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Gradient test

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xtknight

Elite Member
I've been messing around with gradients and the bottom one seems to be a lot smoother to me. All they are is red+green 0-255 and the bottom one has slight variations in blue that seem to help mask the steppy effect. If you could tell me your monitor type, model, connector (VGA/DVI/BNC), and which one appears smoother (less steppy) to you, that would be very helpful. If you can't tell a difference or only appear to see one gradient that's fine too. Thanks.

Yellow (red+green[+1 blue]): http://xtknight.atothosting.com/tools/yellowscale1.png
Gray (red+green+blue): http://xtknight.atothosting.com/tools/grayfilt.png
Note: please make sure you view it full size (no automatic IE/FF image resizing).
 
All I see is the black-yellow gradient, and it appears smooth on my monitor, without any steps. And I'm using a Samsung Samtron 76df CRT monitor, whch isnt even a high end CRT. On a vga cable.
 
Originally posted by: munky
All I see is the black-yellow gradient, and it appears smooth on my monitor, without any steps. And I'm using a Samsung Samtron 76df CRT monitor, whch isnt even a high end CRT. On a vga cable.
Click to expand...

Oh, I should probably clarify there's a different one on the top than the bottom. I guess it's probably not noticeable for everybody so that's cool too.
 
I've gpt a Panasonic th-42pwd7uy plasma as my primary display and a Sony e200 CRT as a secondary. The gradients look smooth on both and I don't notice a difference from top to botom on either.
 
Clear difference here, just looks like you've tried to blur over the boundaries 😉

S3 ViRGE to a 21" Samsung via VGA 😉

Of course, the fact i'm running 16-bit colour may have something to do with that, that's all it supports at 1024 😛
 
Dell 2007FP Rev A02 VGA
Bottom is smoother

The least smooth part of the upper gradient is the region between ~1/4 and ~1/2 of the way from the darkest end.
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Dell 2007FP Rev A02 VGA
Bottom is smoother

The least smooth part of the upper gradient is the region between ~1/4 and ~1/2 of the way from the darkest end.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's exactly my experience. CRTs probably just blend it all in. It is easier to see the difference on DVI as well. I have nothing to lose by using the bottom one then as long as no one notices the blue channel oddities. It's smoother for at least a couple people. There's basically no difference at all on my notebook either. It would be great if some people with really bright LCDs like the Dell 240Xs could chime in. I'm essentially trying to develop a "solution" for the banding and gradations seen on high-contrast LCDs while changing nothing on lower-contrast monitors or CRTs.

The pixels on the top gradient are only one color tone different (one red and one green bit for each step). So if you see gradations there, that's not really optimal. Two adjacent colors should be a smooth blend. It's not that it's a problem with the device (it's more a problem with DVI than anything else), but it's just not preferable. Blurring isn't a solution because of you take the average of 1 and 2 you get 1.5, which isn't even a color value. So you have to change the position of the colors to help them blend in better.
 
Ah, I just checked the image out in Photoshop and the gradient on the top half is always and even mix of red and green with no blue, while on the bottom half the red and green ab sometimes off by 1 and the blue sometimes has a value of 1 as well. Considering that; I think you test might be comparing our eyesight here as much if not more, than our monitors.
 
Viewsonic VX2025wm/DVI (the one you hate and took out of your guide 😛)
The bottom does seem smoother but both have this stepping thing that happens not all the time but it's spaced out.

It's a little close to tell but if I had to choose one the bottom would be smoother.
 
Originally posted by: xtknight
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Dell 2007FP Rev A02 VGA
Bottom is smoother

The least smooth part of the upper gradient is the region between ~1/4 and ~1/2 of the way from the darkest end.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's exactly my experience. CRTs probably just blend it all in. It is easier to see the difference on DVI as well. I have nothing to lose by using the bottom one then as long as no one notices the blue channel oddities. It's smoother for at least a couple people. There's basically no difference at all on my notebook either. It would be great if some people with really bright LCDs like the Dell 240Xs could chime in. I'm essentially trying to develop a "solution" for the banding and gradations seen on high-contrast LCDs while changing nothing on lower-contrast monitors or CRTs.

The pixels on the top gradient are only one color tone different (one red and one green bit for each step). So if you see gradations there, that's not really optimal. Two adjacent colors should be a smooth blend. It's not that it's a problem with the device (it's more a problem with DVI than anything else), but it's just not preferable. Blurring isn't a solution because of you take the average of 1 and 2 you get 1.5, which isn't even a color value. So you have to change the position of the colors to help them blend in better.
Click to expand...

All that said, the top one is pretty darn smooth too.

On my first revision panel that test would have made me try, but now that my banding issues are almost gone, they both look very close to being smooth.

On my other panels, I switched to VGA just because the banding wasn't as bad. Since I got them replaced, I could probably go to DVI now, but since I only have a single DVI output I'm not going to spend any more money getting a second one 😉

Thanks for making the effort to get some good tests out there.
 
Heh, well now that I ve had a chance to examine the gradient in a darkened room, I can tell that the bottom part is smoother than the top. But you have to really look closely, it's not obvious at all.
 
On my CRT I can clearly see that the top one is stepped in bands about 1/16 of an inch thick. The bottom one looks smooth. Putting in the blue seems to have worked worked pretty well.

 
Originally posted by: TheSnowman
Ah, I just checked the image out in Photoshop and the gradient on the top half is always and even mix of red and green with no blue, while on the bottom half the red and green ab sometimes off by 1 and the blue sometimes has a value of 1 as well.
Click to expand...

Yup.

Considering that; I think you test might be comparing our eyesight here as much if not more, than our monitors.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you're probably right. Well it's likely no one with a CRT would be able to tell the difference. It already displays a perfectly smooth image.

It's noticeable enough on the 20WMGX2 that if I weren't looking for it I'd still see it. On my notebook (Samsung 6-bit TN) I could not see the difference even if I were looking for it.

I'm still curious how it performs on 24" screens.
 
Originally posted by: Dethfrumbelo
On my CRT I can clearly see that the top one is stepped in bands about 1/16 of an inch thick. The bottom one looks smooth. Putting in the blue seems to have worked worked pretty well.
Click to expand...

Well that's good to hear. The people who can tell the difference have the most in-focus CRTs then (probably DiamondTrons).
 
The bottom one is much smoother, which is saying a lot, because the top one is pretty good too.

Ancient 17" Hansol 720ED CRT via VGA.
 
Bottom one looks smother, but just barely. More noticeable on the darkest part.

I'm using a Viewsonic 17" VA712b LCD via DIV at 1280x1024, 32-bit color. My video card is a XFX7800gs 256MB AGP.

 
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