White Paper

| A
 MD RADEON HD 7900
AMD RADEON HD 7800
AMD RADEON HD 7700
SERIES GRAPHICS DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Discrete Digital Multi-Point Audio
Multi-display Technologies
Stereoscopic 3D
Wide Color Gamut
DISCRETE DIGITAL MULTI-POINT AUDIO
Overview
DDMA Applications
AMD Display Library SDK
DISPLAYPORT 1.2
DisplayPort 1.2 Overview
High Bit-rate 2
Stereoscopic 3D on AMD Radeon Graphics
Multi-Stream Transport
Maximum AMD Eyefinity Technology Resolution
High Bit-rate Audio
AMD HD3D TECHNOLOGY
AMD HD3D Technology Overview
Frame Sequential Displays
HDMI Stereo 3D Packed Frame
DisplayPort MSA Misc1 Bits
4K X 2K
Overview
COLOR ACCURACY
Overview
SUMMARY

2
2
2
2
2
3
3
4
5
6
6
7
7
8
11
12
12
12
13
14
15
16
16
17
17
19

April, 2012

INTRODUCTION
Display devices have always been an integral part of the PC experience.
Whether it is in the form of a desktop monitor, a notebooks embedded
panel, or the touch screen of a PC tablet, display devices play a vital role in
defining the users visual experience.
The new display technologies integrated exclusively in the AMD Radeon
HD 7700-7900 Series are designed to deliver new and unique experiences
with impressive performance in these different technologies:

Discrete Digital Multi-Point Audio

> As the display industry moves toward digital interfaces that support
audio, such as HDMI and DisplayPort, more PC monitors now have the ability to output audio
through built-in speakers or a stereo jack for external speakers. AMDs new Discrete Digital MultiPoint (DDM) Audio technology takes advantage of this trend and enables new uses cases that
were not previously possible.

Multi-display Technologies
> DisplayPort 1.2, a new display interface, boasts features such as tremendous bandwidth and
daisy-chaining capabilities. Combined, these features complement the AMD Eyefinity technology
multi-display technology very well.1

Stereoscopic 3D
> Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs are the first graphics cards in the market to support
3GHz HDMI bandwidth to enable a smoother and more responsive Stereoscopic 3D gaming
experience.2 This whitepaper will explain how this feature, exclusive to the Radeon HD 7700-7900
Series, enables the PC to deliver a high-performance stereoscopic 3D gaming experience.

Wide Color Gamut

> Monitors and notebooks with wide color gamut panels, once reserved for the professional market,
have become more prominent with several products shipping in the market. While these types
of LCD panels display a wider range of colors, there are drawbacks and challenges which will
be explained in this whitepaper, as well as the color gamut remapping technology integrated in
Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs.
This whitepaper provides an overview of the display technologies integrated into the display engine of
Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series graphics.3 These capabilities and technologies, when combined with
cutting edge display devices, enable The Ultimate Visual Experience.

AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

DISCRETE DIGITAL MULTI-POINT AUDIO

Overview
Todays PC monitors increasingly support HDMI and DisplayPort inputs. Typically, these PC monitors
have the ability to decode and convert a digital audio stream from the HDMI (or DisplayPort) input and
transmit the sound through its embedded speakers or a stereo jack for external speakers. In addition,
end users today have the option of connecting their PCs to HDTVs, which support audio through HDMI.
With this in mind, AMD looked for ways to enable new and unique use cases for end-users using
multiple displays with audio capability. This gave birth to a new feature introduced by the Radeon HD
7700-7900 Series GPUs: Discrete Digital Multi-Point Audio (DDMA).
DDMA enables Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs with the ability to output multiple and independent
audio streams simultaneously through digital interfaces that support audio, such as DisplayPort and
HDMI. Each audio stream can be multi-channel (up to 8 channels). Previous generation GPUs only
output one audio stream at a time, even if multiple DisplayPort or HDMI outputs were connected to
displays with audio support (as shown in Figure 1):

Figure 1: Current GPUs only support one audio stream at a time

The Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs are the worlds first GPUs to output more than one
independent multi-channel audio stream simultaneously (see Figure 2). In fact, up to six audio
streams are supported by the Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs.

