What does Colour banding mean?
Colour banding is the visible separation of a smooth tonal or colour gradient into steps. It is often easiest to notice in skies, fog, dim walls and other areas that should change gradually.
Why it matters
Banding can originate in the source, compression, conversion or display processing. A high-resolution label does not prevent it, and a ten-bit output does not repair earlier losses automatically. Extreme contrast or saturation can make the steps more obvious. Some displays offer gradient-smoothing processing, but it should be checked for unwanted texture loss on faces and fabric as well.
A practical example
If a night scene shows rings of grey around a light, compare another source and restore sensible picture settings. A phone photograph can introduce or exaggerate bands, so report what is visible directly and include the programme, time and active HDR or SDR mode.
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Related terminology: Codec profile, Colour gamut.
For practical setup and troubleshooting, browse the journal or support guides.