Rgb23

Rgb23 is not a widely standardized term in digital color science. In practice, rgb23 is used informally to describe a color representation that uses 23 bits per pixel, rather than the conventional 24-bit RGB or higher bit-depth formats. Because there is no single agreed-upon layout, the exact allocation of bits among the red, green, and blue channels varies by implementation. A common interpretation assigns 8 bits to red, 8 to green, and 7 to blue (an 8-8-7 arrangement), though other variants such as 8-7-8 exist. The resulting color space can represent 2^23 colors (8,388,608), slightly fewer than standard 24-bit RGB.

In usage, rgb23 is typically encountered in specialized or constrained environments, such as embedded devices with limited memory bandwidth, image pipelines that store intermediate results, or software that aims to save bandwidth by using one fewer bit for one channel. The tradeoff is a modest reduction in color fidelity, especially in blue tones where the reduced resolution can be noticeable.

As a term, rgb23 does not correspond to a formal standard published by major standards bodies or widely adopted file formats. It may appear in source code as a data packing option, in shader or graphics tutorials as an illustrative example of bit packing, or as a placeholder name for a color-format variant in projects. When encountered, the exact channel layout should be confirmed from the code or documentation.

See also: RGB color model, RGB24, color depth, bit packing.