Grayscale & Tonal Ramp Test
Presents continuous smooth grayscale ramps alongside 16-step, 21-step, and 256-level ramps. Inspect for unwanted color tints (green/magenta bias) in neutral grays and verify smooth bit-depth transition.
Technical Scope & Limitations
Digital grayscale values render in the browser sRGB color space. Physical luminance tracking requires an optical probe.
Browser rendering output can be influenced by OS display scaling, GPU driver color settings, and active HDR profiles.
- Inspect the continuous grayscale ramp: it should show a silky smooth transition without colored streaks or sudden jumps.
- In stepped mode, verify that each consecutive gray rectangle is visibly distinct from its neighbors.
- Toggle between Horizontal and Vertical orientations.
What This Test Checks
- Grayscale neutrality: ensures gray steps have zero green or magenta color cast.
- Bit-depth quantization and color banding across smooth transitions.
- Linearity across dark, mid, and highlight gray levels.
How to Perform the Test
- Enter fullscreen mode.
- Inspect the continuous ramp: it should appear silky smooth without vertical stripes.
- Switch to the 21-step ramp and confirm each step is clearly distinct from its neighbors.
What to Look For
- Look for unwanted color tinting (e.g. green cast in mid-grays).
- Harsh vertical lines indicate banding caused by 6-bit panel limits or compressed GPU output.
Common Display Problems & Diagnostic Guidance
Color Tint in Grayscale
A well-calibrated display shows true neutral gray across all luminance steps. If dark grays look reddish and light grays look bluish, your display color temperature curve requires calibration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is grayscale tracking so important?
Grayscale forms the backbone of all color reproduction. If the neutral axis is tinted, all skin tones, skies, and shadows will be distorted.