List Of 16-bit Computer Hardware Palettes
This is a list of color palettes of some of the most popular 16-bit personal computers, roughly those manufactured from 1985 to 1995. All of them are based on RGB palettes; although some output in composite video, the internal logic to produce colors is always RGB. Also, the list does not include obscure palettes, such as those available only through special adjustment and/or CPU assisted techniques (flickering, palette swapping, etc.), except where noted.
For color palettes of early 8-bit personal computers, see the List of 8-bit computer hardware palettes article.
For current RGB display systems for 32-bit and better PCs (Super VGA, etc.), see the 16-bit RGB for HighColor (thousands) and 24-bit RGB for TrueColor (millions of colors) modes.
This n-bit distinction is not intended as a true strict categorization of such machines, due to mixed architectures also existing (16-bit processors with 8-bit data bus or 32-bit processors with 16-bit data bus, among others). The distinction is more related with a broad 16-bit computer age or generation (around 1985-1995) and its associated state of the art in color display capabilities.
For various software arrangements and sorts of colors, see the List of software palettes article.
For video game consoles, see the List of videogame consoles palettes article.
For a more complete and technical description of the computer's hardware video capabilities, see the List of home computers by video hardware.
They are listed the original model of every system, which implies that enhanced versions, clones and compatibles also supports the original's one palette.
For every model, their main different graphical color modes are listed based exclusively in the way they handle colors on screen, not all their possible different screen modes (text modes or resolution modes that shares the same color schemes).
Every palette has technical details about how the colors are produced and/or used by the computer's display video subsystem.
Due to all palettes being RGB based, color charts already exist in other articles, and they are not shown here. Links to their corresponding RGB palette color charts are available.
Simulations of how the parrot sample image would render in different graphic modes are provided. These simulations are always up to the maximum vertical resolution of the given graphic mode or up to 200 scan lines, if vertical resolution is greater. So any of them could be properly padded, transcoded and dumped into the original hardware and/or software emulators without any other changes. See the summary of every simulated image to obtain technical details about conversion to the original machine's format.
The simulated images only try to show how a certain system is able to handle to an image in terms of color without improvements nor additional clever tricks of design like anti-aliasing or dithering. Doubtlessly a human artist is able to improve enormously the look of the simulated images to approximate them to the original one, but that is not the goal of this article.
Note: please do not change the compression scheme of every image by a lossy compression scheme (i.e. JPEG) in order to improve their file size, nor change the thumbnail size of the images, nor gamma-correct them. They are didactical material AS IS, and they have been already optimized for this purpose.
Read more about List Of 16-bit Computer Hardware Palettes: IBM PC-AT and Compatible Systems
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