Figure 2: Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs can simultaneously output

multiple independent digital audio streams
AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

Transmitting multiple audio streams can be achieved through multiple DisplayPort outputs, and can
be combined with one HDMI output. For graphics cards with limited display output connectors, DDMA
can be fully realized with DisplayPort 1.2-enabled equipment, such as a multi-stream transport hub or
daisy-chainable monitors.

DDMA Applications
There are numerous use cases that DDMA enables, the most prominent of which is multi-display video
conferencing. DDMA technology enhances a multi-display video conferencing experience by adding
a directional audio element when used with multiple audio-capable displays. As illustrated in Figure
2, an application can utilize DDMA technology to assign each persons video and audio stream to an
individual display and the speakers connected to it. As expected, only that persons voice can be
heard from the displays speaker. In addition, the application is no longer required to mix all of the audio
streams into one. This significantly enhances the experience.
DDMA technology also enables audio that follows the window of
the video playback application. Through AMDs ADL SDK, a video
playback application can map the audio stream to the end-point
associated with the display that its window is currently located
in. While the audio from the video content seamlessly follows
the window of the video, all the system sounds can still be heard
through the systems default audio end-point.

Audio

Another DDMA application caters to end-users with multiple
displays in their homes, which is becoming very common today given the low prices of HDTVs.
With DDMA, one PC equipped with an Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPU can act as a media
hub or server and drive all the displays with independent video and audio content

Figure 3: A single PC equipped with an Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPU can drive multiple
displays in the home with different content

AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

Application developers can innovate in this area and provide unique solutions for end-users to control
their media server wherever they are located. As an example, there are applications today that allow
users to interact with and control the media server application using smartphones or tablets that
communicate through their wireless network. DDMA technology is a cost-effective solution to support
multi-room entertainment.
Todays PC gamers typically like to multi-task while they are playing their favorite games. Whether they
are waiting for their opponents in turn-based RPGs, or waiting for a long game cut-scene to end, gamers
like the ability to watch and listen to different video and audio content. With DDMA, they can do just that:
keep themselves in the game with video on another display featuring audio that does not interfere with
the audio in the players headset.

Figure 4: Multi-tasking with DDMA

AMD Display Library SDK

The AMD Display Library (ADL) SDK is available to developers who want to take advantage of DDMA.
This SDK gives developers the ability to map independent audio streams to specific audio-end points
and enable new and unique use cases, including those described in this document. For more details,
please visit : http://developer.amd.com/sdks/Pages/default.aspx.

Figure 5: AMD Display Library

SDK is available for developers
to enable support for DDMA

AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

DISPLAYPORT 1.2
DisplayPort 1.2 Overview
In 2006, PC manufacturers (including AMD) collaborated in designing the next generation PC display
interface, which would eventually be known as DisplayPort. DisplayPort was designed to replace DVI
and VGA by offering features that are beneficial to both system integrators and end users. It was also
designed to be flexible and easily extensible for new features that the market will require in the future.
The first generation of DisplayPort provided 10.8 Gbps of raw bandwidth, which no other display
interface can match. DisplayPort also supported very long non-active cables, optional latch designs
for connectors, and audio support. In addition, DisplayPort supports spread spectrum clocking, which
can dramatically reduce EMI. Finally, Source devices such as GPUs can also operate in dual-mode
(otherwise known as DP++); this is valuable because it allows the same connector to transport TMDS
signals to support DVI and HDMI outputs using inexpensive level-shifting adapters.
The data link rates of DisplayPort 1.1a are fixed at either 1.62 Gbps per lane or 2.7 Gbps per lane,
irrespective of the timing of the attached display device. This design only requires a single reference
clock source to drive as many DisplayPort streams as there are display pipelines in the GPU.
In contrast, DVI and HDMI both require a dedicated clock source per display timing. This unique
DisplayPort feature allows for the most efficient multi-display design and complements the
AMD Eyefinity . Please refer to the AMD Eyefinity Brief for more information.
All the features of DisplayPort 1.1a proved that it was the superior PC display interface. To further
enhance the DisplayPort interface, the same group of companies collaborated once more to define the
next version of DisplayPort, which paved the way to DisplayPort 1.2.
In 2010, the DisplayPort 1.2 specification was ratified by VESA. This new revision of the standard adds
support for new and exciting features including high bit-rate audio, even higher link bandwidth, and
multi-streaming capabilities.
The Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series is AMDs second generation of GPUs that are DisplayPort 1.2
certified. Table 1 is a simplified comparison of display interface capabilities integrated into the Radeon
HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs:

