Author Topic: 16 vs 32 Bit Color (Read 2550 times)

HellHound · April 04, 2017, 05:18:07 PM

What is the difference, and what are the advantage/disadvantages of both? I noticed some games cannot run in 32 bit color, as well. why is this?

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carolcat · April 04, 2017, 05:20:51 PM

16 bit means less color range basically

the only games i've seen that can't support 32-bit color are really old ones. like my CD copy of creatures 3 (which would only run on an old version of directx) wouldn't support 32-bit color. my guess would be something with the graphics engine maybe? but don't quote me on that because i'm probably wrong

Totally Not Pie Crust · April 04, 2017, 05:35:53 PM

The bit depth in colors mean the amount of bits a color can have. If I remember correctly, 8 bit colors have two bits for red, two for green, two for blue, and two for alpha. Sixteen bit colors have four bits for each channel and 32 bit colors, eight bits per channel. Don't take my word for it though. I could be wrong.

HellHound · April 04, 2017, 05:36:15 PM

I have been having some issues running games, and I was wondering if this could be the culprit, but now it seems unlikely. There are two games that I have been trying to play and they won't run for some reason.

Hansome duded · April 04, 2017, 05:37:38 PM

you have more shades of color to work with on 32

16 bit color: 2^16 colors
32 bit color: 2^32 colors

modern computers handle 32 just fine, there's absolutely no worry with it. though pictures saved with a larger color range and depth will take up more space. 16 bit vs 32 bit color really shines with gradients

Master Matthew� · April 04, 2017, 05:47:16 PM

carolcat · April 04, 2017, 07:15:53 PM

Quote from: HellHound on April 04, 2017, 05:36:15 PM

I have been having some issues running games, and I was wondering if this could be the culprit, but now it seems unlikely. There are two games that I have been trying to play and they won't run for some reason.

try compatibility settings, or running as administrator. are they older games?

Insert Name Here� · April 04, 2017, 07:18:35 PM

Quote from: HellHound on April 04, 2017, 05:36:15 PM

I have been having some issues running games, and I was wondering if this could be the culprit, but now it seems unlikely. There are two games that I have been trying to play and they won't run for some reason.

Nah that isn't the culprit

16 bit and 32 bit basically just reproduce colors and shadows and blacks in a much larger range and quality. The reason some games don't support 32 bit is either they're too old or the game's graphical engine didn't have it implimented.

HellHound · April 04, 2017, 07:43:39 PM

Quote from: carolcat on April 04, 2017, 07:15:53 PM

try compatibility settings, or running as administrator. are they older games?

The oldest game is Darkest Hour/Hearts of Iron II

Meldaril · April 04, 2017, 08:04:21 PM

Much of the RGB gamut is wasted on us. Interesting tidbit, the M and L cone cells in our retinas are more sensitive to green (middle-ish of the visible spectrum for us humans); therefore digitial cameras, file formats, compression algorithms etc are all built with extra provisioning for green. This is why a Bayer Filter Mosaic (a type of 2D photocell array used in digital cameras) uses more green-sensitive photocells and why "hi-color" (16-bit) uses 5 bits for red, 5 for blue but 6 bits for green so that your camera captures more detail for your human eyes.

24-bit true color uses 8-bits for each primary which is why it's "true color" I assume.

Texan101 · April 04, 2017, 08:15:30 PM

For those images:
8-bit color can only use 8-bits to tell what color to use, allowing a maximum of 2⁸ colors, or 256 colors.
16-bit color can do 2¹⁶ colors, or 65,536. A massive jump
32-bit color can do 2³² colors, or 4,294,967,296 colors. Such a massive jump that this should be the furthest away in quality from the other two.

16-Bit · April 05, 2017, 01:50:25 AM

Fun fact: Shovel Knight adheres to the NES Palette with the exception of 4 added colors
posted because of my relevant name sorry