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Color & Calibration

Color Gradient Test

Smooth spectrum and RGB gradients to judge color transitions and banding.

▶ Start full-screen testSpectrum← / → or tap the sides to switch · Esc to exit

How to use

  1. 1Click Start to view the gradient full-screen.
  2. 2Use ← / → to cycle through spectrum, red, green, blue, white, gray, and black gradients.
  3. 3Check that transitions are smooth and colors look saturated and even.
  4. 4The white and gray ramps make luminance banding in the shadows easiest to spot.
  5. 5Press Esc to exit.

FAQ

Can this test my color gamut?

No. These gradients use standard sRGB colors, which every display can show, so they reveal banding and uneven transitions rather than gamut. To see whether your screen shows colors beyond sRGB, use the Wide Color Gamut (P3) Test.

What does a good result look like?

Every gradient blends smoothly from end to end, with no visible bars, sudden jumps or blotches. The spectrum should pass evenly through yellow, green, cyan, blue and magenta, without one hue swallowing a wide band.

Why look at red, green and blue separately?

Each channel is driven on its own, so banding or a color shift that shows up in only one ramp points to that channel's calibration rather than the panel as a whole. Some difference in brightness is normal: green always looks brightest to the eye.

Tips

  • Use the white and gray ramps to isolate luminance banding without color distraction.
  • Wide, posterized bands often come from a 6-bit panel or aggressive video compression rather than your GPU.

Related tests

Color TestDisplay pure black, white, red, green, blue and more, full-screen.Open test→Black ScreenA pure black full-screen for backlight, dust, and OLED checks.Open test→White ScreenA pure white full-screen for cleaning, lighting, and uniformity.Open test→Greyscale TestSmooth gradient and 32-step ramp to reveal color banding.Open test→

Related guides

Learn more about what this test reveals and how to act on the results.

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.Color Gamut Explained: sRGB vs DCI-P3 vs Adobe RGBWhat gamut percentages on a spec sheet actually mean, how sRGB, DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB differ, and which one matters for the work you do.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.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.