Resolution reference
640 × 360 resolution (360p)
Short answer
640 × 360 (360p, nHD) is a 16:9 landscape resolution with 230,400 pixels (0.23 megapixels). Low-bandwidth delivery tier; visibly soft on a modern phone.
Key takeaways
- 640 × 360 is 16:9, landscape, 230,400 pixels (0.23 MP).
- Low-bandwidth delivery tier; visibly soft on a modern phone.
- For video, YouTube's 360p tier applies: 1 Mbps at 24-30 fps, about 8 MB a minute.
- Printed at 300 DPI it is 2.1 × 1.2 inches.
640 × 360 specifications
| Width × height | 640 × 360 pixels |
|---|---|
| Also called | 640x360, 360p, nHD |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9, decimal 1.7778 |
| Orientation | landscape |
| Total pixels | 230,400 (0.23 megapixels) |
| Compared with 1080p | 0.11× the pixels of 1920 × 1080 |
| Diagonal | 734 pixels |
| Rotated | 360 × 640 |
| Encoder safe | Yes: both sides are even, as H.264 and HEVC with 4:2:0 color require |
640 × 360 compared with common resolutions
| Resolution | Pixels | 640 × 360 has |
|---|---|---|
| 720p (1280 × 720) | 921,600 | 25% as many |
| 1080p (1920 × 1080) | 2,073,600 | 11% as many |
| 1440p (2560 × 1440) | 3,686,400 | 6% as many |
| 4K UHD (3840 × 2160) | 8,294,400 | 3% as many |
640 × 360 vs 854 × 480
480p (854 × 480) has 78% more pixels than 640 × 360. On a 15.6-inch screen that is 47 vs 63 pixels per inch, so text and fine detail look softer at 640 × 360. A game or encoder processes only 56% as many pixels per frame, which helps frame rates and keeps files smaller.
| 640 × 360 | 480p (854 × 480) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pixels | 230,400 | 409,920 |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 | 427:240 |
| YouTube bitrate, 24-30 fps | 1 Mbps | 2.5 Mbps |
| Desktop space (vs 1080p) | 11% | 20% |
Where 640 × 360 is used
640 × 360 is exactly one third of 1920 × 1080 in each direction, so it has one ninth of the pixels. It became the default quality of early web video players when bandwidth was scarce, and survives as the 360p step of adaptive streaming.
- YouTube's 360p tier (1 Mbps recommended) and the fallback players switch to on poor connections.
- Thumbnails, previews and small embeds.
- Visibly soft on any modern phone held close.
Pixel density (PPI) by screen size
Pixel density is the diagonal in pixels (734) divided by the screen diagonal in inches. The last column is the distance at which a person with normal vision stops seeing individual pixels (one arcminute of visual acuity).
| Screen diagonal | PPI | Pixels blend at about |
|---|---|---|
| 11.6 inches | 63 | 4.5 ft (1.4 m) |
| 13.3 inches | 55 | 5.2 ft (1.6 m) |
| 14 inches | 52 | 5.5 ft (1.7 m) |
| 15.6 inches | 47 | 6.1 ft (1.9 m) |
Print sizes for a 640 × 360 image
| Print resolution | Inches | Centimeters | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 DPI | 2.1 × 1.2 | 5.4 × 3.0 | Photo prints, magazines |
| 240 DPI | 2.7 × 1.5 | 6.8 × 3.8 | Inkjet photo prints |
| 150 DPI | 4.3 × 2.4 | 10.8 × 6.1 | Posters seen from a meter or more |
| 72 DPI | 8.9 × 5.0 | 22.6 × 12.7 | Screen only; too coarse for print |
Free tool:DPI and print size calculator
Video at 640 × 360: bitrate and file size
| Frame rate | Bitrate | Per minute | Per 10 minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24-30 fps | 1 Mbps | about 8 MB | about 80 MB |
| 48-60 fps | 1.5 Mbps | about 11 MB | about 110 MB |
Uncompressed, one 640 × 360 frame is 0.7 MB as 8-bit RGB, or 0.3 MB in the 8-bit 4:2:0 format video codecs work in. At 30 fps that is 83 Mbps of raw video, which is why every delivery format compresses it.
