What is fixed resolution on an LCD screen?
The fixed or native resolution of a digital display device, such as LCD or plasma, refers to the number of pixels that are physically available in the display, not the resolution of the video formats it can display. A LCD display manufactured with a native resolution of 640×480 pixels, for example, needs to downsample incoming 720p and 1080i signals to fit the number of available pixels. This results in a loss of image quality. On the other hand, an HD display with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels will be able to display 1080i images at its native resolution, but will need to upsample a 720p image to fit the larger number of pixels. The quality of the interpolation algorithm used in the upsampling processs will dictate the quality of the results. Some companies, such as Faroudja, specialize in manufacturing such products, either as stand-alone video processors or as chipsets for use by manufacturers.
