1080p vs. 720p: What’s the Difference, and Is One Better?

• Full HD 1080p 2K resolution
• 60Hz refresh rate
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Quad-core processor
• Two HDMI inputs

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5 Must-Know Facts About Screen Resolution

1. Screen resolution has to do with the number of pixels on a display. It’s as simple as this: the more pixels, the greater the quality. This is because more pixels means more detail, while fewer pixels means less detail. Older devices have lower resolutions, while newer devices have much higher resolutions.
2. 1080p and 720p are two completely different screen resolutions, but both technically qualify as HD. This is a very common phenomenon in display technology, as both 360p and 480p qualify as SD and both 4K and 8K qualify as UHD. Given this pattern, this technological trend of having higher-end and lower-end versions of the same resolution is likely to continue long into the future.
3. The ongoing debate over resolution and picture quality only grows more confusing when you look at the numbers. 720p has less than half the number of pixels as 1080p, but 2160p has more than four times the number of pixels as 1080p. Yet, both 720p and 1080p qualify as HD while 2160p represents a step up to UHD.
4. When a television station says it’s broadcasting in HD, it’s probably broadcasting in 720p, not 1080p. Even if a station boasts a resolution of 1080, it’s probably 1080i and not 1080p. This is because the amount of data associated with full 1080p HD is far more than the amount of data associated with 720p. In other words, it’s a cost- and energy-saving tactic to go with 720p or 1080i over 1080p.
5. The advent of 4K and even 8K televisions has many worried that their HD televisions will be phased out or soon become obsolete. This is not going to happen anytime soon, however. Considering the fact that you can still purchase SD televisions at your local electronics store, it’s not likely that HD will be kicked to the curb in favor of UHD for years (and maybe even decades) to come.

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1080p vs. 720p: Key Differences Explained

With these basic specs laid out she by side above, it’s worth breaking down some of the key differences between 1080p vs. 720p below. After all, we can clearly see a number of areas where the two diverge and overlap, but we don’t exactly know what all these things mean. Let’s take some time to clarify a few of these key differences. How do their pixel counts look? And what part does this play in picture quality? Or data size? Let’s discuss at length below.

Pixel Count

Of all the differences between 1080p and 720p, their difference in pixel count has to be the most significant. 1080p represents a resolution of 1080 vertical pixels by 1920 horizontal pixels.

Multiply the two together, you get 2,073,600 pixels in all. (That’s 2.1 megapixels.) 720p, by comparison, consists of 720 pixels high by 1280 pixels across. That’s 921,600 pixels total, or 0.9 megapixels in all. Looking at the two like this, it’s plain to see that 1080p is more than twice the quality of 720p. That’s a quality difference you can plainly see.

Picture Quality

This leads us into our next consideration, which is overall picture quality. Which of these two, 1080p vs 720p, has the better high definition image? It’s 1080p, no question. Though both brandish the high definition name, it’s obvious 1080p has the higher definition over 720p.

We see a similar phenomenon with 360p vs. 480p: Both are standard definition picture qualities, but 480p is the higher quality standard compared to 360. With this in mind, 720p and 1080p are both HD, but 1080p is more HD than 720p.

Data Size

Lastly, there’s a major difference in data size between 720p and 1080p. Whether we’re talking about streaming a movie, broadcasting television, or watching a Blu-ray disc, there’s a particular amount of data involved in 1080p vs. 720p video.

Naturally, being the higher resolution, 1080p has the higher amount of data involved. This is why so many HD broadcasts and streams resort to 720p HD over 1080p HD: 720p allows them to still advertise the video as HD without needing to use the increased amount of data associated with 1080p HD.

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The History of 1080p

In truth, the term “high definition” dates all the way back to the mid-1930s. Of course, high definition in the ’30s is not the same high definition we know today in the 2020s. Nevertheless, the idea of displaying the highest-quality images imaginable has clearly been on the forefront of mankind’s mind for ages.

For much of the early 2000s, 720p was that highest quality imaginable. (We’ll get more into that later.) But, in the late 2000s, a new best emerged: 1080p. Representing 1,920 pixels across and 1,080 pixels down, this new screen resolution was a massive step up over its predecessor of 720p.

Also known as 2K (which speaks to those 1,920 horizontal pixels), 1080p is the industry standard for HD displays. This is true across televisions, smartphones, touchscreen tablets, desktop displays, laptop screens, and beyond.

If it has a screen and it says it’s “2K” or “Full HD,” then it’s a 1080p resolution. While 4K is the new highest quality standard in the tech industry today, 1080p still sees plenty of use throughout the world. Though 4K is four times the resolution of 1080p, 1080p ultimately remains cheaper. (Naturally, that’s always going to be a huge advantage.)

1080p is not to be confused with 1080i, which is a lower screen resolution than 1080p but a higher screen resolution than 720p. The “i” stands for “interlaced,” which is exactly the process 1080i utilizes to replicate a 1080p screen resolution with fewer pixels. It’s sort of like an optical illusion.

It works like this: 1080i involves all the even-numbered rows on the display, but only incorporates every other odd-numbered row alternatively. As a result, all horizontal rows have a single line of vertical space between them. This is the preferred broadcast quality for most major television networks today.

How 720p Compares

Most of the confusion surrounding the 1080p vs. 720p debate has to do with the fact that 720p is also advertised as HD. This doesn’t make the decision between 1080p vs. 720p very easy on the average consumer uninformed of the nuances between the two, as both are seemingly identical picture qualities.

As we’ve touched on previously, however, the two actually have a difference in picture quality of more than a million pixels in all. (1080p contains 2,073,600 pixels total, while 720p is just 921,600 pixels total.)

So, how did 720p come to be? Why did 1080p emerge and take its place? It all dates back to the advent of digital broadcasting. Stretching all the way back to the 1980s, the television industry was starting to realize how much potential digital broadcasting had on the future of television.

With digital broadcasts, picture quality could potentially increase exponentially. When digital television signals began broadcasting in the late 1990s (with the industry-wide switchover continuing to roll out slowly over the remainder of the 2000s), there was a need for new TVs to support the new resolution.

The 360p and 480p standard definition (or SD) televisions of the time just wouldn’t do anymore — not with the increased 720p screen resolution of HD digital broadcasts. Throughout the remainder of the 1990s and into the early to mid 2000s, 360p and 480p TVs were downplayed in favor of new 720p televisions.

Technology didn’t stop improving there, however. By 2007, all eyes were on an even better HD resolution: that of 1080p. Thus, the 1080p vs. 720p debate was born. This debate is still raging on today, even with the introduction of 4K to the mix in the mid 2010s.