What 4:2:0 does
Brightness is stored for every pixel, but color is stored for only one pixel in four. On photographs and video you will never notice. On a one-pixel-wide colored glyph edge, the color information simply is not there to reconstruct.
✦Mac, Windows, iPhone & iPad
True 4:4:4 color — your code theme looks slightly wrong and you cannot say why. Colored text stops smearing.
Syntax highlighting looks slightly muddy. Red text on a dark background bleeds at the edges. Spreadsheet highlights soften. This is not your screen or your connection — it is chroma subsampling, and almost every remote desktop does it. Remio can turn it off.
4:4:4
full color per pixel
$0
no subscription needed
Mac/PC
Apple silicon, NVIDIA or recent Intel
Opt-in
one toggle
✦The reason text looks off
Compression throws away three quarters of the color.
Video codecs exploit the fact that human eyes are far more sensitive to brightness than to color. For film that is invisible. For a screen full of small colored text it is not.
Where it shows
Colored syntax themes, red or blue text on dark backgrounds, spreadsheet cell highlights, subtitles, thin colored UI borders, and fine diagram lines. Anywhere color changes across a very small distance.
What 4:4:4 fixes
Full color detail for every pixel. Colored text edges reconstruct exactly, so text on a colored background is as crisp as sitting at the machine. It costs more bandwidth, which is why it is a choice rather than a default.
✦Honest scope
Where this works today — and where it does not.
Here's exactly which computers send it and which Remio apps show it.
Supported today
A Mac with Apple silicon, or a Windows PC with NVIDIA or recent Intel graphics, streaming to Remio on a Mac, a Windows PC, or an iPhone or iPad that decodes 4:4:4 in hardware. Switch on "4:4:4 color" in Remio's settings and colored text turns pixel-sharp.
Standard 4:2:0 elsewhere
Windows PCs with AMD graphics and Linux computers stream standard 4:2:0, and so does Remio on Android and Apple TV — which is what essentially every remote desktop gives you.
If it cannot be enabled
If the host cannot honour the request, Remio falls back to 4:2:0 quietly and the settings panel reflects the real state — it will not claim 4:4:4 you are not getting.
✦What it costs
Free here. A subscription elsewhere.
4:4:4 color is commonly a paid tier in this category. In Remio it ships free, like the rest of the core app.
Parsec
Parsec gates 4:4:4 color behind Warp, its paid tier at $9.99 per month. Same idea, different price.
Remio
Free, on the supported hardware path. No tier, no per-seat pricing, no commercial-use detection, no account required to use it.
The trade-off
4:4:4 needs meaningfully more bandwidth for the same picture. On a strong local network that is free real estate; on a weak connection, 4:2:0 with a higher frame rate will feel better. It is a toggle so you can decide per situation.
✦Questions
Questions about 4:4:4 color
What is chroma subsampling in plain terms?
Video compression stores full brightness detail but reduced color detail — in 4:2:0, color is sampled for one pixel in four. Human vision barely notices this on photos and film, but it visibly softens small colored text and thin colored lines.
Which combination do I need for 4:4:4?
A Mac with Apple silicon or a Windows PC with NVIDIA or recent Intel graphics as the computer you control, and Remio on a Mac, a Windows PC, or an iPhone or iPad that decodes 4:4:4 in hardware. Turn on "4:4:4 color" in Remio's settings.
Does it work on an iPhone, iPad or Android device?
On iPhone and iPad, yes — since Remio 3.4, an iPhone or iPad that decodes 4:4:4 in hardware gets true 4:4:4 color; turn it on in a session's Video settings. On Android and Apple TV, Remio streams standard 4:2:0, which is the norm across remote desktop tools.
Do I need to reconnect after turning it on?
No. The host re-encodes live on the same session.
Will it make my connection worse?
It uses more bandwidth for the same resolution and frame rate. On a fast local network you likely will not notice; on a constrained connection you may prefer to leave it off. That is exactly why it is a toggle.
Is 4:4:4 the same as HDR or wider color?
No. 4:4:4 is about how much color detail survives compression, not about a wider range of colors or brightness. It makes colored edges accurate, not more vivid. For a wider range of brightness and color, Remio has HDR: from a Mac with Apple silicon or a Windows PC, on a device with an HDR screen, your desktop shows the brightness and color it really has.
Is 4:4:4 on by default?
No. It's one switch in Remio's settings, because it uses more bandwidth. Turn it on for crisp colored text on a good connection; leave it off when the connection is weak.
See the color you actually chose.
Full 4:4:4 color from a Mac or an NVIDIA or Intel PC to Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad. Free, no account, no card.
Free to useNo accountMac or NVIDIA/Intel PC → Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad