Pixel Definition

A pixel, or "Picture Element", is the basic unit from which a video or computer image is made. A pixel is essentially a small square with a given color and brightness value. An image is composed of thousands or even millions of pixels. The more pixels in an image, the higher the resolution.

The intensity of a pixel is defined by an integer. For grayscale images, the pixel value is typically an 8-bit data value (with a range of 0 to 255) or a 16-bit data value (with a range of 0 to 65535). For color images, there are 8-bit, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit, and 48-bit colors. The 24-bit colors are known as true colors and consist of three 8-bit pixels, one each for red, green, and blue intensity.