Quarter VGA

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A graphic which shows the resolution of QVGA compared to VGA.  Click for actual size.
A graphic which shows the resolution of QVGA compared to VGA. Click for actual size.
QVGA (4:3) compared with the other display standards.
QVGA (4:3) compared with the other display standards.

The Quarter Video Graphics Array (also known as Quarter VGA, QVGA, or qVGA) is a popular term for a computer display with 320 × 240 resolution. QVGA displays are most often seen in mobile phones, PDAs and some handheld game consoles. Often the displays are in a “portrait” alignment (as opposed to “landscape”) and are referred to as 240 × 320 as the displays are taller than they are wide.

The name is derived from the fact that it offers 1/4 of the 640 × 480 maximum resolution of the original IBM VGA display technology, which became a de facto industry standard in the late 1980s. QVGA implementations are not compatible with, nor directly derived from, standard VGA chipsets or interfaces; the term refers only to the display's resolution and thus the abbreviated term QVGA or Quarter VGA is more appropriate to use.

The QVGA term is also seen in digital video recording equipment as a space-efficient mode, typically in multi-function devices that are also still digital cameras (such as the Fujifilm FinePix S602) or mobile phones (such as the Pantech PH-L4000V, Samsung SGH-D600). Each frame is an image of 320 × 240 pixels. QVGA video is typically 15 or 30 frames per second. QVGA mode refers just to the size of an image, commonly called the resolution; numerous video file formats support videos of this size.

Prior to Version 7, iTunes distributed television programs in QVGA resolution for watching on a PC or syncing to a fifth-generation iPod, which is capable of playing QVGA-resolution videos at 30 frames per second. iTunes now distributes television programs and movies in VGA resolution.

At higher resolutions, the "Q" prefix commonly means quad(ruple) or four times the display resolution (e.g., QXGA is 2048 × 1536). To distinguish quarter from quad, "q" is sometimes used for the former instead of "Q".[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Shin, Min-Seok; Choi, Jung-Whan; Kim, Yong-Jae; Kim, Kyong-Rok; Lee, Inhwan & Kwon, Oh-Kyong (2007), “Accurate Power Estimation of LCD Panels for Notebook Design of Low-Cost 2.2-inch qVGA LTPS TFT-LCD Panel”, SID 2007 Digest 38 (1): 260-263 

[edit] See also

  • QQVGA - Quarter-QVGA denotes a resolution of 160 x 120, as used on the 4th-generation (greyscale) iPod, or 120 x 160 pixels.
  • HQVGA - Half-QVGA denotes a resolution of 240 x 160 or 160 x 240 pixels, as seen on Game Boy Advance.
  • 320x240 (festival) - a festival involving movies made in the resolution.
  • Mode 13h and Mode X - video modes in VGA (including VGA-compatible and successors to VGA, such as VESA) hardware with a resolution profile similar to QVGA

[edit] External links