Template:VESA/doc

This template generates a code to designate a video or graphics display resolution according to recommendations by VESA CVT. It internally calls {{resratio}} if necessary.

In the past, the computer industry has used a de-facto standard system of naming for various spatial formats,which traces its roots to the very early days of the personal computer. In the 1980s, IBM produced a series ofgraphics systems and associated display products, which were referred to as “graphics adapters”, such as theMonochrome Graphics Adapter (MGA), Color Graphics Adapter (CGA), Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA),and finally the Video Graphics Array (VGA), Super-Video Graphics Array (SVGA), and Extended GraphicsArray (XGA) systems.

These names were certainly useful distinctions in their day, but unfortunately the nomenclature survived longafter the original hardware became obsolete – in the form of names informally applied to the spatial formatsused by those systems. Thus, in current usage, VGA most often refers to the 640 x 480 format, XGA to 1024x 768, and so forth. This system has become increasingly cumbersome, and the names do not provide muchinformation about the specific format they are intended to represent. QVGA, for instance, is most oftenintended to mean “quarter-VGA”, or 320 x 240 pixels, while QXGA has been used to refer to “quad-XGA”,or 2048 x 1536 pixels.

It is our intention at this time to replace this outdated system with a simpler, more informative standardconvention for referring to industry-standard display formats. Taking a cue from other electronic-imagingmarkets and systems, we are introducing with this standard the convention of naming image formats using thenumber of pixels contained in each. In this document, the standard naming for each format is the pixel count rounded to the nearest 10,000 and expressed in mega-pixels, or with the suffix “M”. As there remains the possibility of confusion between formats of similar pixel counts, but different aspect ratios, the vertical component of the aspect ratio shall be appended to the mega-pixel number, in hexadecimal format.

This specification makes 5∶3 = 15∶9 indistinguishable from either 4∶3 (3) or 16∶9 (9). This template currently generates unambiguous 6 instead, i.e. assumes canonical 10∶6.

VESA refers to 8∶5 as 16∶10 and accordingly suggests A (hexadecimal 10) for it (not 5), which this template complies with.

In 2013, VESA recognized 5∶4 and 15∶9 for legacy formats but discouraged any new native display resolutions with an aspect ratio other than 4∶3, 16∶9 and 16∶10, thereby its naming convention did not anticipate future ultra-wide formats.

Aspect ratio code

AR	1∶1	5∶4	4∶3	3∶2 = 15∶10	14∶9 ≈ 25∶16 = 5²∶4²	8∶5 = 16∶10	5∶3 = 15∶9	16∶9 = 4²∶3²	9∶5 = 18∶10	17∶9	2∶1 = 18∶9	37∶18 = 18.5∶9	19∶9	13∶6 = 19.5∶9	20∶9	7∶3 = 21∶9	64∶27 = 4³∶3³	12∶5 = 24∶10	32∶9
Float	1.0	1.25	1.3	1.5	1.5–1.5625	1.6 ≈ φ	1.6	1.775–1.7	1.8	1.8–1.8962	2.0	2.05	2.1	2.16	2.2	2.3	2.370	2.4	3.5
VESA CVT	(1)	4	3	(2?, A?)	(0?)	A (5)	9 (3, 6)	9	(A?, 5?)	9	1	(9)	(9)	6 (9)	(9)	(9)	(1B?)	A (5?)	(?)
:9	9	11¼	12	13½	~14	14⅖	15	16	16⅕	~17	18	18½	19	19½	20	21	21⅓	21⅗	32

Examples

Examples from VESA CVT 1.2

Format (pixel × lines)	Aspect ratio	Old name	VESA standard name	Template result
480 × 320	3∶2	(HVGA)	—N/a	0.15M2
960 × 640	3∶2	(DVGA)	—N/a	0.61M2
320 × 240	4∶3	qVGA	—N/a	76.80K3
640 × 480	4∶3	VGA	0.31M3	0.31M3
800 × 600	4∶3	SVGA	0.48M3	0.48M3
1024 × 768	4∶3	XGA	0.79M3	0.79M3
1152 × 864	4∶3	XGA+	—N/a	1.00M3
1280 × 960	4∶3	(SXGA−)	1.23M3	1.23M3
1400 × 1050	4∶3	(SXGA+)	1.47M3	1.47M3
1600 × 1200	4∶3	UXGA	1.92M3	1.92M3
1920 × 1440	4∶3		2.76M3	2.76M3
2048 × 1536	4∶3	(QXGA)	3.15M3	3.15M3
2560 × 1920	4∶3		4.92M3	4.92M3
3200 × 2400	4∶3		7.68M3	7.68M3
3840 × 2880	4∶3		11.06M3	11.06M3
1280 × 1024	5∶4	SXGA	1.31M4	1.31M4
1280 × 768	5∶3	(WXGA)	0.98M9	0.98M6
848 × 480	16∶9	(FWVGA)	0.41M9	0.41M9
1064 × 600	16∶9		0.64M9	0.64M9
1280 × 720	16∶9	(HD)	0.92M9	0.92M9
1360 × 768	16∶9	((F)WXGA)	1.04M9	1.04M9
1704 × 960	16∶9		1.64M9	1.64M9
1864 × 1050	16∶9		1.96M9	1.96M9
1920 × 1080	16∶9	((F)HD)	2.07M9	2.07M9
2128 × 1200	16∶9		2.55M9	2.55M9
2560 × 1440	16∶9	((W)QHD)	3.69M9	3.69M9
2728 × 1536	16∶9		4.19M9	4.19M9
3408 × 1920	16∶9		6.54M9	6.54M9
4264 × 2400	16∶9		10.23M9	10.23M9
5120 × 2880	16∶9		14.75M9	14.75M9
768 × 480	8∶5	(WVGA)	0.37MA	0.37MA
960 × 600	8∶5		0.58MA	0.58MA
1152 × 720	8∶5		0.83MA	0.83MA
1224 × 768	8∶5		0.94MA	0.94MA
1536 × 960	8∶5		1.47MA	1.47MA
1680 × 1050	8∶5	(WSXGA+)	1.76MA	1.76MA
1728 × 1080	8∶5		1.87MA	1.87MA
1920 × 1200	8∶5	(WUXGA)	2.30MA	2.30MA
2304 × 1440	8∶5		3.32MA	3.32MA
2456 × 1536	8∶5		3.77MA	3.77MA
3072 × 1920	8∶5		5.90MA	5.90MA
3840 × 2400	8∶5	(WQUXGA)	9.22MA	9.22MA
4608 × 2880	8∶5		13.27MA	13.27MA

Usage

Generate standard VESA display moniker: pixel count and aspect ratio code

Template parameters

This template prefers inline formatting of parameters.

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
width	x 1	horizontal resolution Default 0 Example 640	Number	suggested
height	y 2	vertical (smaller) resolution Default x Example 480	Number	suggested
count	Mpx 3	number of pixels Default x*y Example 307200	Number	optional
aspect ratio	AR 4	image or video display aspect ratio in landscape orientation Default x/y Example 1.333	Number	optional