HDTV display resolution
Now that we've considered the source, let's look at the televisions. As we mentioned above, all fixed-pixel HDTVs scale the incoming resolutions to fit the available pixels, throwing away information if they have fewer pixels and interpolating information if they have more pixels than the source.
| Native resolution | Commonly called | Meets definition of high-def? | Frequency | Typical TV types |
| 1,920x1,080 | 1080p | Yes | Rare but getting more common especially in larger TVs | Flat-panel LCD; DLP, LCD, and LCoS projection; very high-end plasma |
| 1,366x768 | 768p | Yes | Very common in all screen sizes | Flat-panel LCD; 50-inch plasma |
| 1,280x720 | 720p | Yes | Common in rear-projection but not flat-panels | DLP, LCD, and LCoS projection |
| 1,024x768 | HDTV plasma | Yes | The most common plasma resolution | 37- and 42-inch plasma |
| 852x480 | EDTV plasma | No | Increasingly rare | 37- and 42-inch plasma |
| 640x480 | VGA | No | Increasingly rare | Small LCD TVs |
Technically speaking, all of these numbers are accurate and useful, but don't put too much stock in them. In the real world, it's difficult to tell the difference between native resolutions once you get into high-def. For example, despite the fact that a 37-inch LCD with "only" 1,366x768 pixels has to throw away a good deal of information to display a 1080i football game on CBS, you'd be hard-pressed to see more detail on a similar 37-inch LCD with 1,920x1,080 resolution.
