Windows 7 plays nice with rendering content beyond the 8 bit limit, taking users into the visual territory of High Color, namely display capabilities involving high precision, High Dynamic Range, and support for gamuts superior to sRGB. Users of Window 7 will be able to take advantage of the new High Color capabilities when it will come down to handling HD photos, digital photographs in RAW formats, HD photo and Blu-ray videos.

"Support for improved color is a visible difference in the viewing experience and makes applications look better and leverages the PC owner's hardware investment. Supporting these scenarios reaches out to all segments of users and improves the overall satisfaction with their Microsoft Windows PC. Modern GPUs and displays already support these pixel formats, and new brands are shipping with support for 10-bit and beyond." Microsoft revealed.

The Redmond company has taken Windows 7 beyond 8-bit per channel sRGB and to 10-bit per channel sRGB (high precision); 10-bit per channel xRGB (extended range) and 16-bit per channel scRGB (high precision and wide gamut). In Windows 7 this is valid for the Windows Imaging Component (WIC) and the Windows color system (WCS). Of course, Direct 3D also supports rendering values of 10 bit, 10 bit XR and 16 bit per channel.

On top of the evolution of Direct3D, WIC and WCS, Windows 7 also supports High Color when it comes down to XPS printing, namely for print and image acquisition tasks, but even for Display Drivers (for 10-bit XR and Float16 scan outs).

"Windows 7 provides a complete set of technology to load, display and print High Color content. Using High Color-supported technologies in your applications will provide a premium experience for the users and enable them to fully unleash the potential of their display and print hardware," Microsoft concluded.