##### Pixel Formats

Pixel formats dictate how data for each pixel in surface memory is to be interpreted. DirectDraw uses the DDPIXELFORMAT structure to describe various pixel formats. The DDPIXELFORMAT contains members to describe the following traits of a pixel format:

- Palettized or non-palettized pixel format
- If non-palettized, whether the pixel format is RGB or YUV
- Bit depth
- Bit masks for the pixel format’s components

You can retrieve information about an existing surface’s pixel format by calling the IDirectDrawSurface3::GetPixelFormat method.