1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000 Even though we're a tech channel, we sometimes get as confused as you might be 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:08,240 over how the letter K is used in marketing for TVs and computer monitors. 3 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:13,720 Because there's actually no agreement on what a K actually is. 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:17,000 Unless you're talking about special K. A big part of the confusion amongst folks 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,120 out shopping for a new screen is that terms like 2K, 6 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:24,240 4K and 8K seem to imply very specific resolutions 7 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:29,200 and dimensions, also leading to the belief that a 4K display must necessarily 8 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:32,440 be twice as good as a 2K display. 9 00:00:32,440 --> 00:00:39,120 However, neither of these things are true. A K simply means a screen is roughly 1,000 pixels across. 10 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:43,100 So a 2K display is around 2,000 pixels horizontally 11 00:00:43,100 --> 00:00:46,800 with 4K being around 4,000. But here's the thing. 12 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:51,040 How many Ks a display has tells you absolutely nothing else 13 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:57,360 about that display just by itself. A great example is how loosely the term 2K is often used. 14 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:03,240 A run of the mill 1920 by 1080 display can be correctly referred to as 2K. 15 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:08,080 But hardly anyone actually says that. They usually call it full HD or 1080p. 16 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,880 Rather, 2K is often thrown around as being synonymous 17 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:16,380 with 2560 by 1440, even though the horizontal resolution 18 00:01:16,380 --> 00:01:21,720 is slightly closer to 3,000 pixels. Further muddying the waters is how a body 19 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:24,920 called Digital Cinema Initiatives or DCI 20 00:01:24,960 --> 00:01:32,280 does try to define a 2K standard. But even DCI 2K can mean a few different things 21 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:35,280 depending on exactly how a video is cropped. 22 00:01:35,280 --> 00:01:38,560 DCI is actually a group of major movie studios. 23 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:43,800 So they have a version of 2K considered native and another version that's significantly cropped 24 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,200 to give that cinematic widescreen experience. 25 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:52,200 Meaning 2K can correctly refer to a resolution of 2048 by 858, 26 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,760 a very far cry from a standard 1440p monitor 27 00:01:56,760 --> 00:01:58,680 advertised as 2K. 28 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,600 4K can refer to several different display resolutions, 29 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:07,040 but generally speaking, it's around four times 30 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,160 the actual resolution of a 2K display. 31 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:15,560 Contrary to what you might think from the numbers alone, as long as you are okay at math. 32 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:20,520 Most consumer displays marketed as 4K are technically ultra HD, 33 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:25,600 where the resolution is exactly four times the typical full HD screen. 34 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:30,240 But keep in mind that some wider displays such as what you see on some phones 35 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:34,960 might be labeled as 4K, but they can achieve that wide aspect ratio 36 00:02:34,960 --> 00:02:39,240 simply by lopping off some of the pixels you'd get on a regular display. 37 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,760 And speaking of wider screens, pay close attention to these labels 38 00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:48,360 when you're shopping for an ultra wide monitor. Some higher end ultra wides have the same 2160p 39 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:54,000 vertical resolution as other 4K monitors, but because they have more pixels horizontally, 40 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,920 they can be referred to as 5K ultra-wides, 41 00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:01,640 which makes sense, but don't let that fool you into thinking 42 00:03:01,640 --> 00:03:09,080 they also have more pixels in the vertical direction, as there are screens simply marketed as 5K or 5K UHD 43 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:14,320 that have a more standard aspect ratio. The 5K IMAX from Apple are a good example of this. 44 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:17,680 So while the K system is a quick way 45 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:22,080 to roughly figure out how crisp a display will be and a tool for marketing them in a way 46 00:03:22,080 --> 00:03:27,040 that will sound very sexy, remember that you should check the actual horizontal 47 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,600 and vertical resolution of any display before you buy it. 48 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:35,920 Also remember that anything with a horizontal to vertical ratio greater than 1.78 49 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:40,240 will be wider than standard. You don't wanna order a 4K screen, 50 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:44,240 only to realize it won't even fit on your desk. I can see everything. 51 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:47,720 Thank you for seeing this whole video. Like the video if you liked it, 52 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,560 dislike it if you disliked it, check out our other videos, comment below with video suggestions 53 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:57,000 and don't forget to subscribe and follow. If I can give you one tech tip, that is it.