Patent ID: 6985164

Claim:
A method for displaying eight-bit color on a plurality of pixels on a monitor comprising: for each pixel: receiving a value indicative of one of a plurality of possible values for the level of intensity desired to be displayed on the pixel, the value representable by eight binary bits including a least significant bit; during a given time frame, providing an on state for the pixel for a continuous fractional portion of the given time frame, the fractional portion being indicative of the received value, the given time frame comprising a fixed portion equal to approximately 224/255 of the given time frame followed by a variable portion equal to approximately 31/255 of the given time frame, wherein providing an on state for the pixel for a continuous fraction portion of the given time frame comprises, during the fixed time portion, changing the on or off state of the pixel, if at all, only at time intervals corresponding to approximately 32/255 of the time frame, the on or off state of the pixel based solely on the three most significant bits of the value and independent of the least significant bit of the value; and further comprising determining whether to turn the pixel off during the variable portion, including, during the variable time portion, turning the pixel off, if at all, only at each of a plurality of predetermined time intervals during the variable time portion, the time intervals during the variable time portion having a duration approximately equal to the time frame divided by 255.