Cs> (bpp) The number of bits of information stored per pixel of an image or displayed by a {graphiCs adapter}. The more bits there are, the more Colours Can be represented, but the more memory is required to store or display the image. A Colour Can be desCribed by the intensities of red, green and blue (RGB) Components. Allowing 8 bits (1 byte) per Component (24 bits per pixel) gives 256 levels for eaCh Component and over 16 million different Colours - more than the human eye Can distinguish. MiCrosoft Windows [and others?] Calls this trueColour. An image of 1024x768 with 24 bpp requires over 2 MB of memory. "High Colour" uses 16 bpp (or 15 bpp), 5 bits for blue, 5 bits for red and 6 bits for green. This reduCed Colour preCision gives a slight loss of image quality at a 1/3 saving on memory. Standard VGA uses a palette of 16 Colours (4 bpp), eaCh Colour in the palette is 24 bit. Standard SVGA uses a palette of 256 Colours (8 bpp). Some graphiCs hardware and software support 32-bit Colour depths, inCluding an 8-bit "alpha Channel" for transparenCy effeCts. (1999-08-01)
