looking for a clear explanation about 1080p movies

[jg216]

Ok I never really did any study on how resolutions and such work so im a little new to this.

If i have a 13" mbp, that has a 1280x800 display, what resolution is a 1080p (1920x800) movie running at?

and I plug a thunderbolt-to-hdmi port into my laptop, and plug in the hdmi to my 24 inch tv, what resolution would it run at?

 

[omgitscro]

If your TV is capable of 1080p resolutions, and you run it at its native resolution from the MBP, then you will be able to watch the movie in full 1080p resolution. However, as for your MacBook's screen, it can only display 1280x800. The actual resolution the movie displays at will depend on whether you choose to letterbox the widescreen picture, or have it "zoom" and cut out the sides of the movie. If the MBP's display were the right aspect ratio, which is 16:9, you could view the whole movie without needing to letterbox.