Colour depth explained
8-bit-per-channel RGB gives 16.7 million colours and is the web standard. 10- and 12-bit depths carry far finer gradients and are used in HDR photography and video.
Indexed formats such as GIF and 8-bit PNG store a palette of at most 256 colours, which is why gradients band when you convert a photo to GIF.
Reducing depth is a lossy operation even inside a lossless format: an 8-bit PNG of a 24-bit photo has permanently discarded colour information.
Colour depth scores
Deterministic scores calculated from the structured facts above. Identical facts always produce identical scores.
Overall score
83/100
Archiving score
100- it is a current, actively maintained format
- it is actively maintained and current
Confidence 33% · evidence coverage 56%
Longevity score
89- it is actively maintained and current
- it is a current, actively maintained format
- it occupies a niche corner of the ecosystem
Confidence 35% · evidence coverage 75%
Related to Colour depth
Data quality
Every claim on this page is classified as a verified fact, a derived fact or an assumption.
- Overall confidence
- 85%
- Verification status
- verified
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-03
- Verified facts
- 1
1 classified claim backed by 1 source.
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Sources and review status
Review status: verified · confidence 85%
Last reviewed 2026-08-03 (revision 1).
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