Motion lab
Track the leading edge
Observe with your eyesFollow the marker. Look for colored or dark copies behind its sharp edges.
Photograph consistentlyTrack the marker with a camera and lock exposure; a static photo alone is not a response-time measurement.
Free browser tool
Monitor Ghosting Test for Motion Trails
Run an original monitor ghosting test with adjustable speed, direction, background, and object color. Learn how to observe and photograph motion trails.
Settings
How to run the monitor ghosting test
- 1Keep this tab visible on the monitor you want to inspect and close heavy background activity.
- 2Start at a moderate speed with a high-contrast object and background, then watch the trailing edge rather than following with your eyes.
- 3Compare several speeds, colors, and directions. Change one monitor response-time or overdrive setting at a time.
- 4If you photograph the result, use manual exposure and a fast shutter or a pursuit-camera technique; a casual phone photo can add its own blur.
Ghosting, motion blur, and response time are different
Monitor ghosting
A visible trail or inverse-colored artifact behind a moving object, often influenced by pixel transitions and overdrive behavior.
Motion blur
A broader loss of moving detail that can come from sample-and-hold display behavior, eye tracking, frame rate, content, or camera exposure.
Response time
A measured pixel transition duration. One advertised number cannot describe every color transition or overdrive artifact.
This original browser pattern helps you compare visible behavior, but it does not calculate a certified response-time value. Professional measurement needs controlled equipment and a repeatable capture method.
Conditions that can change the result
Confirm the operating system is using the intended refresh rate. High-refresh displays need a capable cable, GPU mode, and browser that can present frames consistently. Variable refresh rate, frame-rate limits, monitor overdrive modes, backlight strobing, browser background throttling, power saving, and capture-camera exposure can all alter what you see.
Reduced-motion preferences start the pattern paused so motion is never forced. Resume it only when you are comfortable observing animation.
Technical reference: MDN: requestAnimationFrame() and MDN: Page Visibility API.