Sony 10 bit displays and Blu-Ray

[GeorgeCaplan]

Hi

I notice that Sony has some LCD TVs with "10 bit displays". For example HD 40W3000 and HD 40X3000 (UK model numbers). My assumption is this is the number of bits per colour.

I appreciate that a 10 bit display should eliminate any colour banding over an 8 bit display. Although whether I would see banding on an 8 bit display is another issue.

My question is this. Does the output of a Blu-Ray player, go up to 10 bits per colour (or higher)?

Sorry if this has been asked previously

[bmr76]

I think what would realy take advantage of the 10 bit color is the xv color capability of the w3000 (most blu ray standalones have this)- 10 bit color just assists with gradation between colors. Thats all I got

[Phane]

Theoretically, the PS3 would support it, as it supports HDMI 1.3 (supports up to 14 bits per color, 1.2 and lower only support 8). Not sure any movies or games have come out that are encoded that high, though. Also not sure if some other players have come out that support HDMI 1.3, either.

[Pictor]

I'm pretty sure xv and 10 bit color are not the same. Furthermore, some stand alone players, like the BDP-S300, support xv but not HDMI 1.3.

[welwynnick]

Sadly, both Blu-ray and HD DVD will both be 8 bit media for the forseable future. I did read somewhere some time ago that BD may move up to 10 bits, but that is clearly not the case, and I understand that won't change. The difference is so fundamental that it would be like starting a whole new format, but I would LOVE to be proved wrong.

What HDMI outputs is really not so important, and if any part of the chain carries 10 bits, then two of them are made up. That may be a good thing, as it can help avoid digital truncating and rounding errors that build up with sucessive processes.

There is also the usual confusion over deep colour and XV colour.

xv colour means a wider gamut (greener greens etc). Nothing to do with 10 bits - the bits just mean slightly different things.

Deep colour means greater depth of modulation - 10 or 12 bits per colour, rather than 8 bits. That means areas of low contrast and detail are reproduced with less banding and blocking and other artifacts. Typically, there are many more colours (billions rather than millions for eg) but red is still red.

Nick