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04GRADIENT RESPONSE / RGB

Online Color Banding Test

Display controlled grayscale, colour and shadow gradients in fullscreen to identify visible bands, posterisation and uneven transitions—especially in the dark tones where video skies and night scenes break up.

  • 5 patterns
  • Fullscreen
  • No install

Browser-generated pattern · Not a laboratory measurement

PATTERNS / 05

Patterns in this test

Each pattern targets a different symptom. Start from the top, or jump straight to the one you need.

  1. 01

    Gray ramp · horizontal

    The ramp should flow from black to white without visible stripes or colour shifts.

  2. 02

    Gray ramp · vertical

    The same ramp rotated. Bands that appear only in this direction can come from panel driving or dithering.

  3. 03

    Red, green and blue ramps

    Compare the three channels. Bands in only one colour point to processing or reduced depth in that channel.

  4. 04

    Shadow ramp · 0–25%

    The hardest case: 64 dark levels across the screen. Even, neutral steps are normal; blotches or tints are not.

  5. 05

    Dark colour ramp

    Dark tinted gradients behave like night skies in video. Look for abrupt contours and colour blotches.

PROTOCOL / 01—04

How to use this test

Keyboard and touch

→ · Space · Enter · click
Next pattern
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Previous pattern
I
Keep the hint panel visible
Esc
Exit fullscreen
Tap or move
Show controls on touch screens and mice
  1. 01

    Clean the screen gently and let it reach its normal operating temperature.

  2. 02

    Set browser zoom to 100% and use the brightness and picture mode you normally use.

  3. 03

    Start fullscreen mode. Each pattern shows a short hint about what to look at.

  4. 04

    Observe from your normal position first, then move closer only to inspect a detail.

OBSERVE

What to look for

  • Distinct stripes where the tone should change smoothly
  • Contour-like rings or tinted blotches in dark gradients
  • Bands that appear in only one colour channel

INTERPRET

How to read the result

Banding can originate in the panel, an 8-bit signal, missing dithering, image processing or a limited-range connection. Bands in one channel only point to processing; even, neutral steps in a stretched shadow ramp are normal on an 8-bit chain. Compare apps and inputs before blaming the display.

LIMITS

Limits of a browser test

Browsers, HDR, the operating system, GPU, cable and monitor processing all influence gradients. A web test cannot isolate every link in that chain.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

01Does visible banding mean my panel is faulty?

Not necessarily. It may come from colour depth, compression, GPU output, a display preset or the browser pipeline.

02What is the difference between 8-bit and 10-bit?

A 10-bit pipeline can represent more tonal levels. Dithering can make an 8-bit output look smoother, while processing or compression can still create bands.

03Why does the shadow ramp always show steps?

It stretches only 64 dark levels across the whole width, so each level becomes a wide band on an 8-bit chain. What matters is whether the steps are even and neutral, not whether they exist.

NEXT / SCREENPROBE

Continue checking

03

Grayscale & gamma

Neutral steps, a gamma chart and RGB channel tracking.

↗ 05

Colour & gamut

Colour bars, full spectrum, saturation and a wide-gamut check.

↗ 09

Contrast detail

Black crush, white clipping and checkerboard contrast.

↗
FEEDBACK / 01

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