displaymacbook proresolutionvideo
I just got a new Retina MacBook Pro, and I keep it at the default 1440×900 resolution setting due to not liking when everything is super-tiny. However, I was wondering, does the resolution setting make a difference when playing movies?
My thinking is that if the computer thinks it has more pixels, it should be able to display a higher-resolution video. Am I wrong, or should I make a habit of switching to the "More Space" resolution before playing movies?
These are local snapshots. They should be on your external hard drive if it has been connected. Switched Time Machine off will remove them, but new backups will be created, unless you disable them.
The following answer contains links which explain this very clearly https://apple.stackexchange.com/a/178718/19086
I bought one (the Dell P2415Q) so can offer the results...
Scaled options are:
1504x846, 1920x1080, 2304x1296, 2560x1440 and 3008x1692
That is to say, the macbook always outputs 3840x2160, 60Hz as far as the monitor is concerned. It just "looks like" those resolutions in terms of real-estate.
1920x1080 is the default, and other scaled resolutions are given with the warning that "Using a scaled resolution may affect performance".
eg.
Looks like 1920x1080:
Looks like 3008x1692:
Source: My MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015), running 10.10.4, 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5, Intel Iris Graphics 6100 1536 MB
Best Answer
It depends on the software you are using. As long as you haven't selected an upscaled resolution ("Larger Text" in the Displays preference pane), it should work just fine with any application designed for Mac within the last few years — including Quicktime, VLC, MPlayerX, etc. Simplifying a bit, these will all recognize that your screen's "pixels" are actually four pixels each, and make use of them.
However, if a program has not been optimized for use with retina screens, it may appear pixellated when the screen is set to a retina resolution.