Introduction
Deep color depth on Windows desktops refers to the ability to display more than 24-bits of color value per pixel. Color depth determines the range and variety of colors that are displayed on the screen; increased color depth typically results in enhanced images.
Deep color depth on Windows desktops refers to the ability to display more than 24-bits of color value per pixel. Color depth determines the range and variety of colors that are displayed on the screen; increased color depth typically results in enhanced images.
Starting with Windows 11 24H2, Microsoft is expanding support of the Auto Color Management (ACM). With this change the NVIDIA Control Panel is also changing how it exposes the 30-bit color modes.
Changes in the NVIDIA Control Panel Color Depth Settings for Windows 11 24H2
Desktop color depth settings have been located under the Display > Change resolution menu in the NVIDIA Control Panel (see below)
Users can access standard dynamic range (SDR) options for 24-bit and 30-bit color (see below)
Starting with Windows 11 24H2, the SDR (30-bit color) color desktop color depth option will be replaced with SDR (64-bit).
Implications of Deep Color in Windows 11 24H2
When ACM is enabled on an SDR- or HDR-capable monitor Windows uses the display’s Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) chromaticity values or registered display ICC color profile to ensure all the applications color are displayed correctly, even if they are each using different color profiles. This is particularly helpful on wide color gamut displays, since productivity applications which use a limited sRGB color gamut and creative applications that can use the full display gamut will now both show their colors correctly at the same time.
This color management may result in the color output values differing slightly from the 10-bit input color values, even if the display is SDR only. In most instances, the input and output color differences are visually imperceptible. (Note that ACM requires Turing generation, and later, GPUs. )
Alternative Options
In previous versions of Windows (i.e., pre-24H2), the 10-bit per component input color matched the output color values with default identity gamma maps. If 1:1 10-bit color precision and 10-bit desktop color composition are a strict requirement for workflows, it is advised to use pre-Windows 11 24H2 operating systems.