Screen Gradient Test for Banding and Color Transitions
Display smooth full-screen gradients to find visible banding, contouring, tinted steps, and processing artifacts. Compare grayscale, individual color channels, and a complete hue sweep.
Start with the grayscale sweep
Then compare individual RGB channels and the full hue transition.
What this screen test can reveal
Gradient banding
Visible stripes or steps can reveal limited bit depth, strong processing, compression, or display contouring.
Color contamination
A neutral grayscale ramp should not develop pink, green, yellow, or blue regions.
Channel-specific issues
RGB ramps isolate color channels so uneven response and clipping are easier to compare.
Orientation-dependent patterns
Rotating the gradient helps distinguish panel-aligned bands from content or processing artifacts.
How to run an accurate test
- 1
Disable dynamic picture processing
Turn off dynamic contrast, vivid modes, and aggressive enhancement before judging transitions.
- 2
Inspect the grayscale ramp
Look from black to white for abrupt vertical lines or tinted regions.
- 3
Compare RGB and hue modes
Check whether a problem appears in all gradients or only one color channel.
- 4
Cross-check the signal path
Repeat in another browser and input mode before attributing banding to the panel.
Frequently asked questions
What does screen banding look like?
Banding appears as visible stripes or abrupt tone changes where a smooth gradient should be continuous. It may come from limited bit depth, compression, graphics settings, the browser pipeline, or the display itself.
Can this test prove the monitor is defective?
No. First compare another browser, cable, input, graphics setting, and a locally stored high-bit-depth test image. If the same bands remain in the same places, the display is a more likely cause.
Why test red, green, and blue separately?
Individual channels can reveal color-specific contouring or processing problems that are less obvious in a neutral grayscale gradient.
Does HDR affect gradient results?
Yes. HDR, operating-system color management, limited versus full RGB range, and 8-bit versus 10-bit output can all change visible banding. Record the active mode before comparing results.