Windows Color System: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 11:19, 19 April 2008

Revision as of 20:02, 28 July 2008

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[[Image:Windows Vista Color Management.png|thumb|Screenshot of the Color Management [[Control Panel (Windows)|control panel]] which is used to configure Windows Color System settings.]]

'''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 profile]]s.

'''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.<ref>[http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/display/color/WCS.mspx Windows Color System]</ref> 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 profile]]s.

Windows Color System features a completely redesigned ''Color Infrastructure and Translation Engine'' (CITE) at its core. It is backed up by an enhanced color processing pipeline that supports bit-depths more than 32 bits per pixel, multiple color channels (more than 3), alternative color spaces and [[high dynamic range]] coloring, using a technology named ''Kyuanos''<ref>[http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Windows-Vista-to-use-Canon-Color-Management-.htm Windows Vista to use Canon software]</ref> developed by [[Canon Inc.|Canon]]. The color processing pipeline allows device developers to add their own [[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 losses, which are inherent in integer processing. Once the color pipeline finishes processing the colors, the CITE engine applies a [[color translation]] according to a color profile, specific to a device to ensure the output color matches to what is expected.

Windows Color System features a completely redesigned ''Color Infrastructure and Translation Engine'' (CITE) at its core. It is backed up by an enhanced 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]] coloring, using a technology named ''Kyuanos''<ref>[http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Windows-Vista-to-use-Canon-Color-Management-.htm Windows Vista to use Canon software]</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 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 [[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, [[Windows Imaging Component]], the [[HD Photo]] format, [[XML Paper Specification|XPS]] print path and XPS documents all support color management.

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

==References==

==Notes and <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]]|accessdate=2008-07-30}}

{{Microsoft APIs}}