Banding occurs when a smooth tonal transition is represented as visible steps. It can originate in the source, compression, bit-depth conversion or display processing. A ten-bit label alone does not guarantee its absence, and increasing colour saturation can make the bands more obvious rather than fixing them.
Use a suitable scene
Fog, a dim painted wall or a clear sky reveals gradual changes better than a busy action shot. Compare the same passage at normal settings and avoid relying on a phone photograph, which can introduce its own banding and exposure changes. Check whether menus and unrelated sources show the same pattern.
Avoid extreme picture controls
Aggressive contrast, dynamic processing and unusual gamma choices can exaggerate small tonal differences. Restore a sensible baseline before changing advanced options. A smooth-gradation feature, where documented, may reduce visibility but can also remove texture, so compare faces and fine detail as well as the gradient.
Locate the earliest visible stage
If the pattern appears identically on several supported devices, the source is a stronger suspect. If it appears only on one input or mode, investigate that local path. Report the title, time, dynamic range and output setting rather than assuming a higher advertised resolution will automatically provide smoother colour transitions.