# Monitor Ghosting Test

> Free monitor ghosting test: check motion blur, ghosting trails and overdrive artifacts at 60, 144, 240 Hz and up. Three frame-rate lanes, 6 speeds, 5 backgrounds and a frame-skip check.

Check your monitor for ghosting, motion blur and overdrive artifacts. Moving objects run at full, half and quarter frame rate side by side, on five backgrounds that expose different pixel transitions. The test shows your live refresh rate, the expected blur in pixels, a frame-skip strip for camera checks and an optional pursuit-camera sync track.

- **Live tool:** https://www.toolnova.org/diagnostics-tools/monitor-ghosting-test
- **Category:** Speed Test & Diagnostics (https://www.toolnova.org/diagnostics-tools)
- **Price:** Free
- **Requirements:** Runs in a modern web browser · No signup · No install

## What this tool does

- Three lanes at full, half and quarter frame rate for direct comparison.
- Six speeds from 240 to 1920 pixels per second.
- Five backgrounds (mid gray, dark gray, cyan, white, black) that reveal different overdrive problems.
- Rocket, text and thin-line objects; text shows readability in motion.
- Live refresh rate, frame time and expected sample-and-hold blur in pixels.
- Frame-skip strip to photograph with a slow shutter.
- Pursuit-camera sync track, pause and fullscreen.

## How to use Monitor Ghosting Test

1. **Let the refresh rate settle** — The card shows your detected Hz after a second or two. Close other tabs for a steady reading.
2. **Watch the full-rate lane** — Follow the moving object with your eyes and look for trails, halos or smearing.
3. **Change the background** — Mid gray and cyan often show overdrive coronas; dark gray shows slow dark transitions (black smearing).
4. **Compare lanes and speeds** — The half and quarter lanes show how a lower frame rate looks; higher speeds make blur easier to see.

## Common use cases

- Checking a new monitor for ghosting or overshoot
- Choosing the best overdrive setting in the monitor menu
- Seeing the difference between 60, 144 and 240 Hz
- Checking for VA black smearing
- Photographing frame skipping with a camera

## About

### Ghosting, motion blur and overdrive explained

Motion blur on modern screens comes mostly from sample-and-hold: each frame stays on screen until the next one, so your eyes smear it as they track motion. It shrinks as refresh rate rises. Ghosting is a faint copy trailing the object, caused by pixels that change color slowly. Overdrive speeds up pixel changes, but too much overdrive overshoots and leaves bright or dark halos, called inverse ghosting or coronas.

| What you see | Cause | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Soft smear on all edges | Sample-and-hold blur | Higher refresh rate or backlight strobing |
| Faint trailing copy | Slow pixel response | Raise overdrive one step |
| Bright or dark halo | Overdrive overshoot | Lower overdrive one step |
| Dark smear on dark gray | VA black smearing | Raise black level or use a faster panel |

### Tuning your monitor's overdrive

Open your monitor's on-screen menu and find the setting called overdrive, response time, Trace Free or similar. Run this test on the mid gray background and step through each level. Pick the highest setting that doesn't show bright halos. Repeat on the dark gray background, because many panels behave differently on dark transitions.

See also: [Refresh Rate Test](https://www.toolnova.org/diagnostics-tools/refresh-rate-test), [FPS Test](https://www.toolnova.org/diagnostics-tools/fps-test), [Dead Pixel Test](https://www.toolnova.org/diagnostics-tools/dead-pixel-test)

## FAQ

### How do I test my monitor for ghosting?

Open this test, let the refresh rate settle, and follow the moving object in the full-rate lane with your eyes. A faint copy trailing behind it is ghosting. Switch backgrounds to see different pixel transitions.

### What is the difference between ghosting and motion blur?

Motion blur is a general smear from frames being held on screen and is present on every sample-and-hold display. Ghosting is a distinct trailing copy from slow pixel response.

### What overdrive setting should I use?

The highest level that doesn't create bright or dark halos (inverse ghosting) in this test. That is often the middle setting.

### Why does the half-rate lane look worse?

It updates half as often, so each frame is held twice as long and the motion looks more blurred and stuttery. It shows what a lower frame rate looks like on your screen.

### Is this the same as TestUFO?

It's an independent test with the same purpose. TestUFO by Blur Busters has a wider set of specialised motion tests; this one combines the common checks on one page.

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