Posting 640 × 360 to social platforms
How the frame lands in each common shape, either fitted whole with bars or scaled up to fill and cropped:
| Target frame | Fit with bars | Fill and crop |
|---|---|---|
| 9:16 (TikTok, Reels, Shorts), 1080 × 1920 | 1080 × 608 picture, 68% of the frame is bars | Keeps 32% of the picture (crops the width) |
| 16:9 (YouTube), 1920 × 1080 | Fills exactly | No crop needed |
| 4:5 (feed portrait), 1080 × 1350 | 1080 × 608 picture, 55% of the frame is bars | Keeps 45% of the picture (crops the width) |
| 1:1 (square), 1080 × 1080 | 1080 × 608 picture, 44% of the frame is bars | Keeps 56% of the picture (crops the width) |
Free tools:Crop video to 9:16Crop video to 16:9Crop an image to 4:5
How to resize to 640 × 360
- In an editor, set the sequence or export frame size to 640 × 360; if the source has a different shape, choose scale to fill (crop) or scale to fit (bars) rather than stretch.
- With FFmpeg, exact size:
ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf scale=640:360 -c:a copy out.mp4 - With FFmpeg, keep the whole picture and add bars:
ffmpeg -i in.mp4 -vf "scale=640:360:force_original_aspect_ratio=decrease,pad=640:360:(ow-iw)/2:(oh-ih)/2" -c:a copy out.mp4 - Upscaling a smaller source to 640 × 360 makes the file bigger without adding detail; scale down from a larger master when you can.
| Scale | Size | Pixels |
|---|---|---|
| 25% | 160 × 90 | 14,400 |
| 50% | 320 × 180 | 57,600 |
| 75% | 480 × 270 | 129,600 |
| 150% | 960 × 540 | 518,400 |
| 200% | 1280 × 720 | 921,600 |
Same 16:9 shape:1920 × 10801280 × 7203840 × 21602560 × 1440854 × 480426 × 2407680 × 43201366 × 7681600 × 900
Check a file against 640 × 360
Extension and MIME type are labels, not proof of the container. Dimensions and duration come from this browser's media reader. The frame rate is measured by playing the first frames muted; a file faster than your screen's refresh rate reads low. This does not detect codecs, bitrate, corruption or platform upload compatibility. Files and measurements are not sent anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Is 640×360 4K?
No. 4K UHD is 3840×2160 (8,294,400 pixels); 640×360 has 230,400, 3% of that. By its 360-pixel short side it falls in YouTube's 360p quality tier.
What aspect ratio is 640×360?
16:9, a width-to-height ratio of 1.7778.
What bitrate should a 640×360 video use for YouTube?
YouTube recommends 1 Mbps at 24-30 fps and 1.5 Mbps at 48-60 fps for its 360p tier (SDR). That is about 8 MB per minute at standard frame rates, before audio.
How does 640×360 compare with 1080p?
It has 11% of the pixels of 1920×1080 (230,400 vs 2,073,600). Encoding time and file size at equal quality scale roughly with pixel count.
What is 640×360 resolution called?
640 × 360 is also called 360p, nHD. Low-bandwidth delivery tier; visibly soft on a modern phone.
How many megapixels is 640×360?
230,400 pixels, which is 0.23 megapixels. A 12-megapixel phone photo (4032 × 3024) has 52.9× as many.
How big can I print a 640×360 image?
At 300 DPI, the usual photo-print target, 2.1 × 1.2 inches (5.4 × 3.0 cm). At 150 DPI, fine for posters viewed from a distance, twice that: 4.3 × 2.4 inches.
Sources and how we checked
- YouTube Help: Recommended upload encoding settings (checked 2026-10-05)
Pixel counts, ratios, PPI, print sizes, data rates and platform fits are computed from the width and height. Device figures are the makers' own; bitrates are YouTube's recommendations. Reviewed October 6, 2026 by the Koldflux team.