Colour banding is a problem of inaccurate colour presentation in computer graphics. In 24 bit colour modes, 8 bits per channel should be enough to render images in the full visible spectrum. However, in some cases there is a risk of producing abrupt changes between shades of the same colour. For instance, displaying natural gradients (like sunsets, dawns or clear blue skies) can show minor banding.
Colour banding is more present with relatively low bits per pixel (BPP) at 16–256 colours (4–8 BPP), where not every shade can be shown because there are insufficient bits to represent them.
Possible solutions include the introduction of dithering and increasing the number of bits per colour channel.
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