DisplayPort 1.2

DisplayPort 1.1a

SL-DVI

DL-DVI

HDMI

Bandwidth

21.6 Gbps

10.8 Gbps

4.95 Gbps

9.9 Gbps

9.0 Gbps

Video Data Rate

17.28 Gbps

8.64 Gbps

3.96 Gbps

7.92 Gbps

7.2 Gbps

>2560x2048

2560x2048

1900x1200

2560x1600

>1920x1200

Audio Support

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Embedded Application Support

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

In-band Stereo 3D signaling

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Multi-stream support

Yes

No

No

No

No

Maximum Resolution Support

@ 60Hz 24bpp

Table 1: Display interface capabilities of the Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs

AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

High Bit-rate 2
DisplayPort 1.2 supports up to twice the bandwidth of DisplayPort 1.1a. High Bit-rate 2 (HBR2) provides
up to 5.4 Gbps/lane of bandwidth, or up to 21.6 Gbps in a full four lane configuration. This lends itself very
well to many applications that require ultra-high bandwidth.
Chart 1 illustrates the wide range of display timings (resolution, refresh rate, and color depth) supported
by various digital display interfaces.

Chart 1: Comparison of video data rate versus resolution at different refresh rates and color depths

As illustrated in Chart 1, DisplayPort 1.2 can easily support a multitude of display timings combining
high resolutions, high refresh rates and high color depth. No other PC display interface can match this
capability today.

Stereoscopic 3D on AMD Radeon Graphics

Frame sequential 3D displays present one view at a time (left or right eye) to the user and require the
use of liquid crystal shutter glasses. According to Stereo 3D enthusiasts, at least 60fps (or 60Hz) per eye
is required for these types of displays to have a pleasant 3D experience. This means that the minimum
total refresh rate required is 120Hz. DisplayPort 1.2 provides ample bandwidth to drive frame sequential
3D displays at 120Hz with support for resolutions up to 2560x1600.

AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

Multi-Stream Transport
Leveraging the micro-packet architecture of DisplayPort, DisplayPort 1.2 adds the capability to
address and drive several display devices through one DisplayPort connector. This feature has often
been referred to as daisy-chaining or addressable displays.
Multi-stream transport, or MST for short, can be leveraged using two types of system design. Figure 6
illustrates how MST can be used with daisy-chainable monitors. Each of the monitors in the daisy-chain
configuration, with the exception of the last monitor in the chain, must have a DisplayPort receiver and
a transmitter. Once the monitor extracts the video and audio stream addressed to it, it will then transmit
the rest of the video and audio streams addressed to the other monitors down the chain.

Figure 6: Daisy-chaining monitors

Figure 7 illustrates the alternate method of using MST to drive multiple displays through the use of
MST Hub or Splitter devices. The hub device receives a DisplayPort 1.2 MST signal from the source
device and splits up and routes the video streams independently to each display device. Using this
type of configuration also allows the use of non DisplayPort 1.2 monitors. To support non DisplayPort
outputs, such as VGA, DVI or HDMI, the MST hub has to actively convert the DisplayPort signal to the
other types of display interface signals. Active adapters that convert from DisplayPort 1.1a to legacy
interfaces such as VGA or DVI/HDMI exist today.

Figure 7: Using MST Hub or splitter

AMD ZeroCore Power Technology

The number of display devices, and also the timings that each display device can be driven at, will
depend on the available bandwidth. Table 2 lists the multi-display configurations possible with HBR
and HBR2 bandwidth:

HBR

HBR2

1366x768 @ 60Hz, 24bpp

Up to 5

Up to 64

1600x900 @ 60Hz, 24bpp

Up to 3

Up to 62

1920x1080 @ 60Hz, 24bpp

Up to 2

Up to 4

2560x1440 @ 60Hz, 24bpp

Up to 2

Table 2: Display configurations supported by HBR1 and HBR2

In 2009, AMD first announced the Eyefinity Multi-display feature. This

differentiating feature has been well received by reviewers and endusers alike. While the appeal is mainly for ultra-wide screen and high
resolution gaming, this feature also caters to those looking to increase
their productivity through multi-monitor configurations. The Radeon HD
7700-7900 Series will be the second generation of GPUs that extend the
capabilities of AMD Eyefinity technology with DisplayPort 1.2 MST.
Using daisy-chainable displays or MST hubs significantly extends the
number of display configurations possible with a reference board design
that has at least one DisplayPort 1.2 connector. For example, with the
ATI Radeon HD 5000 Series GPUs, six-display configurations are only
possible using six DisplayPort 1.1a connectors as shown in Figure 8. This
was realized with the acclaimed ATI Radeon HD 5890 Eyefinity6 Edition
graphics card.

