computer science

List of video game console palettes

List of video game console palettes is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of video game console palettes rather than just read about it. In short: This is a full list of color palettes for notable video game console hardware. For each unique palette, an image color test chart and sample image (original True color version follows) rendered with that palette (without dithering unless otherwise noted) are given.

Key takeaways

List of video game console palettes belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect List of video game console palettes to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of List of video game console palettes from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

This is a full list of color palettes for notable video game console hardware. For each unique palette, an image color test chart and sample image (original True color version follows) rendered with that palette (without dithering unless otherwise noted) are given. The test chart shows the full 8 bit, 256 levels of the red, green and blue (RGB) primary colors and cyan, magenta and yellow complementary colors, along with a full 8 bit, 256 levels grayscale. Gradients of full saturation of intermediate colors (orange, yellow-green, green-cyan, blue-cyan, violet, and red-magenta), and a full hue spectrum are also present. Color charts are not gamma corrected.

Atari

Atari 2600

The Television Interface Adaptor (TIA) is the custom computer chip that generated graphics for the Atari Video Computer System game console. It generated different YIQ color palettes dependent on the television signal format used.

NTSC With the NTSC format, a 128-color palette was available, built based on eight luma values and 15 combinations of I and Q chroma signals (plus I = Q = 0 for a pure grayscale):

The above image assumes there is no limit on the number of colors per scan line. With the system's actual color restrictions (and proper change in aspect ratio), the same image would look very different:

PAL With the PAL format, a 104-color palette was available. 128-color entries could still be selected, but due to the different color encoding scheme, 32 color entries results in the same eight shades of gray:

The above image assumes there is no limit on the number of colors per scanline. With the system's actual color restrictions (and proper change in aspect ratio), the same image would look very different:

SECAM

The SECAM palette was reduced to a simple 3-bit RGB, containing only 8 colors (black, blue, red, magenta, green, cyan, yellow and white) by mapping the luma values:

Modern Hardware-Assisted Implementation The MovieCart (by Rob Bairos) is a modern (2022) cartridge that implements sophisticated display techniques that allow more realistic images to be displayed on the Atari 2600. The MovieCart format offers 80 pixels horizontally, and 192 (NTSC) or 242 (PAL, SECAM) scanlines of resolution. Each line effectively has 10 multiplexed sprites displayed in groups of 5 on alternating frames. Each of the sprites can have its own colour. A sophisticated encoding algorithm allows arbitrary images to be displayed using all the colours available on the console, with some limitations related to colour changes. The encoder dithers and optimises colour usage to minimise errors in image reproduction. Note that the original Atari 2600 hardware is still being used to display these images; the 6507 microprocessor is retrieving colours from memory, and the TIA chip is still producing the video data. The following images are screen grabs using the Gopher2600 emulator, but increased in brightness to match what the human eye actually sees when viewing on hardware.

PAL Resolution: 80 x 242 (128 colours)

NTSC Resolution: 80 x 192 (128 colours)

SECAM Resolution: 80 x 242 (8 colours)

'rasterBleed' Implementation This recently developed display technique (July 2026) uses time-varying colour and pixel blending. Three frames, each with a single colour per scanline, played in succession at 60Hz. The eye merges the colours to produce quite a stable image.

Lynx

The Atari Lynx used a 4096-color palette. The video hardware was custom built and designed by Jay Miner and Dave Morse It used two chips, named Mikey and Suzy. Resolution was 160×102 pixels and it was possible to use 16 simultaneous colors per scanline.

Nintendo

NES The Picture Processing Unit (PPU) used in the Nintendo Entertainment System generates color based on a composite video palette. The 54-colors can be created based on four luma values, twelve combinations of I and Q chroma signals and two series of I = Q = 0 for several pure grays. Memory bits expressing colour are arranged like this: VVHHHH, where V corresponds to I values and H to Q. There are two identical whites, one of the blacks has less-than-zero brightness, and one of the lighter grays is within 2% of another, so sometimes the palette has been reported to have 52 to 55 colors. In addition to this, it had 3 color emphasis bits which can be used to dim the entire palette by any combination of red, green and blue. This extends the total available colors to 448, but inconveniently divided into 8 variations of the base 56. Because it affects the whole palette at once it may be considered more of a filter effect applied to the image, rather than an increased palette range. The PPU produces colors outside of the TV color gamut, resulting in some colors being presented differently on different TV systems.

The NES PPU uses a background palette with up to 13 of these colors at a time, consisting of one common backdrop color and four subpalettes of three colors, chosen from the above set. The PPU's video memory layout allows choosing one subpalette for each 16×16 pixel area of the background. (A special video mode of the MMC5 mapper overrides this, assigning a subpalette to each 8×8-pixel tile.) Sprites have an additional set of four 3-color subpalettes (with color 0 being transparent in each) and every 8×8 or 8×16 pixels can have their own subpalette, allowing for a total of 12 different colors to use for sprites at any given time, or a total of 25 on-screen colors. Because of the constraints mentioned above, converting a photograph often results in attribute clash at 16×16-pixel boundaries. Conversions with and without dithering follow, using the hex palette 0F160608 0F162720 0F090010 0F0A1910 (the repeated 0F represents black as the common backdrop color).

Game Boy The original Game Boy uses a monochrome 4-shade palette. Because the non-backlit LCD background is greenish, this results in a "greenscale" graphic display, as it is shown in the simulated image (at Game Boy display resolution), below. The Game Boy Pocket uses a monochrome 4-shade palette using actual gray, while the Game Boy Light gives the screen more of a bright blueish tint while its backlight is turned on. However, if its backlight were not on, it would look the same as the Game Boy Pocket.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

List of video game console palettes: 24-bit palette sample image — 24-bit palette sample image

List of video game console palettes: 24 bit Palette Color Test Chart — 24 bit Palette Color Test Chart

List of video game console palettes illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of video game console palettes

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of video game console palettes claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of video game console palettes before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of video game console palettes ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of video game console palettes

In research: List of video game console palettes appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses List of video game console palettes in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: List of video game console palettes is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Color depths, Computer graphics, Computer output devices, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for List of video game console palettes outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study List of video game console palettes in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what List of video game console palettes means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is List of video game console palettes in simple terms?

Why does List of video game console palettes matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of video game console palettes?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of video game console palettes.