8 bit + FRC monitors

8 bit + FRC

— screens with 8-bit colour matrices that support FRC technology.

This colour depth allows you to display 2^8 = 256 shades for each base colour (red, green, blue) and 256 * 256 * 256 = 16.7 million different shades in total. This is enough for tasks that do not require special colour accuracy (household and office use, games, movies, etc.), but not enough for professional work with colour. At the same time, more advanced — 10-bit — screens are expensive.

In light of all this, the FRC technology was developed, which is also used with 8-bit matrices; such screens are sometimes also referred to as "8 + 2 bit FRC". This technology can significantly improve image quality in cases where the colour of the input signal exceeds the native characteristics of the monitor — in this case, when working with an 8-bit matrix with a 10-bit signal. To do this, a special way of controlling the brightness of individual pixels is used — for the viewer, this creates the effect of increasing the number of shades and, accordingly, a smoother image with more reliable colour reproduction than on a conventional 8-bit matrix. However in terms of overall image quality, the 8-bit + FRC screen still falls short of a full-fledged 10-bit one — however, it is much cheaper. It is this colour depth that is considered the minimum required for screens used for design and graphics (see "Type").