Panel & Backlight
Black Level Test
Near-black steps to see how dark your panel really goes.
How to use
- 1Dim the room and set brightness to your normal level, then click Start.
- 2Each vertical band is slightly brighter than pure black (the number is its value).
- 3Note the lowest band you can still tell apart from pure black — that's your shadow floor.
- 4Press Esc to exit.
FAQ
How many steps should I see?
On a good display in a dark room you can usually distinguish the steps from value 2–4 upward. If low steps all look identical to black, shadow detail is being crushed (often a brightness/black-level or 'Limited' RGB range setting).
Tips
- Dim the room and use your normal brightness — not maximum — to judge real shadow detail.
- If the lowest steps all merge into black, check for a 'Limited' RGB range or a crushed black-level setting.
Related tests
Dead Pixel TestFull-screen solid colors to find dead, stuck, and bright pixels.Backlight BleedReveal LCD backlight leakage and IPS glow in a dark room.Brightness Uniformity50% gray field and a 9-zone grid to spot uneven backlighting.Blooming TestA bright object on black to judge local-dimming halos.
Related guides
Learn more about what this test reveals and how to act on the results.
How to Calibrate Your Monitor Without a ColorimeterGet noticeably better color and contrast by eye using built-in OS tools and test patterns — no hardware required, and no guesswork either.What Is Color Banding and How Do You Reduce It?Those visible steps in a sky or gradient have several causes. Learn which come from the panel, which from the content, and how to reduce both.Gamma Explained: Why Your Shadows Look WrongGamma controls how brightness is distributed between black and white. Here's how to check yours, why 2.2 is the standard, and how to set it.Mini-LED vs OLED: Which Is Better for You?Brightness and burn-in resistance versus perfect blacks and zero blooming — the real trade-offs between Mini-LED and OLED, and who each suits.