Friday, June 15, 2001 Color depth may fix grainy videos If your video playback appears grainy, your video color depth may not be high enough to support the entire color palette being used by the CD/DVD video.

If your video playback appears "grainy," your video color depth may not be high enough to support the entire color palette being used by the CD/DVD video. In most cases, video clips are recorded in the "high color" mode (65 thousand colors) or the "true color" mode (16 million colors). This extensive use of color makes the video appear much more lifelike--not to mention easier on the eyes. If your video system is set to use only 256 colors (as most basic PCs are), then the 65 thousand colors from the video must try to somehow "map" themselves into the 256 colors available on your system. This kind of backward color translation gives the video a grainy or pixilated appearance. Set the desktop to use a higher color mode, and try the video again.

Formerly part of Computer Currents, Stephen J. Bigelow's Computer Advisor column has been resurrected on computeruser.com as a daily tech tip column. Find Stephen at www.dlspubs.com.