DISPLAY DIAGNOSTIC TOOL

Screen Gradient & Banding Test

Check whether your display shows smooth color transitions or visible steps between shades.

Ready. Test in a dim room at your normal display settings.

01 · GRADIENT PATTERNS

Choose a gradient

Look for sudden lines, blocks or steps where a smooth transition should appear.

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02 · WHAT IS BANDING?

What is color banding on a screen?

Color banding happens when a display shows a smooth range of shades as visible steps or strips instead of a continuous transition. It is especially easy to notice in large areas such as skies, shadows, sunsets and other low-detail scenes. RTINGS describes gradient handling as how finely a display can reproduce different levels of color; poor handling can produce visible banding and lost detail.

This browser test gives you simple patterns that make those transitions easier to inspect. It does not produce a laboratory measurement or a universal pass/fail score.

03 · HOW TO TEST

How to check your monitor for banding

Let the display warm up normally and use the picture mode you normally use.
Reduce strong room reflections and view the screen straight on.
Start with the horizontal and vertical black-to-white gradients.
Check the red, green and blue gradients for abrupt transitions.
Try the dark gradient if you are checking shadow detail or HDR-related scenes.
Move slightly closer only to confirm what you see; judge the final result at your normal viewing distance.

Don't confuse every visible line with banding. Camera artifacts, browser scaling, image compression and the source itself can also create visible steps. A good test should be repeated across several patterns.

04 · PATTERNS

What each gradient can reveal

Black → White

Useful for general grayscale transitions and obvious tonal steps.

RGB gradients

Help reveal channel-specific transitions and color banding.

Dark gradient

Useful when inspecting shadow detail and subtle low-level transitions.

Rainbow

Provides a broad visual check across several hues instead of one channel.

05 · WHY BANDING HAPPENS

Display, source and settings all matter

Banding is not always caused by the physical panel. Bit depth, signal processing, the source image or video, compression and display settings can all influence visible gradients. A display may also behave differently in SDR and HDR. RTINGS specifically evaluates gradient handling in SDR and notes that good handling is important for scenes with skies, shadows and skin tones, with greater importance for HDR content.

For that reason, seeing bands in one image does not automatically prove that your monitor is defective.

06 · BANDWIDTH VS BANDING

Banding is not the same as color bleed

Color bleed describes color from one part of a display affecting a neighboring area, while gradient banding is about a smooth sequence of shades appearing as distinct steps. These can sometimes appear together, but they are different display characteristics.

07 · FAQ

Gradient and banding test FAQ

What does a gradient test check?

It checks visually whether a display can show gradual changes between shades without obvious steps or bands.

Is some banding normal?

It can be visible depending on the panel, signal, content, settings and source. One test image should not be treated as a definitive diagnosis.

Does this test measure color depth?

No. It displays test patterns for visual inspection. It does not directly measure panel bit depth or color accuracy.

Why do gradients matter for HDR?

Smooth gradients help preserve subtle differences in bright and dark scenes. Gradient handling is particularly relevant to HDR content.

Can I test my phone or TV?

Yes. The patterns work in a modern browser on phones, tablets, laptops, monitors and TVs.

MORE DISPLAY TESTS

Continue testing your screen

Black Screen → Dead Pixels → Backlight Bleed → Uniformity →