Unable to Create a Palette Consisting of More Than 256 Colors (120508)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Video for Windows 1.0
  • Microsoft Video for Windows 1.1
This article was previously published under Q120508

SUMMARY

The Windows Palette Manager (an integral part of GDI) was designed specifically for 8-bit display adapters with a hardware palette of 256 entries.

MORE INFORMATION

Every pixel on the screen is stored as an 8-bit index in the hardware palette. Images created with a color depth of 16 or 24 bits (32K and 16 million colors) do not use palettes and control the video output directly. Therefore, the design of the Windows Palette Manager designates 256 colors as the maximum number allowed for any palette. It is not possible to make different images with greater than 256 colors share a common palette; however, it is possible to reduce the images to 256 colors and then create a common palette for these images.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/7/2003
Keywords:KB120508
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