Color Temperature Test
Test your monitor's color temperature and white balance accuracy
💡 Why This Test?
Color temperature determines whether your whites look neutral, bluish (cool), or yellowish (warm). Measured in Kelvin (K), the industry standard for most content is 6500K (D65), which matches daylight and the sRGB color space.
Incorrect color temperature affects how colors appear across all content. Too cool (high K) makes images look cold and blue. Too warm (low K) makes them look yellow and dim. This is crucial for photo/video editing, design work, and accurate color representation.
✅ What You'll Check:
- Whether whites appear truly neutral or have color tints
- Comparison between 2700K (warm) to 9300K (cool)
- How close your display is to the 6500K standard
- Color temperature consistency across brightness levels
- Your preference vs industry standard
📖 How to Use This Test
- Start the test in fullscreen for accurate assessment
- View in a room with neutral lighting (not direct sunlight)
- Navigate through different color temperatures using arrow keys
- Find which temperature looks most "neutral white" to you
- Compare against the 6500K standard (the reference point)
- Note if your monitor leans warm (yellow) or cool (blue)
- Select your preferred temperature in the results
💡 Tip: Most displays default to 6500K for general use, 5000K for print/press work, and 6300K for DCI-P3 cinema. If whites look noticeably blue or yellow, adjust your monitor's OSD color temperature settings.
Click to start fullscreen color temperature testing. Use arrow keys to navigate.
🌡️ Color Temperature Scale
6500K (D65) is the standard for most displays and matches daylight.
📊 Industry Standards
Professional content creation typically uses 6500K for accurate color representation
🔍 What to Look For
- ● Too Cool: Whites look bluish
- ● Too Warm: Whites look yellowish
- ● Just Right: Whites look neutral
- ● 6500K: Standard for most uses
📋 How to Test
Start Fullscreen Test
Click the test button and allow fullscreen mode for accurate color temperature assessment.
Compare Temperatures
Navigate through different color temperatures using arrow keys. Pay attention to how "white" looks.
Look for Neutral White
Find which temperature looks most neutral (neither too blue nor too yellow).
Select Best Match
After testing, select which temperature looked best for your monitor.
⚠️ Common Issues
- ● Blue Tint: Temperature too high (>6500K)
- ● Yellow Tint: Temperature too low (<6500K)
- ● Pink/Magenta: RGB balance issue
- ● Neutral: Properly calibrated (~6500K)
🔧 Common Issues & Solutions
❄️ "Whites look too blue/cold" (Cool color temperature >6500K)
What's happening: Color temperature set too high, typically 7500-9300K. Many monitors default to "Cool" (9300K) or "Normal" (7000K) preset for marketing - makes displays look brighter in stores. Samsung monitors often ship at 7500K ("Standard" mode). Older office monitors default to 9300K (CCFL backlight era standard).
Impact on content: 9300K makes skin tones look pale/blue, whites glare, causes eye strain (excess blue light 450-480nm wavelength). sRGB content (web, games) mastered at 6500K looks washed out at 9300K. Professional photography/video editing impossible - colors don't match prints or other calibrated displays. Blue light >6500K disrupts circadian rhythm at night.
✅ Solution: Set monitor to 6500K or "Warm" preset: Dell "Warm", ASUS "User Mode" with RGB 96/99/100, BenQ "Normal" (not "Cool"). Adjust OSD: Color Temp → 6500K or "sRGB". If unavailable, manually lower Blue RGB gain 5-10%. Use f.lux or Windows Night Light (3400K) for evening - but disable for color-critical work. Professional calibration with i1Display Pro targets D65 (6500K) ± 200K.
🌅 "Whites look yellow/orange like candlelight" (Warm temperature <5000K)
What's happening: Color temperature set too low, typically 3200-4500K. Night Light (f.lux, Windows Night Light, macOS Night Shift) reduces blue light for evening viewing but makes everything orange. Some users prefer 5000K (D50) for print work or warmer for subjective "comfort". MacBook default "True Tone" adapts to room lighting, can go as low as 4000K in warm lighting.
Print vs screen standards: Print/press work uses D50 (5000K) with 5000K viewing booth - matches paper white under tungsten lighting. Screen content (sRGB, Rec.709) uses D65 (6500K) - matches daylight. Mixing standards causes mismatch: web images edited at 5000K look too blue on calibrated 6500K displays. Photography: Shoot RAW at 5600K (daylight), edit at 6500K for screen, 5000K for print.
