Color Test
Check gradients, banding and colour reproduction across the panel.
Pattern
Greyscale ramp
A smooth ramp should have no visible steps. Distinct bands mean limited colour depth or aggressive processing.
Your test runs locally in your browser. No device data is uploaded.
How to use the colour test
Step through the patterns and look at each fullscreen. On the ramps, look for abrupt steps where the gradient should be smooth. On the greyscale ramp specifically, check that grey stays neutral from black to white rather than drifting green, magenta or blue through the midtones.
What banding tells you
Visible steps in a smooth gradient mean the display or the signal cannot resolve enough intermediate shades. The usual causes are a 6-bit panel approximating 8-bit with dithering, a colour depth or bit depth setting lower than the panel supports, or a cable that cannot carry full bandwidth at your resolution and refresh rate.
Banding on only one colour channel points at the panel. Banding on all of them equally more often points at the source or the connection.
What this test cannot do
It shows relative problems that are visible by eye, which covers most of what actually bothers people. It cannot measure colour accuracy, gamut coverage or delta-E against a standard, because a screen has no way to measure itself. That needs a hardware colorimeter placed against the panel.
Frequently asked questions
- What is colour banding?
- Visible steps in what should be a smooth gradient. It means the display or the signal cannot resolve enough intermediate shades, commonly a 6-bit panel using dithering, a low colour depth setting, or heavy compression in the source.
- My greyscale ramp has a colour tint. What causes that?
- The panel white balance, or a display profile. A grey ramp should stay neutral from black to white; a green or magenta cast through the midtones usually means the colour temperature setting or an ICC profile needs attention rather than the panel being faulty.
- Is this a substitute for a colorimeter?
- No. This shows relative problems that are visible by eye, such as banding, tinting and obvious inconsistency. Measuring actual colour accuracy against a standard needs a hardware colorimeter, because a screen cannot measure itself.