Graphic Display Resolutions – What Do The Numbers, SD - HD Ready - Full HD, 720p versus 1080p - 1080i Mean?

Graphic Display resolutions can be a rather cryptic business, with multiple standards used to describe the same display resolution in 10 different ways. All of those technical terms tend to change based on the display’s purpose (television versus computer monitor) and even your region (the meaning of HD Ready).

Previously, we talked about 7 Important Things To Know When Buying an LCD Monitor, the difference between full HD and HD Ready and even how Apple’s retina display works. Today, we’ll help you make sense of the different terms people tend to throw around when describing display resolutions. When buying a computer monitor or a TV screen, it can be incredibly useful to know what those numbers mean. Not just to differentiate between two displays, but also to determine what kind of display you should be looking for.

Width x Height

The easiest convention is the one that’s used to describe the maximum resolution of computer monitors. A lot of laptop displays have a maximum resolution of 1280×800, and the resolution of larger computer screens often go into the neighborhood of 1680×1050.

These numbers describe the width and height of the display in pixels – the building blocks of your display. Some displays have different pixel densities (most famously, Apple’s retina displays), meaning the physical size of two displays with the same maximum graphic display resolution is not necessarily uniform. But the actual resolution (that is, the amount of available building blocks to construct a picture) is unambiguous.

SD, HD Ready Or Full HD

The difference between SD and anything with ‘HD’ in its name is simple. SD – or Standard Definition – is usually used to indicate television displays that are not 720p or 1080p High Definition screens, or 480p Enhanced Definition screens. More generally, the term SD display is used to indicate 576i displays in the PAL and SECAM regions, or 480i displays in the NTSC region.

Full HD is used to describe 1080p displays. The difference between HD Ready and Full HD is more ambiguous, and depends on the region. For more information, read Matt’s article on The Difference Between HD Ready and Full HD.

If some of the words used above made little sense, don’t worry. We’ll explain the meaning of 720p and 1080p in a bit, as well as the difference between 1080p and 1080i (progressive versus interlaced) displays.

720p versus 1080p or 1080i

Modern televisions are often described using terms like 720p and 1080p, or 1080i. The number at the front of the term indicates the lines of vertical resolution. Thus, 720p and 1080p have 720 and 1080 lines respectively of vertical resolution. Both 1080p and 1080i screens have 1080 lines of vertical resolution (we’ll explain the difference between these two below).

To compare the resolution of these displays to the width x height notation of computer displays, we can glean the lines of horizontal resolution from the aspect ratio. For example, a 1080p display with a conventional 16:9 aspect ratio has 1920 lines of horizontal resolution, meaning a 16:9 1080p screen has a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

1080p versus 1080i, or Progressive versus Interlaced

The difference between 1080p and 1080i, or rather the difference between progressive and interlaced displays comes down to how the image is displayed.

Progressive displays use frames. One frame is one completely rendered image. If you press pause while watching a video, you’re looking at a single frame. If a progressive display is said to have 25 frames per second, that means it renders 25 distinct images every second.

Interlaced displays works very differently. Instead of refreshing the entire picture, it refreshes half the lines in the picture. It’s meaningless to talk about frames per second, because an interlaced display never displays a ‘complete frame’. Instead, we express the refresh rate in fields per second, in which one field contains half the lines of the display.

In an ideal, theoretical world, progressive would always be better than interlaced. However, there are a few problems with that thought. Progressive displays don’t have the same refresh rate as do interlaced displays. Although interlaced displays only render half the lines on the displays with each refresh, it refreshes twice as often as the equivalent progressive display, and each of these fields is part of a distinct snapshot. On top of that comes the fact that television broadcasting uses interlaced video.

All this makes interlaced pictures more fluid in motion than the equivalent deinterlaced pictures. On the other hand, progressive pictures are more easily scaled, paused and edited – which makes the image more adaptable with less loss of quality.

What other specs do you look at when shopping for displays? Let us know.

IBM Certification Exam 000-001 the First Step in Applying Maximo Enterprise Asset Management Solutions

The IBM 000-001 certification exam is the first step testing your knowledge of the fundamentals of Applying Maximo Enterprise Asset Management Solutions V2 in a client's environment. The exam tells IBM how well you will be able to identify opportunities and to influence key personnel.

The test, which is associated with the IBM Certified Solution Advisor certification, lasts 60 minutes and has around 43 questions. A passing score is 65. There are six sections on the IBM 000-001 exam. Thorough preparation is essential; you should find a quality, online testing prep service like TestsLive.com that offers practice exam procedures.

Here are the six sections and a brief summary of what they each entail.

Section 1: Current Architecture and Environment: In this section, you will be asked to fully comprehend a customer's technical environment by analyzing his architecture, including networking hardware, software and security.

Section 2: Business Drivers: You must have a thorough grasp of the theories of Enterprise Asset Management to pass this section.

Section 3: Functional Requirements: You will be asked to identify key areas of the customer's business methods that relate to Enterprise Asset Management.

Section 4: Reporting Requirements: This sections tests your knowledge of EAM reporting options.

Section 5: Integration and Interfacing Requirements: Migration and Integration strategies are tested, specifically how to move the client to the proposed IBM EAM solution.