✅ Solution: Disable Night Light/f.lux during daytime or color work: Windows → Settings → Display → Night Light Off. macOS → True Tone Off in Display settings. Set monitor to 6500K: OSD → Color Temp → "Normal" or "6500K". For print workflow only: Use 5000K but add note to clients about viewing environment. BenQ SW270C has "CAD/CAM" mode (5000K) vs "sRGB" (6500K) - switch per task.
👁️ "Can't tell difference between 6500K and 9300K" (Eyes adapted to wrong white point)
What's happening: Chromatic adaptation - brain adjusts to consider current white as "neutral" within 60-90 seconds. After using 9300K monitor for hours, 6500K looks "yellow" even though it's correct. Same reason: indoor tungsten lighting (2700K) looks "white" not orange after few minutes. Adaptation stronger in dim rooms (pupils dilated).
Comparative testing: Need reference point to judge color temp accurately. Test method: View 6500K standard → switch to monitor → compare. Use printed reference card (X-Rite ColorChecker white patch) under D65 lamp vs monitor white. Or compare to calibrated reference monitor. Single monitor in isolation: Can't judge absolute color temp, only relative (too warm vs too cool).
✅ Solution: Side-by-side comparison: Open white image on phone (iPhone/Galaxy calibrated to ~6500K) next to monitor white. Take 10-min break then re-assess with fresh eyes (chromatic adaptation resets). Use test pattern with known reference: Lagom white point test, DisplayCAL verification. Trust measurements over eyes - colorimeter (i1Display Pro $200) or spectrophotometer (X-Rite i1Pro 2 $1200) measures actual Kelvin value objectively.
🔆 "6500K at 100% brightness but 7000K at 50%" (White point shift)
What's happening: Backlight dimming (PWM or DC) affects color temperature. LED backlights have blue emission peak at 450nm - dimming changes relative RGB balance. Cheap monitors lack "Brightness Stabilization" so color temp drifts 500-1000K across brightness range. TFTCentral measures: Budget IPS 6300K at 100% → 6800K at 20%. VA panels worse: Samsung CHG70 6500K → 7200K at low brightness.
PWM vs DC dimming impact: PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) flickers backlight 120-480Hz at low brightness - color temp stable but causes flicker. DC dimming adjusts voltage - no flicker but changes LED color temp. Hybrid systems (ASUS, BenQ): DC dimming 100-30%, PWM below 30% - color shift at transition point. Professional monitors (EIZO, NEC) use 14-bit LUT compensation maintaining color temp ± 200K across full brightness range.
✅ Solution: Set brightness to typical usage level (50-70%) then calibrate color temp for that brightness. Use monitor's "Uniformity Compensation" or "Brightness Stabilization" if available (Dell UP series, EIZO ColorEdge). Professional solution: Hardware calibration (X-Rite i1Display Pro + DisplayCAL) creates LUT profile compensating for brightness-dependent color shift. Or use monitors with factory brightness calibration (BenQ SW series, ASUS ProArt "Calman Verified").
🌙 "Test shows orange/yellow but monitor set to 6500K" (Software color filter active)
What's happening: Windows Night Light, f.lux, macOS Night Shift, or Iris Software applying software color temperature filter (3400-4500K) on top of monitor's hardware 6500K setting. These apps shift GPU output color table (LUT) making entire display warm-tinted. Filter remains active even in fullscreen - affects all tests. Some gaming monitors have built-in "Low Blue Light" or "Eye Care" modes doing same thing.
Software vs hardware color temp: Software filters (OS-level): Reduce blue light by shifting GPU gamma curves - works on any display but reduces color accuracy and bit depth (8-bit → effectively 7-bit after LUT manipulation). Hardware color temp (monitor OSD): Adjusts backlight RGB LED balance or LCD color filters - maintains full bit depth. Professional workflow: Hardware calibration only, no software filters.
✅ Solution: Disable all software color filters before testing: Windows → Settings → Display → Night Light Off. macOS → Display → Night Shift Off. f.lux → Disable for 1 hour. NVIDIA/AMD control panel → Reset color settings to default. Check monitor OSD: "Eye Care" or "Low Blue Light" mode Off. Game Mode or "Picture Mode: Standard". Some monitors: Color Temp must be on "User" not "sRGB" to adjust manually. Restart test after disabling filters.