Ghosting Test
Follow the moving blocks with your eyes. A dark smear behind them is ghosting from slow pixels; a bright or coloured halo is inverse ghosting from overdrive set too high.
More Hardware Test Tools
This ghosting test moves blocks across three lanes: black, mid-grey and light. Follow one with your eyes and look at what trails behind it. A darker smear is ghosting from slow pixels. A bright or coloured edge is inverse ghosting from overdrive set too high. The mid-grey lane shows overdrive problems most clearly, so it is the one to watch while you change monitor settings.
How to Run the Test
- Set your screen to its highest refresh rate. The line under the lanes shows the rate the test sees.
- Pick 960 px/s and follow one block with your eyes for a few passes.
- Compare the three lanes. Note any trail in a different shade from the block or the background.
- Open your monitor's menu and change overdrive one step. Watch the mid-grey lane again.
- Keep the setting with the shortest trail and no bright halo.
What You Might See
| What you see | Likely cause | What to try |
|---|---|---|
| Dark smear behind the block | Slow pixel response (ghosting) | Raise overdrive one step |
| Bright or coloured edge behind the block | Overdrive too strong (inverse ghosting) | Lower overdrive one step |
| Trail mostly on the dark lane | Slow dark transitions, common on VA panels | Try a middle overdrive level |
| Even blur, same shade, on every lane | Normal blur from tracking motion | Higher refresh rate reduces it |
| Block jumps or stutters | Dropped frames, not ghosting | Close other tabs and check the refresh rate test |
Why Ghosting Happens
Liquid-crystal pixels take time to change from one shade to another. When that takes longer than one refresh, part of the old image is still visible in the next frame, which leaves a trail. VA panels are more prone to it than IPS or TN, especially in dark scenes. Overdrive speeds up the change by briefly driving pixels harder; set too high, it overshoots and leaves the opposite, a bright halo. Cables, image processing settings and graphics drivers can also add to the problem.
If motion looks jerky rather than smeared, check that the screen runs at its full rate with the refresh rate test.
Ghosting Questions
What is monitor ghosting?
A trail left behind moving objects because the screen's pixels change colour too slowly. It shows as a smear in a darker or in-between shade following the object.
What is inverse ghosting?
A bright or coloured halo behind a moving object. It happens when overdrive pushes pixels past their target colour before they settle back. Lowering overdrive one step usually removes it.
Why do I see blur on every speed, even on a good monitor?
When your eyes follow motion, each frame is held still on screen while your eyes keep moving, which blurs it. All ordinary monitors do this, and it shrinks at higher refresh rates. Ghosting is a trail in a different shade on top of that blur.
Can I record ghosting with my phone or a screenshot?
A screenshot cannot show it, because ghosting happens in the panel, not in the image the computer sends. A phone video can hint at it but is unreliable; judge by eye.
Is ghosting permanent damage?
No. It is a property of how quickly the panel responds and goes away when motion stops. It is different from burn-in or image retention.
How do I reduce ghosting?
Turn on overdrive (also called OD, Response Time or TraceFree) in the monitor menu and try each level. Turn off extras such as dynamic contrast or motion smoothing one at a time, use a different cable, and update the graphics driver.
Can this test give my response time in milliseconds?
No. Measuring response time needs a light sensor or high-speed camera on the panel. This test gives your eyes a repeatable pattern to compare settings.
Last updated October 2026. Causes and fixes checked against HP's monitor ghosting guide.