Section 6 Customization: Your knowledge of tailoring tools will be tested here, as well as your ability to explain it to the client.

How to Use Your Router to Limit People's Internet Usage

Configuring your router to set limitations on how connected devices are allowed to access the Internet is a useful security precaution for your network. Restrictions include only allowing specific devices to access the router's network or setting time-and-day limitations on when the Internet is accessible to connected devices. These restrictions can be particularly useful for businesses and public Wi-Fi operators that limit access to network connections to normal business hours and prohibit unauthorized devices from using your bandwidth.

Step 1

Launch a Web browser on your computer and type the router's IP address into the address bar. Consult the router's instruction manual for details on its default IP address. Typically this address is "192.168.1.1."

Step 2

Enter the administrator username and password to access the router's control panel.
Related Reading: How to Monitor Internet Data Usage

Step 3

Click the "Access Restrictions" link in the router's control panel menu.

Step 4

Check the "Enable" box to activate access restrictions settings.

Step 5

Enter the Media Access Controller address of each computer or device that is authorized to access the router's network. Consult the "Attached Devices" section in the router's control panel to find the MAC address of computers and devices that have previously connected to the router.

Step 6

Click the "Apply" button to save the restriction settings. Depending on your make and model of router, the device may reboot before reloading the control panel.

Step 7

Click the "Schedule" button in the control panel menu and check the boxes next to the days you want restrictions to be active. Enter restriction start and end times for each day if you wish.

Step 8

Click the "Apply" button again to save the restriction schedule settings.


Tip
Block a specific device completely by setting its schedule to restrict access all day, every day. Add a description for each device in the "Access Settings" alongside its MAC address to help identify it in the future. Check the "Every Day" box if you want to schedule restrictions for every day, rather than checking the box next to each individual day.

Warning
Always click the "Apply" button to save your settings before leaving a page in the router's control panel. If you do not click the button, your changes will not be saved.

Away From Home: Control Your Computer From Anywhere

In 1940, Bell Telephone Laboratories researcher George Stibitz demonstrated the Complex Number Calculator at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. The calculator, however, was in New York City. According to the Computer History Museum website, “Stibitz stunned the group” by remotely operating the calculator via telephone lines. Today, remotely accessing your devices isn’t nearly so novel. With the built-in Remote Assistance application on your Windows machine, you can control who can access your computer and for how long. 

Instructions

Remote Assistance Host

• Create an invitation from the host -- the computer you want to control remotely. Click “Start” and “Control Panel.” Type “Remote Settings” in the search bar and press “Enter.” Click “Allow Remote Access to Your Computer.” Ensure that there is a check in the box, and then click “Advanced.” 
• Choose the length of time for the invitation to stay open, up to 30 days. Click “OK,” and then click “OK” again. 
• Click “Start” and type “Remote Assistance,” and then press “Enter.” 
• Click “Invite Someone You Trust to Help You.” Save the invitation as a file and attach it to an email if you use a Web-based client, or use Outlook to automatically attach it. 
• Email the invitation to an account that you can access from your remote location. The attachment automates the connection process; if you don’t receive the email, you can't control the host computer. 
• Change your host computer's hibernation and sleep settings, if applicable, via the Control Panel, in Hardware and Sound, under Power Options. If the host computer is hibernating or sleeping when the Remote Assistance request comes from the remote computer, you won’t be able to connect. 

Remote Assistance Connection

• Launch your email program or website on the remote computer. Open the email you sent to yourself and the attachment with the invitation. Windows then will automatically launch its Remote Desktop Connection software. 
• Connect to the host computer and perform your desired tasks. Enter your administrator password to allow changes to your system and to gain access through your computer’s firewall, if needed. 
• Close the connection only when you've completed all desired tasks, as you won’t be able to reconnect without a new invitation from the host computer. Reconnect using the same process if you accidentally lose the connection on your end; if the connection is lost on the host end, you can't re-establish it. 

Tips & Warnings

• Before you create a Remote Assistance invitation, you have the option to instead choose "Easy Connect," which allows you to bypass the email/attachment step and generate a unique password for remote access. 
• Remote Assistance is already configured to pass through the Windows firewall. If you use a third-party firewall, you need to open TCP/IP port 3389 access to the computer you want to control. Consult the firewall manufacturer for specific instructions. 
• If you have Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate running on your host computer, you can use another tool, Remote Desktop Connection, to control it remotely. However, this tool requires configuring your router. 
• The Remote Assistance tool is designed to facilitate technical support help, and its functionality is limited. To transfer files remotely, for example, you need to connect with Remote Desktop Connection or a third-party connection tool, such as PC Anywhere from Symantec, GoToMyPC, Anyplace Control or RealVNC, which also allow you to log in and out of your home computer without an invitation. 
• Having an open connection to your computer brings an increased risk of unauthorized access to your system. Minimize the risk by setting the smallest invitation window possible when creating the Remote Assistance invitation, and use Network Level Authentication, if possible. 
• To check if you have the option, click “Start” on the remote computer and type “Remote Desktop.” Click “Remote Desktop Connection” and the icon in the upper left corner of the window, and then select “About.” If it says, “Network Level Authentication Supported,” it means that the remote computer must authenticate the identity of the user before the host computer will permit a login attempt.