I don't think there was ever an explanation. People just started talking about them. How do you use them?
What are 8-bit tiles?
8-bit tiles are tiles which allow 256 colours (give or take a few)... thus you can have a whole screen of 8-bit tiles and a much higher quality level of graphics...
You can use all the palettes for one tile when on the Tile Page you select a tile and press the b button. Pressing b makes the tile 8-bit.
You can also use it to freeze a tile so it'll only use the cset you where using when you press b. Press Ctrl, b to convert back to 4-bit.
OHHHHH Thanx!!!