MBP 2.16GHz 15": Is the display 6bit or 8bit and how can I tell on my own?
Anybody know offhand what kind of LCD's are on the 15" 2.16GHz MBP's? Are they 6 bit of 8 bit displays?
And is there a way to determine this on your own? I opened "about this mac" and checked the graphics and displays info but I didn't see what information I could use to find out.
Thanks to all who answer...
And is there a way to determine this on your own? I opened "about this mac" and checked the graphics and displays info but I didn't see what information I could use to find out.
Thanks to all who answer...
Comments
I can almost guarantee that it's a 6-bit panel, and that you can't tell the difference.
Thanks.
I'm not complaining about the color, I was just being curious.
6 bit panels have 2^6 = 64 variations
If you choose a single solid color of red, green or blue and make a gradient from 100% to 0% and maximize it fullscreen, you might be able to see more banding artifacts.
Your horizontal resolution is 1440 pixels so for an ideal gradient, there would be at least 1440 variations of red. 256 variations means that in a single color gradient every 5-6 pixels has the same color. 64 variations means that every 22-23 pixels has the same color.
The effect you get is banding artifacts because you are seeing strips or bands of the same color (you see this effect severely in gif images because they only support 256 colors total). This effect is reduced by dithering so you might not even be able to see it.
If you make the gradients over a shorter range, the banding may become more noticeable so 100% red to 50% red across the width of your screen or 100% red to 75% red. You can use Photoshop or seashore to make up the gradients.
If you had an external 16.7 million color display, it would probably be easier to compare.
8 bit panels have 8 bits per color so have 2^8 = 256 variations per channel
6 bit panels have 2^6 = 64 variations
If you choose a single solid color of red, green or blue and make a gradient from 100% to 0% and maximize it fullscreen, you might be able to see more banding artifacts.
Your horizontal resolution is 1440 pixels so for an ideal gradient, there would be at least 1440 variations of red. 256 variations means that in a single color gradient every 5-6 pixels has the same color. 64 variations means that every 22-23 pixels has the same color.
The effect you get is banding artifacts because you are seeing strips or bands of the same color (you see this effect severely in gif images because they only support 256 colors total). This effect is reduced by dithering so you might not even be able to see it.
If you make the gradients over a shorter range, the banding may become more noticeable so 100% red to 50% red across the width of your screen or 100% red to 75% red. You can use Photoshop or seashore to make up the gradients.
If you had an external 16.7 million color display, it would probably be easier to compare.
Thanks Marvin.
I think this may be a moot point, as I'm pretty sure there isn't a single laptop computer on the market from any manufacturer that has an 8 bit panel. If anyone knows of one please let us know...
IBM used to sell Thinkpads with IPS panels. They certainly don't anymore, but that's the closest I can think of.
I really doubt any of the panel manufacturers still make them.