Wide XGA (WXGA) is a set of non standard resolutions derived from the XGA display standard by widening it to a wide screen aspect ratio. WXGA is commonly used for low-end LCD TVs and LCD computer monitors for widescreen presentation.

When referring to televisions and other monitors intended for consumer entertainment use, WXGA is generally understood to refer to a resolution of 1366×768, with an aspect ratio of 16:9. In 2006 this was the most popular resolution for liquid crystal display televisions while XGA was for Plasma TVs flat panel displays.^[1]

When referring to laptop displays or monitors intended primarily as computer displays, WXGA is most commonly used to refer to a resolution of 1280×800 pixels with an aspect ratio of 16:10.^[2] This resolution is particularly popular for most laptops with a 14" or 15" screen. The exact resolution this refers to is somewhat variable, however, as the 1280xnnn resolutions were among the first widescreen resolutions commonly used, and term entered use (especially for laptop displays) prior to the broad standardization 16:10 for widescreen computer displays.

Overall, several resolutions have been labeled as WXGA. These are the most common resolutions given the label (in ascending order by total number of pixels):

• 1280×720^[3]
• 1280×768^[4]
• 1280×800^[5][6]
• 1360×768
• 1366×768^[7]

1280×720 provides perfectly square pixels at an aspect ratio of 16:9, while the additional pixels in 1280×768 and 1280×800 must be ignored to give the 16:9 ratio without vertical stretching of the image. 1360×768 and 1366×768 come very close to 16:9, displaying exactly square pixels if 1360×765 pixels of the display are used.

Recent widespread availability of 1280x800 pixel resolution LCDs for laptop monitors can be considered an OS driven evolution from the previously popular 1024x768 screen size. In Microsoft Windows operating system specifically, the task bar when fit to the bottom of the screen occupies about 30 pixels, allowing a program window sized 1024x768 pixels to fit on screen without obstruction(800-768=32). Operating the Windows Sidebar in editions newer than XP can utilize the remaining width of 256 pixels (1280-1024).

720p, the HDTV video mode, is a related standard, measuring 1280×720 pixels.

1440×900 resolution displays have also been found labeled as WXGA; however, the correct label is actually WSXGA or WXGA+.

[edit] Comparison chart

Additional details needed for 1600x900 resolution. See http://www.sagernotebook.com/product_customed.php?pid=214746&action=customize for an example.

[edit] References

1. ^ TV Panels Standard VESA TV Panels Standard
2. ^ Microsoft PowerPoint - VESA Asia presentations - slide 21
3. ^ Acer projector, 1280×720 as WXGA
4. ^ Planar 17" LCD monitor, 1280×768 as WXGA
5. ^ Dell laptop displays, 1280×800 as WXGA
6. ^ Lenovo laptop displays, 1280×800 as WXGA
7. ^ Hitachi plasma TVs, 1366×768 as WXGA

[edit] See also

• Limitations of Extended display identification data

v • d • e Computer display standards Video hardware MDA · HGC · CGA · PGC · EGA · VGA · MCGA · 8514 · XGA Size comparison Display resolutions QQVGA · HQVGA · QVGA · HVGA · VGA · SVGA · XGA · XGA+ · SXGA · SXGA+ · UXGA · QXGA · QSXGA · QUXGA · HXGA · HSXGA · HUXGA Widescreen variants WQVGA · WVGA/FWVGA · WSVGA · WXGA · WSXGA/WXGA+ · WSXGA+ · WUXGA · WQXGA · WQSXGA · WQUXGA · WHXGA · WHSXGA · WHUXGA