Judge your monitor’s tonal depth and contrast via a black-white gradient.
▶ Start test · Contrast
Assess the black-to-white gradient and tonal depth. Arrow keys flip the gradient direction. a total of 2 steps
💡 Operation tips
Click the right half of the screen to move to the next view; when the current project’s views are done it advances to the next project, and when every project is finished it exits fullscreen automatically.
Click the left half of the screen to go back to the previous view; at the very first view it stops.
After entering fullscreen, the top label and bottom buttons auto-hide after 3 seconds so you can view the screen unobstructed.
Hover in the bottom-centre of the screen for 1 second to bring the label and buttons back; move away and they hide again after 1 second.
The breathing test ends automatically after about 10 seconds.
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Arrow keys toggle between black and gray.","interference":"Watch for moiré, streaks or related interference. Arrow keys switch patterns.","focus":"Check whether text, lines and shapes are crisp and sharp. Arrow keys switch modes.","contrast":"Assess the black-to-white gradient and tonal depth. Arrow keys flip the gradient direction.","grayscale":"Check that the gray steps are smooth with no banding. Arrow keys flip the gradient direction.","saturation":"Judge how vivid and even the saturated colors are. Arrow keys switch between colors.","breathing":"Watch the static gray screen for ~10 seconds and judge whether the brightness pulses periodically."},"colorName":{"black":"Black","white":"White","gray":"Gray","red":"Red","green":"Green","blue":"Blue","yellow":"Yellow","magenta":"Magenta","cyan":"Cyan"},"patternName":{"checkerboard":"Checkers","lines-h":"H-lines","lines-v":"V-lines","grid":"Grid"},"direction":{"left-to-right":"left to right","right-to-left":"right to left","dark-to-light":"black left · white right","light-to-dark":"white left · black right"},"focus":{"large":"Large text","small":"Small text","lines":"Thin lines","grid":"Fine grid","circles":"Circles","largeTitle":"Focus test","smallTitle":"Small-text sharpness","linesTitle":"Thin-line sharpness","gridTitle":"Fine-grid test","circlesTitle":"Circles & curves","vert":"Vertical lines","horiz":"Horizontal lines","diag":"Diagonal lines","fineGrid":"Fine grid (1px)","fineGrid2":"Ultra-fine grid (0.5px)","concentric":"Concentric circles","waves":"Wave lines","largeHint":"Check that large-letter edges are crisp, with no blur or ghosting.","smallBody1":"A paragraph for judging small-text sharpness. Look at whether the letter edges are crisp and the spacing even.","smallBody2":"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. 0123456789","smallBody3":"Smallest text — gauge readability and clarity at the minimum size."},"breathingTitle":"Breathing test","breathingEnd":"s until it ends automatically","tipsTitle":"Operation tips","tips":["Click the right half of the screen to move to the next view; when the current project’s views are done it advances to the next project, and when every project is finished it exits fullscreen automatically.","Click the left half of the screen to go back to the previous view; at the very first view it stops.","After entering fullscreen, the top label and bottom buttons auto-hide after 3 seconds so you can view the screen unobstructed.","Hover in the bottom-centre of the screen for 1 second to bring the label and buttons back; move away and they hide again after 1 second.","The breathing test ends automatically after about 10 seconds."],"phoneStartAllSub":"Start with the solid-color test, then work through all 8 checks in order. Tap the screen to move to the next test project.","phoneInstr":{"purecolor":"Inspect each view for bright, dark or tinted pixels. Tap or swipe to change color.","backlight":"Look for light bleeding around the edges and corners. Tap or swipe to toggle between black and gray.","interference":"Look for streaks, moiré or other interference. Tap or swipe to change the pattern.","focus":"Check that text, lines and grid edges are crisp. Tap or swipe to switch focus mode.","contrast":"Observe the black–white gradient and tonal depth. Tap or swipe to flip the gradient direction.","grayscale":"Check the gray ramp for smoothness and banding. Tap or swipe to flip the gradient direction.","saturation":"Judge the vividness and color accuracy of each hue. Tap or swipe to change color.","breathing":"Watch the static screen for about 10 seconds and judge whether the brightness pulses periodically."},"phoneTips":["Tap anywhere on the screen to move to the next view; when the current check finishes it advances, and exits fullscreen once all checks are done.","Swipe left to go back to the previous view; it stops at the very first view.","After entering fullscreen, the top title and bottom controls auto-hide so the screen stays unobstructed.","Touch the bottom-centre zone to bring the title and controls back; move away and they hide again.","The breathing test ends and exits fullscreen automatically after about 10 seconds."]}}
Contrast testing
Contrast is one of the most important picture-quality metrics — the brightness ratio between the whitest white and darkest black. Higher contrast means richer tonal depth and clearer shadow detail.
Kinds of contrast:
Static contrast: the ratio of brightest to darkest in one scene. IPS ≈ 1000:1, VA ≈ 3000–5000:1, OLED theoretically infinite.
Dynamic contrast: a number derived by dynamically adjusting the backlight — usually advertised very high but of limited real value.
ANSI contrast: measures bright and dark areas simultaneously with a checkerboard, closest to real-world use.
How to judge your result:
A smooth black-white transition, shadows without a muddy gray cast and no clipped highlights mean good contrast.
High contrast matters most for dark-scene games, movies and reading.
VA panels usually perform best here.
FAQ
What is static contrast?
The brightness ratio between the whitest white and darkest black in one scene. IPS is typically 1000:1, VA reaches 3000–5000:1, OLED is theoretically infinite. It represents the tonal range you can truly perceive.
Does dynamic contrast mean anything?
Dynamic contrast adapts the backlight to the scene, so the advertised number is huge (millions:1) — but real tonal range barely improves; it is largely marketing. Static and ANSI contrast are the values that matter.
Which panels do best on contrast?
VA usually wins: deeper blacks and clearer tonal steps. OLED, being self-emissive, produces true black with theoretically infinite contrast. IPS sits lowest of the three.
How do I judge good contrast?
On a black-white gradient, look for a smooth transition, no milky gray in the shadows and no clipped detail in the highlights. Pay attention to visible shadow detail — that’s key in FPS games.
