Color Banding Test
Detect visible color banding caused by insufficient bit depth. Smooth ramps reveal whether your display is 6-bit, 8-bit, or 10-bit at a glance.
No banding visible → 10-bit panel or good FRC dithering.
Faint stripes in shadows → 8-bit panel, expected behaviour.
Clear stripes & posterisation → 6-bit + FRC, avoid for color work.
Why use this color tool
Multi-color banding ramps
Grey, red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow ramps surface banding on any color channel.
Bit depth detection
Visible bands indicate 6-bit or 8-bit limits. Compare to reference smooth ramps to confirm.
Dithering visualization
Reference patterns show what FRC dithering looks like — and where it fails to fully hide banding.
Fullscreen mode
Each ramp fills the viewport so even subtle banding is visible at normal viewing distance.
What is color
Color banding is the visible stepping in what should be a smooth color gradient. A perfect gradient transitions continuously from one color to another; a banded gradient shows distinct horizontal stripes where the color jumps. Banding is caused by insufficient bit depth — the display cannot render enough distinct shades to make the transition look smooth.
Bit depth is the number of distinct levels per channel. A 6-bit panel renders 64 levels (2^6), an 8-bit panel renders 256 levels (2^8), and a 10-bit panel renders 1,024 levels (2^10). With three RGB channels, that's 262,000 / 16.7 million / 1.07 billion total colors. More levels means smaller steps and smoother gradients.
Banding is most visible in dark gradients and in skies, shadows, and skin tones. HDR content amplifies the issue because the extended brightness range makes 8-bit quantization more obvious — which is why HDR requires 10-bit. SDR content at 8-bit usually looks fine, but dark scenes with subtle gradients (sky, fog, shadows) reveal banding even on good displays.
How to test
Step 1: Display the grey ramp
Open the test and select grey. A smooth ramp from black to white fills the screen.
Step 2: Look for bands
Visible horizontal stripes indicate banding. A perfectly smooth ramp indicates 10-bit depth.
Step 3: Test each color
Switch to red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Some panels band on specific channels only.
Step 4: Check GPU output
If you see banding, ensure GPU output is Full RGB (not Limited) and 10-bit if supported.
Step 5: Try color management
Use a color-managed browser (Chrome, Firefox) and enable 10-bit output for full pipeline bit depth.
Common causes of color issues
6-bit panel depth
Cheapest panels render only 64 levels per channel. FRC dithering helps but cannot fully hide banding in wide gradients.
8-bit panel depth
Most consumer monitors. Fine for SDR but shows banding in HDR content and dark gradient scenes.
GPU output range
Limited RGB (16-235) crushes gradient endpoints. Use Full RGB (0-255) for PC monitors and 10-bit output where supported.
Compression artifacts
Heavily JPEG-compressed gradients band even on 10-bit panels. Test with in-browser generated ramps, not photos.
Frequently asked questions
Testing tips
- Test in a dim room — ambient light masks subtle banding in dark gradient regions.
- Use DisplayPort 1.4 or HDMI 2.0+ for 10-bit output at high resolutions.
- Enable 10-bit output in your GPU control panel for HDR work.
- Compare 256-step and 1024-step ramps to confirm true 10-bit panel depth.
Related tools
Color Banding: How to Tell if Your Monitor is 6-bit, 8-bit, or 10-bit
Smooth color gradients are the gold standard test for display bit depth. A 10-bit panel renders a sunset sky as a continuous fade; an 8-bit panel shows faint bands; a 6-bit panel shows obvious steps. The difference is invisible in photos of busy scenes but glaring in skies, shadows, and HDR content. Learning to read color banding tells you exactly what your panel can do.
Bit depth is the number of distinct brightness levels per channel. A 6-bit panel renders 64 levels (2^6), an 8-bit panel renders 256 levels (2^8), and a 10-bit panel renders 1,024 levels (2^10). With three RGB channels, that's 262,000 / 16.7 million / 1.07 billion total colors. More levels per channel means smoother gradients because each step is smaller and less perceptible.
Run our color banding test and start with the grey ramp. Look for horizontal bands — distinct steps where the grey value jumps visibly. A perfectly smooth ramp indicates 10-bit. Faint bands at 256-step that disappear at 1024-step indicate 8-bit (the panel can render 256 levels but cannot subdivide further). Obvious bands at 256-step indicate 6-bit or 6-bit+FRC, where FRC dithering tries but fails to fully simulate 8-bit.
6-bit + FRC panels use temporal dithering — rapidly flickering pixels between adjacent levels — to simulate intermediate shades. From a normal viewing distance, FRC is invisible, which is why 6-bit+FRC panels are often marketed as "16.7 million colors" (technically true via dithering, but the underlying panel is 6-bit). The 1024-step ramp exposes the truth: a 6-bit+FRC panel cannot render the 768 intermediate levels between 8-bit and 10-bit, so the ramp bands at the same points as the 256-step version.
Does bit depth matter for your use case? For SDR gaming and general use, 8-bit is plenty. For HDR content, 10-bit is essential — HDR's wider brightness range makes 8-bit quantization glaring. For photo and video editing, 10-bit is the professional standard; skies, shadows, and skin tones all show banding at 8-bit. Budget for a 10-bit panel if you do any of this work.
Verify your full pipeline. A 10-bit monitor with an 8-bit GPU output still produces 8-bit color. Use DisplayPort 1.4 or HDMI 2.0+, enable 10-bit output in your GPU control panel, and use color-managed applications like Photoshop or DaVinci Resolve. Pair the banding test with our color depth test and gradient test to audit your complete pipeline.
Run the color banding test now
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