How to Set Output Color Format, Bit Depth and Range

Last updated 31 July 2026

How to Set Output Color Format, Bit Depth and Range

Choose the signal a GPU output sends to a projector or display: RGB or one of the YCbCr subsampling modes, the bit depth, and whether levels are full or limited. Set this when a projector expects a specific input, when colors look washed out or crushed, or when you need to free up link bandwidth.

Requires the Administrator role. The GPU group does not appear in the sidebar for User or Operator accounts.

[USER-ACTION-REQUIRED: Attach a screenshot of the Outputs tab showing one output with its Current line and the four dropdowns here]

Before you start

  • You are signed in to System Management as an Administrator
  • The output is active or connected — only those appear on this tab
  • You know what the projector or display actually expects — check its manual or on-screen menu rather than guessing
  • Any Mosaic grids are already built — a grid is configured as one output, not as its members

Steps

1. Open the Outputs tab

In the System Management sidebar, under Configure > GPU, select Outputs.

2. Find the output

Any Mosaic grids are listed first, each tagged Mosaic grid 1 with its dimensions and the member outputs it covers. Standalone outputs follow, grouped under a heading per graphics card. Each is named by connector, port, signal type, attached monitor, and current mode.

A Mosaic grid is one entry with one set of controls. Applying there sets the whole grid — you do not configure its member outputs individually, and they are not listed separately.

3. Read the current state

Under each entry, a Current: line reports the format, bit depth, dynamic range, and desktop depth actually in force. Read this before changing anything — the dropdowns show a best-effort interpretation of the current state, but the Current line is the authoritative reading.

4. Set the values

Set Format, Output depth, Range, and Desktop. See the table below for what each one controls. All four are sent together when you apply.

Desktop depth is 8 bpc by default, even when the output runs 10 or 12 bpc. Set 16 bpc float HDR if the Backstage output is configured for an HDR colorspace — that needs HDR support from the connected device, and only the depths a display actually accepts are offered in the dropdown.

5. Apply

Select Apply on the output's row. The screen attached to that output may blank briefly while the signal is renegotiated. The page reports the result and reloads itself a moment later — confirm the change landed by re-reading the Current: line, not by trusting the dropdowns.

6. (Optional) Apply to multiple outputs at once

Below each output's settings, two bulk buttons appear:

  • Apply to similar — applies this output's settings to every other output that reports the same monitor model name. Use this when a multi-output array uses identical panels.

  • Apply to all — applies to every output and Mosaic grid on the server.

Both buttons skip outputs that already have the same settings, so only the ones that actually differ are changed. A confirmation dialog shows which outputs will be affected before anything is sent.

7. Confirm the link still carries it

Raising bit depth or moving from subsampled YCbCr to full RGB increases the bandwidth the link must carry. After a change on a high-resolution or high-refresh output, open Maintain > GPU Status and check the output still reads OK rather than EXCEEDED.

Options explained

Setting

Description

Values / Range

Format

The color encoding sent over the link. RGB carries full color detail per pixel; the YCbCr modes subsample chroma to save bandwidth, at increasing cost to color resolution.

RGB · YUV 4:4:4 · YUV 4:2:2 · YUV 4:2:0

Output depth

Bits per color component on the wire. Higher depth reduces banding in gradients and costs proportionally more bandwidth.

8 · 10 · 12

Range

Whether the signal uses the full code range or the video-legal reduced range. This must match what the display expects, or blacks lift and whites clip.

Full · Limited

Desktop

The color depth Windows uses for the desktop surface on this output. Separate from Output depth, which is what leaves the connector. Set to 16 bpc float HDR when Backstage uses an HDR colorspace. The dropdown is narrowed to the depths the connected display actually accepts.

8 bpc · 10 bpc · 16 bpc float · 16 bpc float WCG · 16 bpc float HDR

Common Mistakes

  • Mismatched Range, blamed on the content. Washed-out blacks or clipped highlights across every asset almost always mean the server and the display disagree about Full versus Limited. Change one side, not both, and re-check.

  • Raising depth past what the link can carry. 12 bpc RGB at 4K60 exceeds what many DisplayPort links deliver. The symptom is intermittent dropouts or a silent fallback, not an error message. Confirm on GPU Status after any increase.

  • Looking for an output that is not listed. Only active or connected outputs appear. An output that is off the Windows desktop, or has nothing attached, is absent here — return it from the Desktop tab first.

  • Expecting the change to survive a reboot by itself. Output color settings are replayed after a restart only when Restore Settings on Startup is enabled on the Options tab. Without it, the driver's own defaults come back.

  • Leaving Desktop at 8 bpc for an HDR workflow. Backstage cannot output HDR content correctly unless the desktop surface itself is in an HDR-capable depth. Set Desktop to 16 bpc float HDR and confirm the display supports HDR.

  • Applying while another display change is still running. If the page reports that monitor configuration is in progress, let it finish and reload on its own. Stacking changes produces unpredictable results.

Tips

  • When bandwidth is tight, YUV 4:2:2 at 10 bpc usually looks better on projected video than RGB forced down to 8 bpc. Subsampled chroma is far less visible than banding in a gradient.

  • Set every output in an edge-blended array identically. A single output on a different range or depth shows up as a visible seam that no amount of blending will hide.

  • Note the Current line before you change anything. It is the quickest way back if the new setting turns out worse.

  • Build Mosaic grids before setting color. Creating a grid afterwards regroups the outputs and you will be setting them again.

  • Use Apply to similar when configuring a multi-output array with identical panels. It matches outputs by monitor model name, so mixed walls are not affected.

How to Check GPU Output Signal Status — confirm the link still carries the mode after raising depth or switching to RGB.

Display and GPU Configuration — the other GPU tabs and the order to work through them.

Color Spaces, Color Primaries, and Transfer Functions — background on color primaries and transfer functions, for deciding what the signal should carry.

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