Why does an HDTV, plugged into my computer, not show a proportional amount of content?

Question

I am using a Dell Inspiron i7559. For compatibility reasons, I have downgraded the resolution to 1080p from the usual 4K. When I plug my Samsung 32" 1080p Smart TV in via HDMI, even in extend mode, it shows the same amount of content.

More specifically. I expected that dragging a File Manager Window to the TV, for example, would allow the active display of ~4x more content. Instead, the same amount of content is displayed on the Laptop Screen as on the TV! The laptop screen can show 10 horizontal and 6 vertical icons. The TV shows the exact same number, as if it were mirrored! Why is this happening, and how do I achieve the desired display configuration?

If it somehow makes a difference, I'm running Ubuntu 19.04.

Answer 1

1080 is 1080, the physical size of the device doesn't matter.

Your large screen 1080p TV just has physically larger individual pixels than your laptop display which is why it's physically bigger but still shows the same resolution.