Figure 8: ATI Radeon HD 5890 Eyefinity6 Edition driving six displays with six mini-DP connectors

AMD ZeroCore Power Technology

As an example of how to combine MST and AMD Eyefinity , consider Figure 9. Using an MST hub, which
is expected to be available in the second half of 2012, even the AMD Radeon HD 7900 reference board
can drive up to six displays using only two DisplayPort connectors. This provides an upgrade path for
end-users who have three monitors today, but may want to upgrade to five or six monitors in the future.

Figure 9: Using MST Hub to drive six displays

Aside from multi-output hubs, AMD expects less expensive DisplayPort 1.2 MST dongles in the market,
which support up to two display outputs. Figure 10 illustrates how you can support up to six displays
using two of these dongles combined with the DVI or HDMI display outputs on the graphics card.

Figure 10: Using MST dongles and legacy outputs on graphics card to drive six displays

AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

10

Maximum AMD Eyefinity Technology Resolution

The ATI Radeon HD 5000 series GPUs supported a maximum AMD Eyefinity technology
resolution of 8192 pixels wide by 8192 pixels high. The AMD Radeon HD 6000 and 7000
Series GPUs removes this limitation and supports a maximum AMD Eyefinity technology
resolution of 16384x16384 pixels, which enables new usage scenarios. Figure 11 shows
one example of an AMD Eyefinity technology configuration which is not supported with
previous generation GPUs.

Figure 11: AMD Eyefinity technology

configuration that exceeds 8192x8192
limitation but supported by AMD Radeon
HD 6000 & 7000 Series GPUs

There are other possible configurations supported by the Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series
GPUs combined with DisplayPort 1.2 MST monitors, hubs and dongles. Please note that to
take advantage of this feature, Windows 7 Aero glass must be disabled. In addition, only
DirectX 11 games allow resolutions above 8192x8192 pixels.

AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

11

High Bit-rate Audio

Radeon GPUs have supported pass-through audio through HDMI since the ATI Radeon HD 2000
series GPUs, without external audio cabling. In 2009, AMD released the ATI Radeon HD 4700, 4600
and 4500 and 4300 series GPUs which were the first GPUs in the market to support audio through
DisplayPort. Today, there are several DisplayPort-enabled monitors in the market that can take
advantage of this feature, all of which have the option of attaching external speakers or a sound bar to
the monitor.
Although DisplayPort 1.1a supports audio, the specification does not have provision to support high
bit-rate compressed audio formats, such as those found in Blu-ray movies. DisplayPort 1.2 adds this
capability and the Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series will be the second generation GPUs in the market to
support High bit-rate audio through DisplayPort. Table 3 lists the high bit-rate audio formats found in
premium content, now supported through DisplayPort 1.2:

DTS-HD Master Audio

Dolby TrueHD

PCM 7.1ch

Bitrate

Up to 24 Mbps

Up to 18Mbps

Up to 36 Mbps

Bits/Sample

24 bits/sample

24 bits/sample

24 bits/sample

Sampling Rate

Up to 192 kHz

Up to 192 kHz

Up to 192 kHz

Up to 8

Up to 8

Up to 8

Channels

Table 3: Compressed and uncompressed audio formats supported through DisplayPort 1.2

This capability is attractive to HTPC enthusiasts who want the latest in audio technologies in the market.

