Using Color Enhancement on Shadow
Updated
Have you ever wanted to enhance the colors on Shadow? Look no further than our feature, Color Enhancement (4:4:4). As the name suggests, Color Enhancement makes the picture on Shadow look better and truer to its original colors. This feature was released to the official Shadow Launcher on June 28, 2021.
This option is not available on Android, Android TV and Shadow VR. To enable this option on Apple TV, the H.265 codec will have to be enabled in your launcher settings.
How do I enable Color Enhancement?
You can find and enable the feature in the Settings. On the Video & Display section, click on Advanced Settings, scroll down, then check the box next to Color Enhancement (4:4:4). This feature is purely optional, and it can be enabled or disabled at any time.
Why is Color Enhancement disabled by default?
Color Enhancement requires more resources than our standard video encoding (4:2:0), which was designed to reduce the amount of data used. To ease any problems this might cause for our users, the feature is disabled by default, but it can be enabled at any time.
When should I enable Color Enhancement?
Whether you need Color Enhancement comes down to two things: personal preference and resources.
Color Enhancement uses 4:4:4 chroma subsampling, a technology that's especially popular among photographers, animators, graphic designers, and other digital artists. Since 4:4:4 does not compress colors, they might appear brighter or sharper, but it will also require more data.
On the other hand, 4:4:4 uses more data than our standard video encoding, 4:2:0. Because 4:2:0 uses less color information, it requires less bandwidth and keeps the brightness intact.
How will I know if 4:4:4 is working?
Here are two different color samples with standard video encoding 4:2:0 (left) and Color Enhancement 4:4:4 (right).
4:2:0 | 4:4:4 |
with standard video encoding | with Color Enhancement |
If Color Enhancement (4:4:4) is not enabled, the two images will look identical on Shadow. Try enabling Color Enhancement, then open this article on your Shadow desktop.