Resolution

In the context of printing and other media with fixed linear dimensions, resolution refers to linear pixel density: the number of pixels or dots in a certain span, expressed in such terms as ppi (pixels per inch) and dpi (dots per inch).

In video, film, and computer graphics contexts, the linear measurements of the images are variable, so it doesn’t make sense to refer to the number of pixels per inch or any other linear measure. Consider, for example, that the same 640x480 movie can be shown on the tiny screen of a mobile device, the monitor of a desktop computer, and a huge motion billboard. The number of pixels per inch is different for each of these presentation devices, even though the number of pixels may be the same.

In this context, the term resolution refers to a relative quantity: a ratio of the number of pixels that are rendered to the number of pixels in a source image. For each view, there are two such ratios—one for the horizontal dimension and one for the vertical dimension.

Each composition has its own Resolution setting, which affects the image quality of the composition when it’s rendered for previews and final output. Rendering time and memory for each frame are roughly proportional to the number of pixels being rendered.

When you render a composition for final output, you can use the current Resolution settings for the composition or set a resolution value in the Render Settings dialog box that overrides the composition settings. (See Render settings.)

You can choose from the following Resolution settings in the Composition Settings (Composition > Composition Settings) dialog box or from the Resolution/Down Sample Factor menu at the bottom of the Composition panel:

Auto

(available only for previews) Adapts the resolution of the view in the Composition panel to render only the pixels necessary to preview the composition at the current zoom level. For example, if the view is zoomed out to 25%, then the resolution automatically adapts to a value of 1/4—shown as (Quarter)—as if you had manually chosen Quarter. If a panel contains multiple views, the resolution adapts to the view with the highest zoom level. This setting gives the best image quality while also avoiding rendering pixels unnecessary for the current zoom level.

Note: The Auto setting is ignored for compositions for which the Advanced composition setting Preserve Resolution When Nested is selected.

Full

Renders each pixel in a composition. This setting gives the best image quality, but takes the longest to render.

Half

Renders one-quarter of the pixels contained in the full-resolution image—half the columns and half the rows.

Third

Renders one-ninth of the pixels contained in the full-resolution image.

Quarter

Renders one-sixteenth of the pixels contained in the full-resolution image.

Custom

Renders the image at the horizontal and vertical resolutions that you specify.