diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 49b62f13f..9ac960d69 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -124,10 +124,13 @@ which means you can modify it, redistribute it or use it however you like.
                                      video id, %(playlist)s for the playlist the
                                      video is in, %(playlist_index)s for the
                                      position in the playlist and %% for a
-                                     literal percent. Use - to output to stdout.
-                                     Can also be used to download to a different
-                                     directory, for example with -o '/my/downloa
-                                     ds/%(uploader)s/%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s' .
+                                     literal percent. %(height)s and %(width)s
+                                     for the width and height of the video in
+                                     the picked format. Use - to output to
+                                     stdout. Can also be used to download to a
+                                     different directory, for example with -o '/
+                                     my/downloads/%(uploader)s/%(title)s-%(id)s.
+                                     %(ext)s' .
     --autonumber-size NUMBER         Specifies the number of digits in
                                      %(autonumber)s when it is present in output
                                      filename template or --auto-number option
diff --git a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
index bbfdfb444..62ccad20c 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/YoutubeDL.py
@@ -409,6 +409,13 @@ class YoutubeDL(object):
             template_dict['autonumber'] = autonumber_templ % self._num_downloads
             if template_dict.get('playlist_index') is not None:
                 template_dict['playlist_index'] = '%05d' % template_dict['playlist_index']
+            if template_dict.get('resolution') is None:
+                if template_dict.get('width') and template_dict.get('height'):
+                    template_dict['resolution'] = '%dx%d' % (template_dict['width'], template_dict['height'])
+                elif template_dict.get('height'):
+                    res = '%sp' % template_dict['height']
+                elif template_dict.get('width'):
+                    res = '?x%d' % template_dict['width']
 
             sanitize = lambda k, v: sanitize_filename(
                 compat_str(v),
diff --git a/youtube_dl/__init__.py b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
index 72311f283..d39eb830f 100644
--- a/youtube_dl/__init__.py
+++ b/youtube_dl/__init__.py
@@ -430,6 +430,8 @@ def parseOpts(overrideArguments=None):
                   '%(extractor)s for the provider (youtube, metacafe, etc), '
                   '%(id)s for the video id, %(playlist)s for the playlist the video is in, '
                   '%(playlist_index)s for the position in the playlist and %% for a literal percent. '
+                  '%(height)s and %(width)s for the width and height of the video format. '
+                  '%(resolution)s for a textual description of the resolution of the video format. '
                   'Use - to output to stdout. Can also be used to download to a different directory, '
                   'for example with -o \'/my/downloads/%(uploader)s/%(title)s-%(id)s.%(ext)s\' .'))
     filesystem.add_option('--autonumber-size',