If the eyes are the mirror of the soul, the monitor should be something like a computer, right? No matter how good your graphics card is or how great your customized operating system is, it won’t mean anything if your monitor doesn’t handle it properly.
The good news is that it is quite difficult to find a monitor that is just rubbish these days, but there are many people who use their computer display every day without realizing their full potential.
The good news is that you can use a number of web applications to test and calibrate your display. Make sure you pick up and even deal with any issues you might have.
Since they are web-based, this usually means that they will work with anything with a browser! For starters, these three tools will cover most basic monitor problems.
Obliterate violators
Blur Busters are a measure of the ability of displays to handle motion. The refresh rate capabilities of flat panel displays are rapidly improving. Almost every monitor these days supports at least 60Hz, and many monitors now support much higher frequencies like 122Hz, 144Hz and more!
As the name suggests, Blur Busters provides a series of tests on its testufo website that are designed to determine the degree of motion blur on a given monitor.
– /
These tests can help you find a sweet spot for your monitor settings to minimize unwanted blur. It also provides an easy way to test your monitor before purchasing it if your system has an internet connection.
If you want to evaluate displays professionally using this site, they’ve even invented a (relatively) inexpensive pursuit camera system that can capture motion artifacts with an accuracy comparable to the manufacturer’s systems.
Dead Pixel Buddy
Your LCD screen is made up of millions of microscopic pixels made up of subpixels that reflect the primary colors used to blend all other colors. The factories where they are produced must be incredibly clean and the process precisely controlled.
A single dust or slight disruption in the manufacturing process can damage individual pixels or subpixels. It then appears as pixels “stuck†in the same color, or just dead and dark.
This used to be a real problem even on high-end monitors. The pixel count that manufacturers considered acceptable in the early days if LCD monitors were shocking by modern standards. We have yet to come across a new dead pixel monitor these days, but it still happens.
Different manufacturers have different rules for returning products in the event of dead pixels, so make sure you know yours. It’s best to test your new monitor immediately because you can often exchange it for any reason within the first few days.
All you need to check for dead or stuck pixels is Dead Pixel Buddy A simple yet great web application that allows you to quickly access a range of full-screen colors designed to reveal the different types of dead pixels on your display. This should be your first stop if you suspect a pixel is broken or if you want to test a new monitor.
Eizo screen test
While Blur Busters and Dead Pixel Buddy are great, they have a very narrow set of apps. For a complete set of common monitor testing tools, you need to look no further than Eizo Monitor Test
Eizo itself is a manufacturer of professional monitors such as the ColorEdge line with built-in color calibration sensors. Luckily, you don’t need to own one of their monitors to use this excellent set of free monitor tests.
Each one has a simple explanation of what you should see and how to set things up to look right. Previously, such a package cost a lot of money, but now it’s just one click.
I can see it clearly now
Armed with just these three web addresses, you can now quickly figure out what’s wrong with this image. Or any picture, to be honest. Never again will your poor eyes have to suffer from degrading images on the monitor.
–
Comment on “3 Tools to Diagnose and Troubleshoot Problems with Your Monitor”