john smith wrote:

How can there be better terrain resolution
when the screen resolution is the same?

The terrain database resolution is
independant of the screen resolution.

To me, resolution means greater
detail. What is your interpretation?

The terrain data is stored at some specific resolution ie. there is a
height recorded for each square of land N by N feet in size. These N x
N squares will correspond to a variable number of pixels on the
display, depending on the zoom level. At lower zooms, multiple squares
will contribute to a single pixel; at higher zooms, a single square
will show as multiple pixels. Go to the terrain page and you'll see a
"blocky" appearance on a 396 at the normal close-in zoom levels used on
that page. Increasing the terrain resolution allows you to get closer
before you get the blocking. It also allow better decisions about
possible terrain conflicts.