Display Tests

Ten focused checks for your monitor — motion and refresh rate, dead or stuck pixels, backlight and panel uniformity, color and HDR, and screen geometry, all measured rather than guessed at.

Motion problems and pixel problems are the two complaints people search for most, so start there. Refresh Rate Test measures what your screen is actually redrawing per second, right now, rather than trusting the spec sheet. Ghosting Test and Frame Skipping Test dig into two specific ways motion can look wrong even when the refresh rate itself checks out — a trailing smear behind moving objects, or frames that silently drop under load.

Dead Pixel Test finds pixels that are stuck black or stuck on one color; Stuck Pixel Fixer is a real, if not guaranteed, attempt at reviving one. Backlight Bleed Test and Screen Uniformity Test look at the panel as a whole in the dark and in flat gray, catching light leaking from the edges or uneven clouding across the surface.

For color and detail, Gradient Test checks for banding in smooth color transitions, and HDR Test shows what your panel is really doing with brightness range and shadow or highlight detail once an HDR signal is playing. Aspect Ratio Test rounds things out by checking whether the image itself is being stretched or squeezed out of true proportion. Worth running through all ten within the return window on any new monitor.

Refresh Rate Test

Measure your screen's actual refresh rate and compare frame rates.

Dead Pixel Test

Cycle through solid colors to spot dead or stuck pixels.

Stuck Pixel Fixer

Flash rapid color noise over a stuck pixel to try to revive it.

Ghosting Test

Watch a moving object for trailing to check motion blur and tune overdrive.

Backlight Bleed Test

Check for light leaking from the edges or corners of your screen in the dark.

Screen Uniformity Test

Adjustable gray levels to spot clouding, vignetting, banding, and color tinting.

Gradient Test

Smooth color gradients to check for banding and color bit-depth issues.

HDR Test

Live detection for HDR, wide color gamut, and shadow/highlight detail.

Frame Skipping Test

Auto-calibrated timing analysis and a live graph to catch dropped frames.

Aspect Ratio Test

A circle and grid with a correction slider to measure screen stretching.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between a dead pixel and a stuck pixel?

A dead pixel stays permanently black because it's not receiving power at all. A stuck pixel is stuck on one color — often red, green, or blue — because it's receiving power but not switching correctly. Stuck pixels can sometimes be fixed; dead pixels generally can't.

Should I test a new monitor before or after setting it up fully?

Before, ideally within your return window. Run Dead Pixel Test and Refresh Rate Test as soon as it's connected, so you have time to exchange it if something's wrong.

Why does my monitor feel slower than its advertised refresh rate?

The cable, port, or a setting in your display driver can silently cap the refresh rate below what the panel supports. Refresh Rate Test measures what your system is actually outputting right now, not the panel's theoretical maximum.

What's the difference between ghosting and a low refresh rate?

A low refresh rate makes motion look choppy overall. Ghosting is different — it's a trailing smear behind a moving object even when the refresh rate itself is fine, caused by slow pixel response or a poorly tuned overdrive setting. Ghosting Test isolates this specifically.

Is backlight bleed a defect I can return the monitor for?

A small amount of bleed at the edges is normal on most LCD panels and usually isn't considered defective. Bright patches in the corners or center that are clearly visible in a normal dark room are more likely worth raising with the seller, especially within a return window.

How do I know if my monitor actually supports HDR, or is just faking it?

A lot of monitors accept an HDR signal without having the brightness range or local dimming to display it meaningfully — this is often called "HDR400" tier or worse. HDR Test shows live brightness, color gamut, and shadow/highlight detail so you can judge the real result rather than trusting the label.