10 bit color in windows / video card or driver limitation?

[Photog]

Here is a good topic for a YouTube video...

what is the 'real' reason most video cards do not support 10 bit color in windows? 

 

While most people do not want or need 10 bit color, I am an avid weekend hobby photographer and process my cameras raw files on a monitor with 10 bit capability (30 bit total, R+G+B). In using photoshop for processing image files, I don't really need the power of 'gaming' video cards. What I do need is 10 bit color per channel. 

 

My current understanding of the story from video manufacturers is that windows has some sort of limitation itself. What does not seem to make sense with that reasoning is if I buy an expensive 'workstation' class video card from the same manufacturer, then I get 10 bit color. This seems to imply that the story of a windows OS limitation is total B.S. and this is just a ploy to sell more workstation class video cards.

 

With the advances in gaming hardware and games, when will non-workstation video cards get drivers that let you enable 10 bit color in windows?

 

in my case, I have to believe that a the video capability built into CPUs would be fine, I just need 10 bit color.

 

Photog

 

[Mihle]

Its not windows, its the video card manufacturer, aka AMD and Nvida, that limits 10 bit to more expensive cards, most likely because they want more money.

[AkiraDaarkst]

28 minutes ago, Photog said:

Here is a good topic for a YouTube video...

what is the 'real' reason most video cards do not support 10 bit color in windows? 

 

While most people do not want or need 10 bit color, I am an avid weekend hobby photographer and process my cameras raw files on a monitor with 10 bit capability (30 bit total, R+G+B). In using photoshop for processing image files, I don't really need the power of 'gaming' video cards. What I do need is 10 bit color per channel. 

 

My current understanding of the story from video manufacturers is that windows has some sort of limitation itself. What does not seem to make sense with that reasoning is if I buy an expensive 'workstation' class video card from the same manufacturer, then I get 10 bit color. This seems to imply that the story of a windows OS limitation is total B.S. and this is just a ploy to sell more workstation class video cards.

 

With the advances in gaming hardware and games, when will non-workstation video cards get drivers that let you enable 10 bit color in windows?

 

in my case, I have to believe that a the video capability built into CPUs would be fine, I just need 10 bit color.

 

Photog

 

nVidia supports 10-bit color for DirectX with their gaming cards, for 10-bit color in OpenGL, they only support it in workstation cards (i.e. Quadro).

 

10-bit color requires the following:

• Hardware that supports 10-bit color for the applications needed: GPU and Monitor
• Operating system that supports 10-bit color
• Software that supports 10-bit color (e.g. Photoshop)