How to run the ghosting test
- Use the screen's highest refresh rate. The line under the test shows the frame rate your browser actually gets. If it says 60 fps on a 144 Hz monitor, set the refresh rate in your display settings first; the refresh rate test checks it in detail.
- Follow the card with your eyes rather than staring at one spot. That is how you watch moving things in games and videos, and it is when trails show up.
- Compare the three lanes. Pixels change speed depending on the shades involved, so a monitor can look clean on gray and smear badly on black.
- Change the overdrive setting in the monitor's menu (often called Response Time, Overdrive, Trace Free or OD) and look again. Pick the setting with the shortest trail and no bright halo.
Speed 960 px/s is a good start; faster speeds exaggerate every problem, slower speeds show what you'd notice when scrolling text. Tick "Show a still copy" to compare the moving card with a sharp, stationary one.
What the trails mean
| What you see | What it is | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Dark or faint copy dragging behind the card | Ghosting: pixels too slow | Raise overdrive one step |
| Bright, white or colored halo at the trailing edge | Overshoot (inverse ghosting): overdrive too strong | Lower overdrive one step |
| Long dark smear mostly on the black lane | Slow dark transitions, typical of VA panels | Normal for VA; raise black level slightly or use a faster mode |
| Whole card evenly soft, no trail | Motion blur from sample-and-hold | Higher refresh rate, or the monitor's backlight strobing mode if it has one |
| Card stutters or jumps | Dropped frames, not ghosting | Close other tabs and apps; check the frame rate shown |
Monitor ghosting vs motion blur
Every LCD and OLED screen shows some motion blur, because each frame stays lit until the next one arrives and your eyes keep moving. Doubling the refresh rate roughly halves that blur, which is why a 144 Hz monitor looks sharper in motion than a 60 Hz one. Ghosting is something else: an extra trail caused by pixels that can't finish changing in time. OLED pixels switch almost instantly, so an OLED shows motion blur but practically no ghosting. That is why this motion blur test and the screen ghosting test are the same moving card: what you see tells you which one you have.
Response times on spec sheets ("1 ms GtG") are measured on the fastest transitions in the most aggressive overdrive mode, which often overshoots. A display ghosting test on your own screen, at the setting you'll actually use, is more useful than the number on the box.
Is ghosting a defect?
Some ghosting is normal on every LCD, and more on budget and VA panels. It counts as a fault only when it is far worse than reviews of the same model show, or when it suddenly gets worse. Before returning a monitor, check that overdrive isn't switched off, that the cable supports the refresh rate, and that no "eco" or picture mode is limiting it. Monitors in the first minutes after switching on, or in a cold room, can also be slower until they warm up.
How we tested this tool
We stepped the animation frame by frame with fixed timestamps and checked that the card moves exactly the expected distance per frame at each speed, wraps around at the edge, keeps its place when you change speed, and stops and resumes with Pause. We checked that the frame-rate readout matches the timestamps it is given (60 fps at 16.7 ms per frame, 144 fps at 6.9 ms), that the three lanes have the intended shades (black, 128 gray, 200 gray), and that the still copy appears when ticked. We tested in a desktop browser and at a 375 px phone width. The page shows ghosting for you to judge; it does not measure response time, and we have not compared specific monitors with it.
Frequently asked questions
What is monitor ghosting?
Ghosting is a faint trail behind moving objects, left because the pixels don't change color fast enough before the next frame. It is a property of the panel, so it shows the same on every computer you connect.
What is inverse ghosting or overshoot?
When the monitor's overdrive pushes pixels too hard, they overshoot the target color and leave a bright or colored halo instead of a dark trail. Lowering the overdrive (response time) setting by one step usually removes it.
Can this test measure my monitor's response time in milliseconds?
No. Measuring response time needs a light sensor or a high-speed camera. This test shows the trails and halos so you can compare settings and screens with your own eyes.
Is motion blur the same as ghosting?
No. Every LCD and OLED screen blurs moving objects because each frame is held on screen until the next one; higher refresh rates reduce it. Ghosting is an extra trail on top of that, caused by slow pixels.
Why is the ghosting worst on the black lane?
Many panels, especially VA monitors, are slowest when pixels change from or to very dark shades, so dark backgrounds show the longest smear. That is normal for VA panels and why their dark-scene performance is reviewed separately.
Does a TV or laptop work with this ghosting test?
Yes. Open the page on any screen with a browser, or on a computer connected to the TV. Turn off motion smoothing on the TV to see the panel itself.