5% Gray Test for OLED Banding & Near-Black Uniformity
Open a clean 5% gray screen to look for vertical bands, uneven dark patches or a pink or green tint on your OLED TV, monitor or phone. Compare nearby gray levels and check anything you notice against normal viewing.
Free · No installation · Runs in your browser
Full-screen 5% gray uniformity test
Start at 5%, then compare 1–10% for near-black detail or 50% for broader uniformity. These percentages describe the RGB signal, not your display’s brightness setting.
5% uses RGB 13, 13, 13 (#0D0D0D), rounded from 5% of the full 0–255 range. This is a visual SDR check, not a calibrated luminance or HDR measurement.
Download a 5% gray test image in 1080p or 4K
Save the selected gray level as a plain PNG without text, grids or compression artifacts from a video. Open it on the display you want to inspect; image viewers and TV processing can still affect the result.
How to run a 5% gray screen test on an OLED TV or monitor
Prepare the screen and room
Wipe away smudges, reduce reflections and use your usual viewing position. Keep picture mode and brightness steady; turn off night-light or color filters. A dim room makes subtle near-black differences easier to see.
Inspect 5% gray without controls
Start the full-screen test and let the controls disappear. Scan the whole field for fixed vertical stripes, cloudy patches or tint. View it briefly, then take a break rather than leaving a static pattern running.
Compare 2%, 10% and 50% gray
Keep the same display settings and compare several levels. Low gray can reveal near-black banding, while 50% gray helps show broader dirty-screen patches. The slider changes the pattern, not the hardware brightness.
Confirm in everyday content
Look at dark film scenes, slow camera pans or the games you usually play. A mark seen only in a test slide does not by itself establish a faulty panel. If it distracts you in normal use, document the conditions and contact the seller or manufacturer.
Reading OLED vertical banding, dirty screen effect and tint
Vertical banding on a dark gray screen
Fixed lighter or darker columns may indicate near-black nonuniformity. Compare adjacent gray levels and dark moving scenes; a browser cannot assign a severity score or a pass/fail result.
Dirty screen effect and uneven gray patches
Clouds, darker edges or blotches can stand out against a flat background. Compare 20% and 50% gray as well. Reflections, viewing angle and surface marks can resemble panel unevenness.
Pink or green tint on OLED gray
Look for a localized color cast, then change your viewing position and check that night mode or color filters are off. A phone camera’s exposure and white balance can exaggerate tint and banding; judge with your eyes first.
Image retention versus permanent burn-in
A logo-shaped shadow needs further checking with other colors and normal content. One gray slide cannot distinguish temporary image retention from permanent burn-in. Follow the manufacturer’s panel-care guidance rather than repeatedly forcing cleaning cycles.
What does 5% gray mean? Signal level versus screen brightness
Here, 5% gray means equal red, green and blue channels at 5% of their full-range 8-bit values, rounded to 13. It does not mean 5% measured light output, 5 nits or setting the brightness slider on your TV to 5%. Browser color management, gamma, HDR settings and display processing affect the light you see. A video-range test signal uses a different encoding, so do not treat this browser pattern as a calibration reference.
For background on inspecting dark and midtone gray fields, see RTINGS’ explanation of gray uniformity. This browser tool provides a visual check rather than laboratory measurements. Read the gray uniformity test methodology
5% gray test: common questions
Is a 5 gray test the same as a 5% grey screen test?
Usually, “5 gray test” is shorthand for a 5% gray or 5 percent grey test. Gray and grey are regional spellings of the same color. On this page, the default pattern is a 5% full-range RGB gray field.
Is some OLED banding at 5% gray normal?
Panels can show differences near black, and a dark gray slide can make small variations more noticeable than everyday content. There is no universal visual pass threshold here. Judge whether fixed bands remain distracting from your normal seat during actual viewing.
Can a 5% gray test fix OLED banding or burn-in?
No. This tool displays test patterns only; it cannot repair pixels, remove burn-in or run the TV’s compensation cycle. Use the manufacturer’s instructions for maintenance and support.
Should I use a 5% or 50% gray screen for dirty screen effect?
Use both for different views: 5% emphasizes near-black uniformity, while 50% makes broader midtone unevenness easier to inspect. Keep the same picture settings, and also check slow pans in ordinary content before drawing conclusions.
Can I run this gray screen test on a phone or OLED TV?
Yes. Open this page in the device’s browser, or download a PNG and display it with a compatible viewer. Where native full screen is unavailable, the pattern fills the browser window. Casting, image viewers and TV processing may alter the signal.