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What’s the difference between 8-bit and 10-bit color depth? What does it really mean?

The difference between 8-bit and 10-bit color depth refers to how many distinct color values can be represented for each color channel (red, green, and blue) in a digital image.

Color Depth Explained

8-bit color depth

  • Each color channel (RGB) has 8 bits of information
  • This allows for 2^8 = 256 possible values per channel
  • Total possible colors: 256^3 = 16.7 million colors

10-bit color depth

  • Each color channel has 10 bits of information
  • This allows for 2^10 = 1,024 possible values per channel
  • Total possible colors: 1,024^3 = 1.07 billion colors

What This Means in Practice

  1. Smoother color gradients: 10-bit color reduces "banding" in areas with subtle color transitions.
  2. More accurate color reproduction: The additional color information allows for a more precise representation of colors, which is especially important in professional photo/video editing. 
  3. Greater dynamic range: 10-bit color can represent more subtle differences between similar tones.
  4. Better HDR performance: The additional color information particularly benefits HDR content. 

As you correctly noted, to see the benefits of 10-bit color, every component in your video chain must support it:

  • The source device (computer, game console, etc.)
  • The transmission method (HDMI, DisplayPort, etc.)
  • The display device (monitor or TV)

If any link in this chain only supports 8-bit color, you'll be limited to 8-bit color depth regardless of the capabilities of the other components. 


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