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February 4, 2008

Deep Color

Color depth describes the number of bits used to represent the color of a single pixel. Higher color depth, bits per pixel (bpp), allows a wider range of distinct colors to be defined.

Flat panel displays with conventional 8 bit color depth can have difficulty reproducing wide, gradual color gradients resulting in bands of color known as false contouring (also known as banding or posterization). Deep Color refers to the use of greater bit depths to boost the number of distinct colors, or steps of gradation, which can be reproduced. Boosting the number of distinct colors which can be represented enables gradual color gradients to be accurately reproduced eliminating false coloring (see the HDMI.org brochure below). Deep Color is a feature worth looking for when shopping for a television or projector.

The right cabling is needed to carry the extra data required by Deep Color. HDMI 1.3 supports the use of 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit color in displays allowing progressively more distinct colors to be represented. For reference, 24+ bits (8 bits for each RGB primary color), commonly referred to as “true color” and can be used to represent 16.7 million distinct colors.

It is important to note that Deep Color increases the number of available colors within the boundaries defined by the color space of the display - RGB or YCbCr color space at the moment. An expansion of the boundaries of RGB or YCbCr is provided by the larger xvYCC color space which allows the display of range of colors which exceeds what human eyes can recognize.

Benefits or Deep Color are:

Enabling displays to reproduce billions of colors rather than millions
Allowing smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors - eliminating false contouring
Enabling increased contrast ratio
Increasing, typically eight or more times, the shades of grey between black and white