AMD HD3D TECHNOLOGY

AMD HD3D TECHNOLOGY Overview
Stereoscopic 3D is a technique that creates the illusion of depth using a stereo image pair. Each image
represents the scene as viewed by the left or the right eye. The illusion of depth is achieved when the
display device (along with the passive polarized and active glasses in most 3D systems) is able to
present the left image only to the left eye and the right image to the right eye. To fully understand how
AMD HD3D technology can deliver stunning 3D images, it is helpful to first examine the Stereoscopic 3D
gaming pipeline.
The majority of DirectX games available in the market do not support stereo 3D natively. This means
that the stereo image pair must be generated external to the game engine. This can be achieved with
third party stereo 3D conversion software, such as Dynamic Digital Depths TriDef gaming driver.
The stereo 3D conversion software intercepts DirectX calls from the game. Using these calls, the stereo
3D conversion software generates the stereo image pair, or the Left and Right eye view. For certain types
of 3D displays, the stereo 3D conversion software blends the two views together to form a single frame
using a format that the display supports (e.g. Row interleave, checkerboard, side-by-side, etc). Once
the frame is in the correct format, the stereo 3D conversion software sends the frame to the GPU, which
will then be sent to the 3D display device.

AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

12

Figure 12: Stereo 3D conversion software architecture

Frame Sequential Displays

Frame sequential 3D displays (also known as page flipped displays) require special treatment. The
stereo 3D conversion software typically must output in frame sequential format to support frame
sequential 3D displays, and does not need to convert the frames into any of the formats illustrated in
Figure 12. However, the stereo 3D conversion software requires a new API known as AMDs quad buffer.

Figure 13: Stereo 3D conversion software

architecture using AMDs quad buffer

AMDs quad buffer API provides the infrastructure for stereo 3D conversion software to support frame
sequential 3D displays by creating a double-height buffer using the existing front & back buffer in
DirectX. After the stereo 3D conversion software stores the left and right images in the quad buffer,
they are then fetched by the display engine which ensures that the frames remain in ordered sequence
throughout the pipeline. Before the frames are transmitted, the display engine formats the output to
provide frame polarity information to the display device. Two standardized methods of conveying frame
polarity information are supported by the Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs. These will be described
in the next section.
AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

13

For more information regarding AMDs quad buffer API, please visit:
http://developer.amd.com/sdks/QuadBufferSDK/Pages/default.aspx

HDMI Stereo 3D Packed Frame

The HDMI 1.4a specification provides a method to support Stereo 3D display
devices. This specification provides a mechanism for the source device, in
this case the GPU, to convey frame polarity information, while maintaining full
resolution. The majority of stereo 3D TVs released in the market since 2009 support
the HDMI 1.4a specification. Today, monitors support stereo 3D through HDMI.
Similar to AMDs quad buffer described in the preceding section, every stereo
image pair is assembled into a standard format known as a packed frame. The GPU
creates a buffer that is twice the height of the resolution of the frame, with active
space in between. As per the specification, the top half of the packed frame is
reserved for the left eye view, while the bottom is reserved for the right eye view.
After both frames are packed into one double-height frame, the GPU will then send
it over the HDMI link as a packed frame. Once the TV receives this packed frame,
it is then unpacked and typically presented to the viewer in a frame sequential or
page flipped manner. Since the polarity of each frame is known, the display can
reliably control the emitter to send the correct signal to the shutter glasses.
The Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs are the first in the world to support all of
these packed frame 3D modes:
> New - 1920x1080 @ 60Hz/Eye ( 120Hz total )
> 1920x1080 @ 24Hz/Eye ( 48Hz total )
> 1280x720 @ 60Hz/Eye ( 120Hz total )
> 1280x720 @ 50Hz/Eye ( 100Hz total )
The first mode listed above (1920x1080 @ 60Hz/Eye) is very critical to gamers who want to play games
in stereo 3D. With the 3GHz HDMI speed supported by the Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs,
higher frame rates (up to 60Hz/Eye) at Full HD resolution can now be transmitted to the display device
resulting in smooth and responsive game-play. Another feature enabled by 3GHz HDMI speed is
support for 4kx2k resolutions, which will be discussed later.

AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

14

DisplayPort MSA Misc1 Bits

The DisplayPort standard specifies a method in which the source device can send frame polarity
information through the DisplayPort main link. This method is often referred to as the MSA method.
MSA (Main stream attribute) is a secondary packet sent by the GPU to the display device, which is
transmitted during the vertical blanking interval. This table shows how the GPU sets the MISC1 bits for
left and right images.

