🚀 go-pugleaf

schultz...@semail.jsc.nasa.gov (Schultz, Russell) writes:

>In article <3buuas$i...@harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au>
>gme...@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au (GM Enierga) writes:

>> >24-bit simply means the ability to display 16.7 million colors
>> >at 640x480, 32-bit means 800x600x16.7m, 64-bit means 1024x786x16.7m, and
>> >128-bit means 1248x1024x16.7m.


>Ummmm, I think 24 bit refers to the bit-plane/color depth, and that 32,
>64, and 128 refer to the graphics processor bus-width(how much data it
>can fiddle with at a time, internally).

>The cards that support 16.7M only need 24 bit plates at any resolution.
> At 1024x768 they do NOT need a 64 bit anything, just enough memory to
>store that much info, similar with 800x600x16.7M.

>There are some cards with 32 bit planes--8 r,g,b, plus 8 alpha
>channals.  (some esoteric value useful in something or other ;) )

In 32-bit or 64-bit images, the extra bits (8 or 16) are usually used
for an alpha channel or matte channel. This allows images to be
composited with a smooth edge, and to have transparency. That's what
an alpha channel gives you. It's basically a gray-scale image that
describes HOW the other bits of the image will show though.

>Russ.
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