Confused with "Bits" 36-bit/48-bit?

[SkantDragon]

You're being caught out by different units there.

The 12 and 16 bit ones are referring to the number of bits per color.
The 36 and 48 bit ones are referring to total number of bits per pixel.

12 bits per color channel * 3 colors (red, green, and blue) = 36 bits per pixel.
16 bits per color channel * 3 colors (red, green, and blue) = 48 bits per pixel.

So you're actually looking at the same bit depths... they're just listed in two different ways.


Soemthing to keep in mind... the human eye can't distinguish more than 8 bit color. And no video sources (including Blu-ray) transmit more than 8 bit color. And it's unlikely any ever will.