This is a quick summary of the most common High Definition video formats, most of them being standardized.

720p This format has been dominating the video production filed until 2006, and provides a full frame in 16:9 aspect ratio, with square pixels and a resolution of 1280×720 pixels either at 23.97, 25 or 30 frames per second. Both 50 and 60 frames per second variants are popular today, and use for high speed shooting.

1080i / 1080p Often referred to as “Full HD”, this format provides a 1920×1080 frame, with a 16:9 aspect ratio and square pixels. The interlaced version, 1080i, is more common and often the only one supported in cheaper, non professional, camcorders. Sometimes a 1080i stream is used to carry 24fps progressive material, using the pulldown format.

A variant to the Full HD 1920×1080 frame is the HDV frame, with 1440×1080 pixels, where the horizontal resolution is compressed on X, and the pixel aspect ratio is no longer square. This format was popularized by the first HD camcorders, those recording on DV tapes.

Another non standard format is the 960×1080 non-square pixel format used for SBS or Side-By-Side stereoscopic programs. Here, two squeezed images are placed side by side and then stretched back to full frame width during playback. This is a sort of compression rather than a format, and allows to push into a single standard stream the two different views needed for stereoscopic reproduction.