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The difference between HD and SD is sometimes clearly visible. We explain what the two standards mean for televisions and screens.
HD and SD – a simple explanation of the difference
SD and HD are designations for different video resolutions.
- The two formats differ in terms of the number of pixels.
- SD stands for “Standard Definition”. This format delivers a maximum of 858 × 480 pixels on the screen.
- HD is short for “High Definition”. In HD quality, the number of pixels is higher than in SD. 1280 × 720 pixels are referred to as HD quality. There is also so-called Full HD with 1920 × 1080 pixels.
- The more pixels displayed on a TV or monitor, the higher the resolution. In turn, higher resolution means a sharper image and more details in the display.
When SD or HD are useful
For some screens, SD quality is perfectly adequate for videos.
- On small screens, the difference between SD and HD is not noticeable.
- If you stream Netflix and the like on your smartphone or tablet, it is sufficient if the video is in SD quality.
- If, on the other hand, you watch videos on a TV set with a screen diagonal of 32 inches or more, HD movies are much more enjoyable.
- On television, the public broadcasters now all broadcast in HD resolution. If you also want to watch the private channels in premium quality, you will have to pay a little extra, depending on the type of reception, for example for an HD cable module.
