#1547 BLOC Future : Decide frame buffer depth - 565 vs ARGB 8888

[Zarro Boogs per Child]

#1547: Decide frame buffer depth - 565 vs ARGB 8888
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  Reporter:  jg               |       Owner:  cjb           
      Type:  task             |      Status:  new           
  Priority:  blocker          |   Milestone:  Future Release
 Component:  x window system  |     Version:                
Resolution:                   |    Keywords:                
  Verified:  0                |    Blocking:                
 Blockedby:                   |  
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Comment(by bernie):

 Replying to [comment:8 Bart Massey]:
 > My vote, for what little its worth, is that minimal measurements are
 needed here---everything should move to 32-bit ARGB unless it's a
 showstopper somehow.  There's just too much software and too many
 developers unprepared for 5:6:5, making this one more barrier to entry for
 new applications.  It's hard for me to believe that this move will be
 enough of a power or performance loss to make up for the increased ease of
 porting and development.

 Do you have some specific software in mind?  I've been using my PC and
 laptop in 16bpp since forever, without any issue.  Why do I do that?
 Because it's *twice* as fast for some operations, and uses 50% less video
 and system RAM for graphics.

 What's are downsides?  I can barely notice color banding on LCD displays,
 only in grey scale with no dithering.  Conversions from 24bpp to 16bpp may
 be slow and there is indeed some stupid software out there that does not
 convert pixmaps to screen format beforehand.

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Ticket URL: <http://dev.laptop.org/ticket/1547#comment:9>
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