Monitor Color Test: Free EIZO Monitor Test Alternative
Monitor Color Test. Click Start Color Test to run this monitor color test through gradients, solid colors, gray steps and color bars. To test your refresh rate on a high-refresh panel, the counter confirms whether the OS or driver is capping the output.
Interactive Tool
Pick the kind of test; the matching field below is used. The Start button opens your selection first, then Next and Prev step through the full sequence.
Used when Test group is Solid colors.
Used when Solid color is Custom hex.
Used when Test group is Gradients.
Used when Test group is Patterns. Fine-line patterns need 100% browser zoom and your display's native resolution. Moving (ghosting) tests are on the monitor ghosting test page.
Run the monitor color test to cycle through gradients, pure color blocks, grayscale steps, and SMPTE color bars in fullscreen to spot color banding, tinted grays, and inaccurate hues — all signs your display could use a calibration tweak.
Before you trust your monitor with photo edits or a long gaming session, run this monitor color test. It cycles the screen through nine solid colors, gradients and contrast scales built from plain RGB values, so you can spot dead dots, uneven brightness or a tinted panel in minutes. It works on desktop monitors, laptops, phones and TVs, and the payoff is a clear verdict on your colors.
How the Monitor Color Test Works
Each pattern fills the display in fullscreen, one at a time, and you advance with a click or the space bar. The screen tests follow the same test scenarios as the classic LCD test pages and the EIZO monitor test: each one isolates a single part of image quality, so a failure points to one cause. Use the response time test to determine whether a monitor's GtG spec translates to visibly clean motion at your target Hz.
| Pattern | What it reveals | Pass sign |
|---|---|---|
| Solid colors | Dead, stuck or hot pixels | Every dot matches the field |
| Gradient (banding) | Visible stripes, tint drift | One continuous sweep |
| Contrast scale | Clipped highlights or shadows | Every step is distinct |
| Inversion (pixel-walk) | Flicker from panel inversion | Steady, even gray |
| Clock and phase | Shimmer on analog inputs | Sharp, still lines |
Solid Colors and Dead Pixel Checks
The dead pixel test is the first pass. A dead pixel gets no signal and stays black on every bright field. A stuck pixel has one subpixel frozen on, so it glows red, green or blue against colors that should hide it. A hot pixel shows white on black. Plain fields also expose backlight bleed, poor uniformity and hairline cracks. Defective pixels sometimes recover after rapid color cycling on that spot; if one survives, check the maker's pixel policy, because many panels qualify for warranty replacement under the warranty terms.
Gradients and Screen Banding
The gradient test sweeps from black to white. Banding means a smooth gradient breaks into stripes. You can predict the stripe width from the screen's resolution and color depth:
$$\text{step width} = \frac{\text{horizontal pixels}}{\text{shades per channel}}$$
On a 2560-pixel-wide screen, 256 shades give 10 px per step, which is fine on 8-bit panels. Wide, harsh stripes in grayscale, tint drift toward green or magenta, or crushed ends point to heavy image processing, a bad cable or screen banding in the panel itself. Smooth gradients across all three channels are the pass mark for gradients.
Contrast Test, Black Level and White Saturation
The contrast test shows a scale of brightness steps. On a good display every step is distinct; on a weak one the darkest few shades merge into black (a black level problem that hides dark image areas) or the bright colors clip into white (white saturation). Adjust the contrast setting first, then brightness. Your operating system color profile and video-card settings can shift these steps too, so compare screens on the same computer.
Color Temperature and Gamma Calibration
Set color temperature before anything else. The standard white point is 6500 K: not too yellow and not too blue. If a colorimeter reads 7200 K on a white field, your whites run 700 K cool. A quick gamma test and a gray balance check finish gamma calibration by eye. For accurate color gamut work or near-black uniformity, calibrate with hardware; monitor calibration by eye only gets you close.
Screen Test Walkthrough: A New 34-Inch Ultrawide in Its Return Window
Day two with a new 34-inch ultrawide, 3440 × 1440, bought for photo editing. The return window closes on day 14, so the question is simple: keep it, or send it back while that is still free? The short answer from this run: one stuck green subpixel, banding exactly where an 8-bit panel should band, and a plan to retest tomorrow before deciding. Use the bandwidth calculator to confirm whether your HDMI or DisplayPort cable and port support your target resolution and Hz.
