Windows 11 has a feature that improves the color display quality of the screen

Auto Color Management is essentially a feature included with the Windows 11 2022 update, which provides system-level color management, while also requiring hardware compatibility for supported displays. qualified standard dynamic range (SDR). ACM helps ensure colors are displayed correctly and consistently in all applications across the entire operating system. Now, after a few months of testing, Microsoft is ready to expand this feature and bring ACM to all supported displays.

Normally without ACM, Desktop Windows Manager (DWM) will restrict applications to output images only to 8 bits per channel, even on screens with higher color depth (optimized applications). can unambiguously target a wide color gamut by using the ICM/WCS color management API to match the colors of the display to the natural color depth). With the new ACM feature, DWM uses IEEE half-precision floating point to eliminate any possible 'clogging', and ensure all applications can access 10-16 bit precision. In a word, ACM can deliver color improvements even for displays with only 8-bit color depth using a variety of techniques, such as dithering.

The Auto Color Management feature is currently rolling out in the Dev Channel to Windows Insiders insiders with build 25309 (appears as a hidden feature in previous builds). You can enable this feature by navigating to System > Display > Advanced display and enabling the Automatically manage color for apps option . However, it should be noted that turning on ACM can cause your GPU to consume more power, generate more heat and thus make the fan run noisier.

The new feature will work on most display models today, including standard 8-bit sRGB panels. However, for best results, Microsoft recommends using a monitor with a wider color gamut than sRGB or optional 10-bit depth. Additionally, your computer must meet the following specific GPU requirements:

To check the GPU model and WDDM driver, just press Win + R and type dxdiag .

Kareem Winters

Update 07 March 2023