Glossary
Resolution
The size of a video's picture in pixels, width by height. 1080p is 1920 by 1080; 4K is 3840 by 2160.
Resolution is the size of the picture in pixels, width by height. The names are shorthand for the height: 1080p is 1920 by 1080, 1440p is 2560 by 1440, and 4K is 3840 by 2160, which is four times as many pixels as 1080p rather than four times the height. 720p, 1280 by 720, is the floor for anything with text in it.
Where a screen recording's resolution comes from
It starts as the display's. A Retina MacBook reports a resolution like 1440 by 900 in System Settings, but the panel behind it has twice as many pixels in each direction, 2880 by 1800, and a recorder that captures every pixel records at that size. That is what you want: text drawn at full pixel density stays sharp, and it can be scaled down later. A recorder that captures at the reported size records a quarter of the detail and there is no getting it back. The Retina and HiDPI entry has the rest.
Recording one window rather than the whole display gives a recording the size of that window, which is often the better choice: a browser at 1400 pixels wide fills a 16:9 frame better than a whole desktop with a dock and a menu bar.
What to export at
Full size if the file is going to YouTube or anywhere that re-encodes uploads, because a larger upload is put in a higher bitrate tier and comes out cleaner at every size it is served at. 1080p if it is going to a person, a chat or an email, where a quarter of the size and the same legibility is the better trade. Below 1080p only for a GIF, where every frame is stored in full and the size runs away quickly.
Prequel exports at the frame's own size, or scales the shorter edge to 1080, 720 or 480.
Related terms
- BitrateHow much data a video spends per second of playback, measured in megabits per second. It is the main control over file size and picture quality.
- CodecThe method used to compress video into a file and decompress it for playback. H.264 and HEVC are the two you meet when recording a screen.
- Frame rateThe number of still pictures a video shows each second, written as fps. Screen recordings are usually made at 30 or 60.
- Retina and HiDPIA display that draws each point of the interface with four physical pixels, so text is sharp. A screen recording of one is twice the width and height it looks.
Questions people ask
- Is 4K worth it for a screen recording?
- If the recording is going to YouTube or anywhere that re-encodes uploads, yes: the platform has more to work with and the 1080p version it serves comes out sharper. If it is going straight to a person, 1080p is usually plenty and a quarter of the size.
- Why is my recording 2880 by 1800 and not 1080p?
- A Retina Mac has twice as many pixels as its resolution in System Settings suggests, and a recorder that captures every one of them records at that size. A 1440 by 900 display is 2880 by 1800 pixels. That is a good thing: text stays sharp, and you can scale down on export.