Which Spyder? at DVinfo.net

Jonathan Bufkin · December 20th, 2007, 12:55 PM

I'm thinking of purchasing a Spyder for monitor calibration but I'm not sure which one to get. What's the skinny or better yet what are you using? I have an SD video editing setup but hope to eventually get an HDV setup. I did a search and didn't find a comparison. Some help would be appreciated.

Michael Jouravlev · December 21st, 2007, 05:04 PM

Get Spyder2Express, it will run you in about $60-70 and includes Spyder2 colorimeter and simple wizard-driven computer program, which asks you simple questions about your hardware and then performs automatic monitor calibration.

The package is available for either Windows or Mac. The usage is very simple: install the application, connect the Spyder2 to a USB port, start the program, answer couple of questions, then affix the colorimeter on the display and wait for about five minutes. The program will automatically display grayscale patches, then it will run through red, green and blue patches (primary colors). The colorimeter will be reading actual colors from the computer screen and saving them into a database. Then the program will compare ideal values to actual values, will calculate the correction coefficients and will create a display profile.

Using display profiles is simple. On Windows, a display profile is loaded into memory each time Windows starts. If you have a Plug-and-Play monitor, then it will be adjusted automatically. I don't know about Mac. The program will show you several test pictures with "before" and "after" settings, so you will be able to see the difference.

If you want to calibrate a TV you either have to shell out 5-10 times more for Spyder2TV or Spyder2TVPro package, or you can use the Spyder2 colorimeter you've already got with another program and use a third-party program like CalMAN (around $150) or HCFR Colorimeter (free).

DV uses gamma 2.5, HDV uses gamma 2.2, not sure about SRGB. I don't remember that the calibrating application asked me what gamma I would prefer, so gamma may not match your target video gamma.

Jonathan Bufkin · December 25th, 2007, 08:59 PM

Thanks for the info. This will help a ton.

James Brill · December 25th, 2007, 10:20 PM

I went with the pro so I can set up 2 monitors. Also the ambient thing was cool until I got black out curtains.

December 20th, 2007, 12:55 PM	#1
Jonathan Bufkin Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 253	Which Spyder? I'm thinking of purchasing a Spyder for monitor calibration but I'm not sure which one to get. What's the skinny or better yet what are you using? I have an SD video editing setup but hope to eventually get an HDV setup. I did a search and didn't find a comparison. Some help would be appreciated. __________________ Jon Bufkin focalpointcinematic.com

December 25th, 2007, 08:59 PM	#3
Jonathan Bufkin Major Player Join Date: May 2006 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 253	Thanks for the info. This will help a ton. __________________ Jon Bufkin focalpointcinematic.com

December 21st, 2007, 05:04 PM	#2
Michael Jouravlev Major Player Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: San Diego Posts: 209	Get Spyder2Express, it will run you in about $60-70 and includes Spyder2 colorimeter and simple wizard-driven computer program, which asks you simple questions about your hardware and then performs automatic monitor calibration. The package is available for either Windows or Mac. The usage is very simple: install the application, connect the Spyder2 to a USB port, start the program, answer couple of questions, then affix the colorimeter on the display and wait for about five minutes. The program will automatically display grayscale patches, then it will run through red, green and blue patches (primary colors). The colorimeter will be reading actual colors from the computer screen and saving them into a database. Then the program will compare ideal values to actual values, will calculate the correction coefficients and will create a display profile. Using display profiles is simple. On Windows, a display profile is loaded into memory each time Windows starts. If you have a Plug-and-Play monitor, then it will be adjusted automatically. I don't know about Mac. The program will show you several test pictures with "before" and "after" settings, so you will be able to see the difference. If you want to calibrate a TV you either have to shell out 5-10 times more for Spyder2TV or Spyder2TVPro package, or you can use the Spyder2 colorimeter you've already got with another program and use a third-party program like CalMAN (around $150) or HCFR Colorimeter (free). DV uses gamma 2.5, HDV uses gamma 2.2, not sure about SRGB. I don't remember that the calibrating application asked me what gamma I would prefer, so gamma may not match your target video gamma.

December 25th, 2007, 10:20 PM	#4
James Brill Major Player Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Goleta, CA Posts: 299	I went with the pro so I can set up 2 monitors. Also the ambient thing was cool until I got black out curtains.