The monitor has been on for 40 minutes, the room lights are off, and the screen has been wiped. I start the solid colors in fullscreen. Black is clean. On the red field, one green dot sits about 388 px from the top, just right of center. It vanishes on the green field and shows again on blue, which is the signature of a stuck green subpixel, not a dead pixel.
Next, the grayscale gradient. I can make out steps of roughly a finger's width. The spec sheet says 8-bit, so I check what that should look like: 3440 px ÷ 256 shades = 13.44 px per step. The stripes match that, so this is normal 8-bit stepping, not a fault. For comparison, if the graphics card were sending 6-bit color:
| Signal | Shades | Step width |
|---|---|---|
| 8-bit (as measured) | 256 | 13.44 px |
| 6-bit (wrong output setting) | 64 | 53.75 px |
Stripes four times wider would mean checking the cable and the GPU output depth before blaming the panel.
Now the defect itself. The ISO 13406-2 Class II allowance that many pixel policies still echo permits 5 subpixel defects per million pixels. This panel has 4,953,600 pixels, so about 24.8 subpixel defects would be tolerated. One stuck subpixel is nowhere near a warranty claim. That makes the return window my only real lever.
The caveat worth knowing: run this monitor color test with Windows HDR switched off. With HDR on, desktop content gets tone-mapped, the near-black steps crush, and a healthy panel can look like it fails the contrast test. I check that first, and the dark steps all separate.
My judgement: the subpixel sits in the middle of where I edit, so it matters more than a corner defect would. I run 20 minutes of color cycling on that spot tonight, retest tomorrow, and if the green dot is still there on day 3, the monitor goes back.
Preparing Your Screen Test for Accurate Results
Let the monitor get warmed up for about 30 minutes, run the screen test in a dark room, and wipe the panel, since reflected light and dust particles can mimic defects. Judge the result against the manufacturer specifications for your monitor class: gaming monitors prioritise speed, while graphic monitors promise a homogenous image display. A good image display for one job can fail another, so read each spec sheet from the manufacturer.
Sharpness, Subpixel Layout and Viewing Angle
Line and grid patterns check sharpness, geometry and scaling. Text fringes reveal the subpixel layout; set native resolution in your display settings first. Lean sideways to judge viewing angle stability: colors that wash out quickly mean weak viewing angle stability.
Response Time and Motion Checks
Moving patterns show response time as ghosting or motion blur behind a block. Check the real refresh rate at the same time. Low contrast ratio shows up here too, as gray blacks behind the moving block.
LCD Monitor Test on Phones, TVs and OLED
This LCD monitor test runs in any modern browser, so the same patterns work on a laptop, a touch screen phone or a TV's built-in browser. The tool can also read what your device reports:
- Resolution, aspect ratio and pixel ratio
- Refresh rate, color depth and HDR support
- GPU and browser details
On OLED screens, add a burn-in check: cycle gray fields and look for ghosted logos. Any dead pixel on a phone is worth logging in this monitor test before the return window closes.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I check my monitor for dead pixels?
- Show each solid color full screen, one at a time, and scan the whole panel including the corners. A dead pixel stays black on every bright color, so white, red, green and blue fields expose it. Clean the screen first, since dust looks like a defect.
- What is the difference between a dead, stuck and hot pixel?
- A dead pixel gets no signal and stays black. A stuck pixel has one subpixel frozen on, so it glows red, green or blue on colors that should hide it. A hot pixel has all three subpixels on and shows white against a black field.
- Can a stuck pixel be fixed?
- Sometimes. Rapid color cycling on the spot occasionally frees a stuck subpixel, though results vary. A fully dead pixel rarely recovers. If the defect stays after a few days, check the manufacturer's pixel policy and your return window.
- Is banding in a gradient test a defect?
- Light banding is normal on 8-bit panels, because each shade covers several pixels on a wide screen. Wide, harsh stripes, a color cast in a gray gradient, or crushed ends point to the panel, the cable, the GPU output depth or image processing.
- What color temperature should my monitor use?
- For general and photo work, 6500 K is the standard white point. Lower settings look too yellow, higher settings look too blue. A colorimeter gives an exact reading; the gray gradient and white field give a rough check by eye.
- Does the monitor color test work on phones and TVs?
- Yes. Any device with a modern browser can show the test colors full screen. On a TV, use its built-in browser or mirror a laptop, since mirroring still lights the TV's own pixels.
- How should I prepare before testing my screen?
- Let the monitor warm up for about 30 minutes, dim the room, clean the screen and set your display to its native resolution. Reflections and dust are the most common false alarms.