Windows Color System: Difference between revisions

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'''Windows Color System''' ('''WCS''') is a platform for [[color management]], first included with [[Windows Vista]], that aims to achieve color consistency across various software and hardware, including cameras, monitors, printers and scanners.<ref name="WCS">{{cite web |title=Windows Color System |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions//dd372446(v=vs.85) |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |date=June 6, 2017 |access-date=January 18, 2019 |archive-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121415/https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions//dd372446(v=vs.85) |url-status=live }}</ref>

==System==

'''Windows Color System (WCS)'''<ref>[http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/color/WCS.mspx Windows Color System]</ref> is a platform for [[color management]] exclusive to Windows Vista, that strives to achieve color consistency across various software and hardware, including cameras, monitors, printers and scanners. Different devices interpret the same colors differently, according to their software and hardware configurations. As a result, they must be properly calibrated to reproduce colors consistently across different devices. WCS aims to make this process of [[color calibration]] automatic and transparent, as an evolution of [[ICC Color Profilesprofile]]s.

Windows Color System features a completely redesigned ''Color Infrastructure and Translation Engine'' (CITE) at its core. It is backed up by an enhanceda color processing pipeline that supports bit-depths more than 32 bits per pixel, multiple color channels (more than 3three), alternative [[color spacesspace]]s and [[high dynamic range imaging|high dynamic range]] coloring, using a technology named ''Kyuanos''<ref>[{{cite web|last1=Reuveni|first1=Noam|title=Windows Vista to use Canon Color Management|url=http://wwwcameras.digitalcamerainforeviewed.com/content/Windows-Vista-to-use-Canon-Color-Management-|website=Reviewed.htmcom WindowsCameras|date=13 VistaSeptember to2005|access-date=26 useNovember Canon2014|archive-date=26 software]November 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141126111947/http://cameras.reviewed.com/content/Windows-Vista-to-use-Canon-Color-Management|url-status=live}}</ref> developed by [[Canon Inc.|Canon]]. The color processing pipeline allows device developers to add their own [[Color management#Gamut mapping|gamut]] mapping]] algorithm into the pipeline to customize the color response of the device. The new pipeline also supports floating point calculations to minimize [[round-off losseserror]]s, which are inherent in integer processing. Once the color pipeline finishes processing the colors, the CITE engine applies a ''[[color transform''translation]] according to a color profile, specific to a device to ensure the output color matches to what is expected.

WCS features explicit support for LCD as well as CRT monitors, projectors, printers, and other imaging devices and provides customized support for each. WCS uses color profiles according to the CIE Color Appearance Model recommendation ([[CIECAM02)]], defined using [[XML]], to define how the color representation actually translates to a visible color. [[International Color Consortium|ICC]] V4 color profiles are also supported. [[Windows Photo Gallery]] and Photo Viewer, only support the deprecated V2 standard and show dark images when used with V4 profiles; [[Windows Imaging Component]], the [[HD Photo]] format, [[XML Paper Specification|XPS]] print path and XPS documents all support color management.

WCS is a superset of Image Color Management (ICM), which was first included with [[Windows 95]], [[Windows 98]], [[Windows 2000]], [[Windows Me]], [[Windows XP]], and [[Windows Server 2003]].<ref name="WCS"/><ref>{{cite web |title=ICM-Enabled Device Context Functions |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/gdi/icm-enabled-device-context-functions |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |date=May 30, 2018 |access-date=January 18, 2019 |archive-date=January 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119121129/https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/gdi/icm-enabled-device-context-functions |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=GrantMeStrength |date=2021-12-30 |title=About Windows Color System Version 1.0 - Win32 apps |url=https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/wcs/about-windows-color-system-version-1-0 |access-date=2024-07-27 |website=learn.microsoft.com |language=en-us}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Features new to Windows Vista]]

* [[Color management]]

* [[Technical features new to Windows Vista#Print|Windows Vista printing technologies]]

==References==

{{reflist|2}}

==External links==

* {{cite web|url=http://download.microsoft.com/download/f/0/5/f05a42ce-575b-4c60-82d6-208d3754b2d6/WindowsColorSystem_API.ppt |title = Windows Color System and API: An Overview| publisher=Microsoft|format=[[Microsoft PowerPoint|PPT]]|access-date=2008-07-30}}

{{Microsoft APIs}}

==Notes and references==

{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Windows Vista]]

[[Category:Color]]