What Is 1080p Resolution? FHD Explained
Get to understand 1080p / FHD and how it compares to other common display resolutions.
1080p, also known as Full HD or FHD (full high definition), is a ubiquitous display resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Resolution explains how many pixels a display has in width x height format, and the more pixels, the sharper the image looks.
Many of today's PC monitors, gaming laptops and TVs come in 1080p resolution. And for gaming or a modern computing experience, this is the lowest resolution considered acceptable. While gaming at higher resolutions of 1440p or 4K offer more realistic experiences, they require a powerful graphics card, so gaming at 1080p is still prevalent among today's mainstream gamers.
Don't be fooled when you hear the term "high definition" or HD without "F" or the word "Full" in front of it. Plain old HD resolution is lower (and, therefore, less sharp) at 1280 x 720 pixels or, in the case of most PCs, 1366 x 768. Neither FHD nor HD is particularly sharp by today's standards with 1440p and 4K getting increasingly popular, but they're considered high definition because they're better than old-fashioned Standard Definition (SD), which is typically 640 x 480.
Common Monitor Resolutions
| 5K | 5120 x 2880 |
| 4K | 3840 x 2160 (typical monitor resolution); 4096 x 2160 (official cinema resolution) |
| Ultra HD (UHD) | 3840 x 2160 |
| QHD aka WQHD aka 1440p | 2560 x 1440 |
| 2K | 2560 x 1440 (typical monitor resolution); 2048 x 1080 (official cinema resolution) |
| WUXGA | 1920 x 1200 |
| 1080p aka Full HD aka FHD | 1920 x 1080 |
| HD aka 720p | 1280 x 720 |
This article is part of the Tom's Hardware Glossary.
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Scharon Harding has over a decade of experience reporting on technology with a special affinity for gaming peripherals (especially monitors), laptops, and virtual reality. Previously, she covered business technology, including hardware, software, cyber security, cloud, and other IT happenings, at Channelnomics, with bylines at CRN UK.