Quick Monitor Check
4 quick tests to make sure your screen
is ready for digital sign-out.
Takes about 1 minute.
Created by Anthony Cardillo, MD
Step 1 of 4
Brightness & Contrast
Can you see every stripe below as a separate shade?
Pay close attention to the very darkest and very lightest ones.
The dark or light end of the strip is blending together.
How to fix:
- Look for a physical button or joystick on the bottom or side edge of your monitor
- Open the on-screen menu and find Brightness — set it to about 75–80%
- Find Contrast — set it to about 70–80%
- If the dark stripes merge: raise Brightness
- If the light stripes merge: lower Brightness or raise Contrast
Step 2 of 4
Subtle Differences
Each gray square below has a circle inside it.
Can you see all four circles?
You may miss subtle findings on slides.
How to fix:
- On your monitor's on-screen menu, increase Contrast to 80–90%
- If available, set the display Gamma to 2.2
- Make sure no "Eco" or "Dynamic Contrast" mode is turned on — these reduce contrast
- If the dark-background circles are hardest to see, try raising Brightness slightly
Step 3 of 4
Color Discrimination
Each colored square has a circle inside it that is very slightly different.
Can you see the circle in every square?
Your monitor may not be rendering subtle color differences accurately. Each pair differs by 3 ΔE00 (CIEDE2000, per POUQA methodology).
How to fix:
- On your monitor's on-screen menu, look for Color Temperature or Color Mode
- Set it to sRGB if available, or 6500K (sometimes labeled "Normal" or "Standard")
- Turn off any "Vivid", "Dynamic", or "Eco" color mode — use Standard
- Make sure Saturation is near its default (usually 50%)
- If colors still look identical, right-click your desktop → Display Settings → check that Color Profile is set to sRGB
Step 4 of 4
Sharpness
Look at the black and white lines below.
Can you see them as separate, crisp lines — not blurred or merged together?
Text and cell details may look fuzzy.
How to fix:
- Right-click your desktop → Display Settings
- Set Resolution to the highest option (your monitor's native resolution)
- Set Scale to 100% (if text is too small at 100%, try 125% — but 100% is sharpest)
- If using a dock or adapter, make sure the cable supports your full resolution (use DisplayPort or the cable that came with the monitor)
- On your monitor menu, turn off any Sharpness enhancement (set to 0 or default)