Due to the high bandwidth requirement of Stereo 3D as well as the MSA method for signaling, monitor
vendors are designing their next generation Stereo 3D monitors to support DisplayPort. In fact,
Samsung has released multiple stereo 3D monitors in 2011 that support this method of signaling through
DisplayPort (Samsung A700, A750 and A950 series). The Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series are the
second generation GPUs that are ready to support these monitors. This method is also applicable to
embedded DisplayPort to support embedded stereo 3D panels for notebook and All-in-one platforms.
The Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs also support stereo 3D video playback. The stereo 3D video
pipeline is similar to the gaming pipeline, where a third party application is required to convert 2D content
to 3D, or to decode native Stereo 3D content. These applications also convert the format of the frame,
depending on the type of 3D display device attached to the PC.

MSA MISC1 Bits

Bit 1

Bit 1

No Stereo Video

Video Frame is Right

Reserved

Video Frame is Left

Figure 14: Stereo 3D Video pipeline

The Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs support the following features:

> UVD accelerated MVC Decode for Blu-ray 3D movies
> Windowed mode playback of Blu-ray 3D movies through HDMI and DisplayPort
> Clone mode 3D movie playback
For more information, please refer to the AMD Video Technologies technical whitepaper.
AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

15

4K X 2K
Overview
Ultra-high resolution displays have existed for years but
were targeted for professional applications. However,
4Kx2K TVs have started to appear in many tradeshows
and demonstration events. In the future, AMD envisions
TVs and monitors supporting significantly higher
resolutions, well above WQXGA (2560x1600). There are
various resolutions for 4Kx2K displays, with different
aspect ratios. Table 4 lists some examples:

4Kx2K Resolution

Aspect Ratio

4096x2304

16:9

4096x2160

19:10

3840x2400

16:10

3840x2160

16:9
Table 4: List of 4Kx2K resolutions

Current 4Kx2K displays require multiple display interface inputs. For example, to support 3840x2400
@ 60Hz, four single-link DVI inputs, or two dual-link DVI inputs are required. These displays can be
supported by most AMD GPUs, assuming the right combination of display outputs is supported.
Next generation 4Kx2K displays ( including TVs, monitors and projectors ) will only require a single cable
and a single display interface input. The Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs are the first that are
capable of supporting next generation 4Kx2K displays through a single DisplayPort or HDMI cable.

Display Interface

Resolution

Refresh Rate

DisplayPort 1.1a ( HBR1 )

4096x2304

30Hz

DisplayPort 1.2 ( HBR2 )

4096x2304

60Hz5

HDMI ( @ 3Ghz )

4096x2160

24Hz

DL-DVI

3840x2400

30Hz

AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

16

COLOR ACCURACY
Overview
A displays color gamut refers to the range of colors that it can represent. The most
common method of illustrating a display devices color gamut is by using a gamut
diagram, similar to Figure 15. The supported color gamut of the display is represented
as the area bounded usually by a triangle - in this case labeled sRGB. The majority of
display devices in the past had the capability to fully display the sRGB color gamut.
(Note: This is usually advertised as 72% NTSC). In addition, the majority of content
are captured in sRGB color gamut, including pictures and videos. Even the Microsoft
Windows desktop is rendered in sRGB color gamut.
Today, there are LCD monitors in the market that can display a color gamut greater than
sRGB. Some monitors can cover 80% NTSC, while professional monitors can cover
Adobe RGB (92% NTSC) or more. The problem arises when the end user views sRGB
content on wide color gamut monitors without color correction - the colors become
distorted and over saturated in most cases. This problem can be addressed by a
process called color correction or color gamut remapping.
Figure 15: Color gamut diagram for sRGB

Figure 16: Difference between corrected and

uncorrected image6

While the uncorrected image may seem more vivid, some of the colors look unnatural - especially flesh
tone colors. One can imagine the problem this would cause in professional graphics applications where
color accuracy is paramount. Even for mainstream consumers, uncorrected color images could lead
to frustration for those who print photos at home, or those who view and purchase items through the
internet.
Previous generation GPUs, for example the ATI Radeon HD 5000 Series, had the capability to perform
gamut remapping. However, the capability is limited, in that the color gamut remapping or color
correction is performed in non-linear space (i.e. gamma space). This limits the precision and accuracy of
the color gamut remapping process.
AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

17

The Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs remove this limitation by performing the color gamut
remapping in linear space, as illustrated in Figure 17:

Previous Generation GPUs

AMD Radeon HD
6000 & 7900 Series

Figure 17: Comparison of color gamut remapping hardware

Adding the de-gamma step in the display engine and an advanced gamut remapping algorithm ensure
high precision color gamut remapping throughout the pipeline, resulting in excellent color reproduction
even on wide gamut panels. In addition, since the color gamut remapping process is performed by the
display engine hardware and not through software, it will not incur any CPU or shader performance
penalty and can be applied to full screen and windowed applications.
AMD plans to publish an API that can take advantage of this new hardware capability, along with SDK
documentation. These will soon be available for application developers at http://developer.amd.com.

