I recently learned that the glycin image loading library, unlike GdkPixbuf, supports images with bit depths greater than 8 bits per channel. This allows for proper display of colors on monitors with deep color support. As glycin’s first stable release came out less than a year ago, GNOME shell & mutter still depend on GdkPixbuf to load images.
Is glycin suitable for use in the parts of GNOME shell & mutter where GdkPixbuf is used today? If so, would replacing GdkPixbuf with glycin as the image loading library for these components be an effective way to improve the experience of using GNOME with modern displays?
I think you might be confusing two things here. Just having more bits per channel alone will not allow for covering a wider color gamut. Currently, our stack practically works in sRGB, no matter how many bits a channel has. However, even it being sRGB isn’t even really defined anywhere.
While glycin is prepared to support wider color gamuts in the future, the details of how this will be implemented all over the stack are not 100% settled yet. See for example the article Vivid colors in Brno for an update on this work.
Thanks for the info. I have a lot to learn about color. Even with sRGB, I have definitely seen an improvement in GNOME Image Viewer versus other applications when looking at images with >8 bpc color. Over DisplayPort, my monitor only supports 10 bpc without a wide color gamut. Assuming I’m attributing the visual improvement to the correct technology, glycin is already helping me use more of this monitor’s potential.
