Monitor Ghosting Test

What Is the Monitor Ghosting Test?

The Monitor Ghosting Test is a browser-based tool that moves shapes and text across your screen so you can look for ghosting. Ghosting appears as a faint trail behind a moving object. It is most noticeable on fast-moving, high-contrast content.

The tool is a visual check. It is not an exact measurement. It helps you see how your display handles motion and compare different settings or monitors by eye.

How to Use the Ghosting Test

1. Open the tool. The test starts automatically, and the status shows Running.
2. Watch the moving boxes. A faint trail behind a box is ghosting.
3. Choose a Test type from the first dropdown.
4. Choose a Colors pairing from the second dropdown.
5. Click Full screen for a larger test area. You can also click the preview area.
6. Use Pause to stop the motion and Resume to continue.

For best results, use your monitor’s native resolution and highest refresh rate. The tool recommends this directly.

Test Types Explained

Speed Lanes

This mode shows five lanes at 240, 480, 960, 1440, and 1920 px/s. Each lane has a box moving at its own speed.

Watch each lane and note the speed where a trail first appears. That gives you a simple reference for where your monitor starts to struggle. If the slow lanes look clean and only the fastest lane shows a trail, your display handles most motion well.

Single Box

This mode shows one moving box. It is useful when you want to focus on one object without other lanes competing for your attention. Try it after Speed Lanes to look closely at the speed you noted.

Two-Tone

This mode uses two tones in the test pattern. Use it to see how trails look when motion passes over different colors.

Scrolling Text

This mode moves text across the screen. It shows how motion blur or trails affect readability. This is useful if you read or scroll a lot on your display.

Color Options

Ghosting can look different depending on contrast. The tool offers six pairings:

• Light on dark
• Dark on light
• White on black
• Black on white
• Gray on gray
• Yellow on blue

High-contrast pairings like white on black make trails easy to see. Low-contrast pairings like gray on gray are harder on the display and can reveal slower transitions. Run the same test type in several colors, because a monitor may look clean in one and show a trail in another.

What the Stats Mean

Below the test area, the tool shows three readings:

• Frame rate: How many frames per second the test is drawing. In the example, it shows 60 fps.
• Refresh rate: The refresh rate the tool detects, shown as approximate (≈ 60 Hz in the example).
• Motion per frame: How far the boxes move between frames. In the example, it shows 4–32 px.

Motion per frame helps explain what you see. Faster lanes jump more pixels each frame, so trails are easier to notice there.

Tips for Better Results

• Use full screen. A larger test area makes small trails easier to spot.
• Check your refresh rate. If the tool shows a lower refresh rate than your monitor supports, adjust it in your system display settings and run the test again.
• Compare settings. If your monitor has a response time or overdrive option, test before and after changing it, using the same test type and colors.
• Note the first speed. Write down the lane where a trail first appears. This gives you a clear number to compare later.
• Pause to inspect. Use Pause when you want to study the shapes, then resume to watch the motion again.
• Keep the room consistent. Test under similar lighting each time so your comparisons are fair.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does monitor ghosting look like?

It looks like a faint trail or shadow following a moving object. In this tool, it appears behind the moving boxes or text.

At what speed should I expect to see ghosting?

It depends on your monitor. The Speed Lanes test is designed to help you find out. Note the lane where a trail first shows up.

Why does the tool show “≈ 60 Hz” for refresh rate?

The refresh rate is an approximate reading, so the tool shows it with the “≈” symbol. If it is lower than what your monitor supports, check your display settings.

Is this test an exact measurement of response time?

No. The tool states that it is a visual check, not an exact measurement.

Why does ghosting look different in different color pairs?

The color pairings change the contrast between the moving object and the background. Trails may be more or less visible depending on the pairing, so try several.

Can I use this test on a laptop or a phone?

The tool runs in a browser, but the guidance is to use your monitor’s native resolution and highest refresh rate. Results on other devices may not be directly comparable to results on a desktop monitor.

What should I do if I see ghosting?

First confirm your monitor runs at its native resolution and highest refresh rate. Then retest in different colors and test types to see how consistent the trail is.