AMD Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series Display Technology

18

SUMMARY
AMD is a recognized industry leader in display technologies, providing innovation through introduction
of new technologies and display interfaces in our products. The Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs
marks the introduction of these innovative display technologies:
> First GPU to support multiple independent audio streams
> First GPU to support 3GHz HDMI speed for uncompromised Stereo 3D gaming performance
In addition, the Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series GPUs continue to support these advanced features:
> DisplayPort 1.2 Multi-Streaming & HBR2
> Stereo 3D through both DisplayPort and HDMI
> Enhanced color gamut remapping for wide color gamut displays
With AMD Radeon and the introduction of Discrete Digital Multi-Point Audio (DDMA), Radeon HD 77007900 Series GPUs enable new and interesting multi-display applications. Combined with support for
DisplayPort 1.2, high performance stereo 3D gaming through HDMI, and improved AMD Eyefinity, the
Radeon HD 7700-7900 Series is positioned as the GPUs of choice for gaming, HTPC and multimedia
enthusiasts.

DISCLAIMER
The information presented in this document is for informational purposes only and may contain technical inaccuracies, omissions and
typographical errors. AMD reserves the right to revise this information and to make changes from time to time to the content hereof
without obligation of AMD to notify any person of such revisions or changes.
AMD MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE CONTENTS HEREOF AND ASSUMES
NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY INACCURACIES, ERRORS OR OMISSIONS THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS INFORMATION.
AMD SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR
PURPOSE.
IN NO EVENT WILL AMD BE LIABLE TO ANY PERSON FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR OTHER CONSEQUENTIAL
DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OF ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN, EVEN IF AMD IS EXPRESSLY ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
SUBSTANTIATION
1 AMD Eyefinity works with games that support non-standard aspect ratios, which is required for panning across multiple displays. To enable more than two displays, additional panels with native DisplayPort
connectors, and/or DisplayPort compliant active adapters to convert your monitors native input to your cards DisplayPort or Mini-DisplayPort connector(s), are required. AMD Eyefinity can support up to 6 displays
using a single enabled AMD Radeon graphics card with Windows Vista or Windows 7 operating systems the number of displays may vary by board design and you should confirm exact specifications with the
applicable manufacturer before purchase. SLS (Single Large Surface) functionality requires an identical display resolution on all configured displays.
2 AMD HD3D is a technology designed to enable stereoscopic 3D support in games, movies and/or photos. Requires 3D stereo drivers, glasses, and display. Not all features may be supported on all components or
systems check with your component or system manufacturer for specific model capabilities and supported technologies. A list of supported stereoscopic 3D hardware is available at http://www.amd.com/HD3D.
3 The GCN Architecture and its associated features (PCI Express 3.0, AMD ZeroCore Power technology, DDM Audio, HDMI (with 4K and 3GHz) and 28nm production) are exclusive to the AMD Radeon HD 7900,
HD 7800 and HD 7700 Series GPUs.
4 HBR2 bandwidth can support more than six displays with this specific timing, but the AMD Radeon HD 7900 Series GPUs support up to a maximum of six independent displays.
5 D
 riving a resolution of 4096x2304 @ 60Hz requires a monitor that supports DisplayPort 1.2 HBR2. This type of monitor will be driven by the GPU as two 2Kx2K monitors (side-by-side) using the DisplayPort 1.2
Multi-Stream Transport protocol over one DisplayPort cable.
6 Simulated saturation to show the difference between color corrected and uncorrected image on wide gamut panels.
2012 Advanced Micro Devices Inc. All rights reserved. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, ATI, the ATI logo, Radeon, and combinations thereof are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
HDMI is a trademark of HDMI Licensing, LLC. Other names are used for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. PID# 51883A

AMD ZeroCore Power Technology

19