WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 Even though we're a tech channel, we sometimes get as confused as you might be 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:08.240 over how the letter K is used in marketing for TVs and computer monitors. 00:00:08.240 --> 00:00:13.720 Because there's actually no agreement on what a K actually is. 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:17.000 Unless you're talking about special K. A big part of the confusion amongst folks 00:00:17.000 --> 00:00:20.120 out shopping for a new screen is that terms like 2K, 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:24.240 4K and 8K seem to imply very specific resolutions 00:00:24.240 --> 00:00:29.200 and dimensions, also leading to the belief that a 4K display must necessarily 00:00:29.200 --> 00:00:32.440 be twice as good as a 2K display. 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. 00:00:39.120 --> 00:00:43.100 So a 2K display is around 2,000 pixels horizontally 00:00:43.100 --> 00:00:46.800 with 4K being around 4,000. But here's the thing. 00:00:46.800 --> 00:00:51.040 How many Ks a display has tells you absolutely nothing else 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. 00:00:57.360 --> 00:01:03.240 A run of the mill 1920 by 1080 display can be correctly referred to as 2K. 00:01:03.240 --> 00:01:08.080 But hardly anyone actually says that. They usually call it full HD or 1080p. 00:01:08.080 --> 00:01:11.880 Rather, 2K is often thrown around as being synonymous 00:01:11.880 --> 00:01:16.380 with 2560 by 1440, even though the horizontal resolution 00:01:16.380 --> 00:01:21.720 is slightly closer to 3,000 pixels. Further muddying the waters is how a body 00:01:21.720 --> 00:01:24.920 called Digital Cinema Initiatives or DCI 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 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:35.280 depending on exactly how a video is cropped. 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:38.560 DCI is actually a group of major movie studios. 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:43.800 So they have a version of 2K considered native and another version that's significantly cropped 00:01:43.800 --> 00:01:47.200 to give that cinematic widescreen experience. 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:52.200 Meaning 2K can correctly refer to a resolution of 2048 by 858, 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:56.760 a very far cry from a standard 1440p monitor 00:01:56.760 --> 00:01:58.680 advertised as 2K. 00:02:00.160 --> 00:02:03.600 4K can refer to several different display resolutions, 00:02:03.600 --> 00:02:07.040 but generally speaking, it's around four times 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:10.160 the actual resolution of a 2K display. 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. 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:20.520 Most consumer displays marketed as 4K are technically ultra HD, 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:25.600 where the resolution is exactly four times the typical full HD screen. 00:02:25.600 --> 00:02:30.240 But keep in mind that some wider displays such as what you see on some phones 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:34.960 might be labeled as 4K, but they can achieve that wide aspect ratio 00:02:34.960 --> 00:02:39.240 simply by lopping off some of the pixels you'd get on a regular display. 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:42.760 And speaking of wider screens, pay close attention to these labels 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 00:02:48.480 --> 00:02:54.000 vertical resolution as other 4K monitors, but because they have more pixels horizontally, 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:57.920 they can be referred to as 5K ultra-wides, 00:02:57.920 --> 00:03:01.640 which makes sense, but don't let that fool you into thinking 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 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. 00:03:14.320 --> 00:03:17.680 So while the K system is a quick way 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 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:27.040 that will sound very sexy, remember that you should check the actual horizontal 00:03:27.040 --> 00:03:30.600 and vertical resolution of any display before you buy it. 00:03:30.600 --> 00:03:35.920 Also remember that anything with a horizontal to vertical ratio greater than 1.78 00:03:35.920 --> 00:03:40.240 will be wider than standard. You don't wanna order a 4K screen, 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:44.240 only to realize it won't even fit on your desk. I can see everything. 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:47.720 Thank you for seeing this whole video. 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