Most of the “Monitor” (not “Raw”) devices on the prior page — pretty much anything packaged for consumer use — can work directly with any Raspberry Pi with an HDMI port (including mini or micro HDMI). They’ll either downsample the Pi’s default 1080p resolution, or the two can negotiate a mutually-compatible resolution. Super easy.

When downsampled — when the negotiated resolution doesn’t match the LCD’s native pixel count — the results can be disappointing. Graphics will appear blurry, the aspect ratio might be stretched, and user interface elements like menus and buttons are small and illegible. If this happens, the next pages may be helpful in getting the Pi to generate a pixel-perfect image.

This is especially common on low-cost projectors. They’ll boast that they accept “full HD 1920x1080 input”…but then downsample this to 640x480 or even less sometimes.

It’s helpful to know the display’s native pixel resolution. This can usually be found alongside other specifications in the back of the manual somewhere, if one is provided. But if not, there are ways to sniff this out…