How to use the monitor test catalog
This catalog is for choosing a focused browser test, not for issuing an automatic health score. Start with the symptom you can describe: a single fixed point, a wider patch, clipped tonal detail, a moving trail, or a touch area that does not respond. Open the matching tool, read its preparation and limitations, and only then start the clean test surface. If you would rather follow a fixed sequence, use the guided five-minute screen test.
Begin at your usual viewing distance and brightness. A very close inspection of a bright solid color can make harmless panel texture seem important, while a pitch-dark room and maximum brightness can make LCD glow seem far worse than it does in ordinary use. Repeat the pattern with the same settings before comparing it with another monitor.
Match the pattern to the symptom
Use solid colors for an isolated dead, stuck, or bright pixel. Gray fields are better for dirty-screen effect, broad brightness variation, and color tint. Dark fields help with backlight bleed on LCD screens; moving your head helps distinguish fixed edge leakage from angle-dependent IPS glow. OLED panels have no LCD backlight, so choose the OLED retention check for an outline left by static content instead of interpreting it as backlight bleed.
For tones, compare a smooth gradient with near-black and near-white steps. Sudden bands may involve the browser, graphics settings, bit depth, processing, or panel. An sRGB pattern shows standard browser colors; a Display P3 comparison asks whether the active browser path can distinguish wider values. Neither proves physical coverage or color accuracy. The general color-gamut page explains the comparison, while the focused sRGB and P3 pages answer narrower setup questions.
Compare motion under controlled conditions
The refresh cadence check samples frame timing in the visible browser tab. Keep the tab in front, avoid moving the window between displays, and close heavy applications before interpreting an unstable estimate. The motion and ghosting patterns show visible trails and overdrive halos; the response-pattern page is for comparing settings on the same monitor. A browser cannot infer the panel’s physical response time in milliseconds, and its compositor may conceal tearing.
Touch coverage is different again: it checks whether the browser receives pointers across the surface, not hardware pressure accuracy. HDR reports and wide-gamut CSS support are capability clues, not a certification or luminance reading. Choose the test that answers your actual question, then confirm any concern in normal content and the manufacturer’s documentation.
What to do after a visible result
Record the display model, input, resolution, brightness, picture mode, browser, and room conditions. Note which patterns reveal the issue and whether it persists when you change only one setting. A photo may help locate a spot, but automatic exposure can magnify panel variation. If a mark is visible only in an extreme test and never in your work, that context matters; if it distracts in normal use, check the maker’s support and retailer return policy.
Keep bright static OLED patterns short and moderate. Never run a test as a burn-in repair procedure. These tools support visual inspection and browser-observed behavior; calibrated equipment is required for objective color, contrast, luminance, gamut, and response measurements. The tests run without an account or download, and observations are not uploaded by default.
When to use more than one tool
A point visible on one color may need several solid fields before you can describe it reliably. A dark corner on black deserves a gray-field comparison and a change of viewing angle. A visible trail may change with both motion speed and overdrive setting; keep one constant while varying the other. These follow-ups are not a scorecard. They help distinguish a repeatable symptom from a transient rendering or viewing condition.
For an unfamiliar monitor, start with the guided check, then return here only for the symptom you want to examine more closely. For background on the complete inspection sequence, read how to test a new monitor.