display have been available on the market since 2012.[22] As of 2014, it is the standard for mid-range to high-end smartphones, with many flagship devices using even higher resolutions, such asQuad HD (1440p) orUltra HD (2160p).
Several websites, including YouTube, allow videos to be uploaded in the 1080p format. YouTube streams 1080p content at approximately 4 megabits per second[23] compared to Blu-ray's 30 to 40 megabits per second.Digital distribution services likeHulu andHBO Max also deliver 1080p content, such as movies available on Blu-ray Disc or from broadcast sources. This can include distribution services like peer-to-peer websites and public or private tracking networks.Netflix has been offering high quality 1080p content in the US and other countries through select internet providers since 2013.[24]
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As of 2012, most consumer televisions being sold provide 1080p inputs, mainly viaHDMI, and support full high-definition resolutions. 1080p resolution is available in all types of television, includingplasma,LCD,DLP front and rear projection andLCD projection. For displaying film-based 1080i60 signals, a scheme called 3:2 pulldown reversal (reverse telecine) is beginning to appear in some newer 1080p displays, which can produce a true 1080p quality image from film-based 1080i60 programs. Similarly, 25fps content broadcast at 1080i50 may be deinterlaced to 1080p content with no loss of quality or resolution.
AV equipment manufacturers have adopted the termFull HD to mean a set can display all available HD resolutions up to 1080p. The term is misleading, however, because it does not guarantee the set is capable of rendering digital video at all frame rates encoded in source files with 1920 X 1080 pixel resolution. Most notably, a "Full HD" set is not guaranteed to support the 1080p24 format, leading toconsumer confusion.[25][26][27]DigitalEurope (formerly EICTA) maintains theHD ready 1080p logo program that requires the certified TV sets to support 1080p24, 1080p50, and 1080p60, withoutoverscan/underscan and picture distortion.
Most widescreencathode-ray tube (CRT) andliquid-crystal display (LCD) monitors cannatively display 1080p content. For example, widescreenWUXGA monitors support 1920 × 1200 resolution, which can display a pixel for pixel reproduction of the 1080p (1920 × 1080) format. Additionally, many 23, 24, and 27-inch (690 mm) widescreen LCD monitors use 1920 × 1200 as their native resolution; 30 inch displays can display beyond 1080p at up to 2560 × 1600 (1600p). Many 27" monitors have native resolutions of 2560 × 1440 and hence operate at1440p.
Sony has their first and formerlyVaio 1080p laptop, VPCCB17FG, in 2011, and sinceAsus also has their first4K laptop GL502 which was formerly brandedRepublic of Gamers in 2017, 1080p has also become the nowadays lowest standard for laptops.
While Microsoft's originalXbox, launched as part of thesixth generation of video game consoles in 2001, could support a 1080i output in limited circumstances,[28] support for 1080p began with the launch of theseventh generation of home video game consoles in 2005. Both theXbox 360 andPlayStation 3 were capable of outputting at 1080p, with only theWii unable to support the resolution.[29] All home video game consoles launched as part of theeighth generation, which began in 2012 with the launch of theWii U, were capable of 1080p outputs. Mid-generation hardware revisions and new models introduced bySony andMicrosoft to their respectivePlayStation 4 andXbox One consoles added the capability of outputting at4K UHD — well beyond 1080p.[30] Moreover, this mid-generational improvement in computing power also represented a leap in the ability of video game consoles to render gaming content at a 1080p resolution or higher, rather than relying onupscaling.[30] This trend continued with the launch of the currentninth generation of video game consoles in 2020, in which both Sony'sPlayStation 5 and Microsoft'sXbox Series X were advertised as including8K UHD support.[31] As of 2024, however, neither console yet supports outputting the standard and PlayStation 5 packaging no longer advertises the feature.[32] TheNintendo Switch console displays in resolutions up to 1080p when docked, while the successor console,Nintendo Switch 2, displays in 1080p when undocked, and up to 4K when docked.
Many cameras—professional and consumer still, action and video cameras, includingDSLR cameras—and other devices with built-in cameras such as laptops,smartphones and tablet computers, can capture 1080p24, 1080p25, 1080p30 or 1080p60 video, often encoding it inprogressive segmented frame format.
