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Lee Bailey
07-15-2005, 08:29 PM
Anyone look at this neat little gadget coming out? A TV color analyzer with software for adjusting your TV, be it Plasma, LCD, RPTV, CRT, or DLP. For under $300.00. Could make all your money back on it just adjusting your friend's displays for a fee! Should be available by the end of the month, CompUSA is one store that will be carrying them.

SpyderTV (http://www.colorvision.com/spydertv.shtml)

I'm definitely gonna check this one out.

Lou-the-dog
07-16-2005, 05:14 PM
That's interesting Lee. Will have to keep an eye on that. I'm sure the various forum techies will be running that thru it's paces when released.

Randy

BradJudy
07-17-2005, 08:24 AM
I posted a reply, but it seems to have disappeared. I was wondering if the SpyderTV would really give better results than the calibration DVDs. Even the pre-order is $200 which is a lot more than the calibration DVDs. The retail of $270 isn't cheap.

Of course, it doesn't matter to me since I'm using a front projection system and this won't work on it.

Lee Bailey
07-17-2005, 04:14 PM
Since the calibration DVDs rely on your vision for the calibration, I would think this unit will provide much better results. Escpecially in the area of contrast and brightness. I'll let you know when I get one. Went ahead and pre-ordered one for 209 with shipping.

jermy4
07-17-2005, 04:24 PM
Since the calibration DVDs rely on your vision for the calibration, I would think this unit will provide much better results.
Maybe I'm just selfish but my eyes are the ones watching the television anyways. :p

bikeman
07-17-2005, 07:16 PM
I posted a reply, but it seems to have disappeared. it.

The Forum seems to have had a hiccup. A few posts were there and then gone.

David

Lou-the-dog
07-17-2005, 07:39 PM
I'll let you know when I get one. Went ahead and pre-ordered one for 209 with shipping.

How soon will they be shipping? Any idea?

Randy

Lee Bailey
07-18-2005, 07:51 AM
They said mid-July. So, any time now.

Lee Bailey
08-15-2005, 07:19 AM
Well, got my SpyderTV unit on Thursday. Ran through the procedure on the same night.

Here's what you get:
1- SpyderTV colorimeter, with a long USB cable attached.
1- Carrying Case (small, zipper bag)
1- Suction cup attachment with tripod adapter built in.
1- Software CD (Windows based)
1- Calibration DVD
1- Sheet of paper explaining how to assign numbers to various types of TV user adjustment scales. (I think most TV's do not use numbers)

You'll want to be in a darkened room for best results, so, nighttime is a good choice for when to perform this.

Setup is straight forward. Just install the software onto your PC. Connect the colorimeter when instructed. You'll want to sit down with remotes for your TV and DVD player.

The first thing I did was to create the numbers for the TV's adjustment sliders. In my case, it was 0-63 for everything but the Hue, which went from -31 to +32, with 0 being the center.

I first attached the colorimeter using the supplied suction cup, it let loose about half-way through the adjustments, so I used my tripod instead after that. I recommend using a tripod unless you're attaching this unit to glass.


Once you have the numbers established, you fill in the numbers for the user controls you have on your set, starting with the current settings, then the minimum and maximum numbers on the scale. When your done with that, get the DVD inserted, and start following the wizard on the PC.

First up is Color Temp Pre-Set. I changed mine from Medium to NTSC Standard per the unit's findings.

Second is the Contrast setting. You just set the DVD chapter to the appropriate display for the test. You'll be asked to set the slider to 0, then to the uppper end, then the middle. From there, you'll go through different settings until the programs determines what's the best for your TV.

Third is the Black Level setting. Same instructions.

Fourth is Saturation. Here you'll be toggling between 2 different chapters as it measures the screen.

Fifth up is Hue. You'll be toggling between 2 different chapters again.

Finally, you are taken back to remeasure the Contrast and Black levels.

You can then create a report in the form of a PDF document for future use.

This took 33 minutes on my set. There were definitely different settings for my contrast and black level controls. My Contrast went from 24 to 31, and my Black Level went from 49 to 45. Of course, this may have been also due to me changing my color temps as well. My Color setting went from 31 to 39.

Overall, the picture does look very good. Need to look at some movies again that I'm familiar with to see if it looks any different. I'm happy with my purchase, and will start playing with it on the other TVs in our house.

The only actual measurement numbers it gave on the report were:
Black Luminance: 0.020 cd/m2
White Luminance: 106.943 cd/m2

Here's a link to the PDF for the report you get from the SpyderTV software:
KP53V80 PDF (http://home.comcast.net/~leebailey00/KP53V80.pdf)

sygyzy
08-17-2005, 12:23 AM
This device was originally created for correct color settings on computer monitors. This important especially for graphics artist so they know what is on their screen is what comes out of the printer. All they did is adapt it to the home theatre. A natural progression.

Totally legitimate company and pretty respected AFAIK.