[Mumid]

Forum member Mike RB was having trouble calibrating his LCD TV using a Spyder 2(http://www.avforums.com/forums/lcd-t...rt-2-a-54.html). I informed him that it was likely that his sensor is inaccurate so he asked me to test it out for him and he sent it me today. I compared it to my DTP-94 which I believe to be fairly accurate.

Here are the results of calibrating my Samsung A656, using the DTP-94 sensor.

Now I captured the same TV using the Spyder 2. Here are the results:

The spyder 2 appears to be way off. The greyscale readings do not have enough red or blue in them. Gamma comes out at 2.05 where as with the DTP-94 it was very close to 2.2. The colourspace was very weird, it seemed to be wider than is even possible! No doubt to say the results of using this device to calibrate with would not be desirable.

Does anyone know if it is it possible to send the Spyder2 back for it to be recalibrated? I would recommend Mike to try and either do that or try and get a refund\exchange for it and get an i1 or something like that.

[Mike RB]

Many thanks Mumid and most interesting results!

From looking at the graphs you can see why my white balance is as follows

27
25
20
29
25
50

Note my blue gain is maxed out. I guess the best thing for me to do currently is set my colour space and white balance to default as surely it's more accurate than my settings and look to replacing the device.

Would you recommend the DTP-94 and where best to buy one from? Ideally, I have no more than £100 budget for a replacement device. I'm going to contact amazon and tell them I want a refund on it as its faulty.

[Mumid]

Unfortunately the DTP-94 has been discontinued and replaced with the i1. The i1 is still a very good budget sensor, I used to have one but replaced it with a DTP-94 which I think edges it slightly. You should be able to get one for around £100 if you shop around. You only need the sensor.

You might be able to get a DTP-94 from ebay though if you keep on eye out for one.

Good luck with amazon. If you have no luck with them maybe you could try contacting the manufacturers of the spyder2.

[karoloydi]

It would be interesting to compare the results with an i1. If I still had mine I would have sent it to you. But I ve already sold it unfortunately.

[Mike RB]

I contacted datacolor about this problem and here is their reply

"Spyder 2 Express is intended for computer display calibration only, not for TV.We do offer Spyder TV for those purposes"

I replied

"Surely, the D65 greyscale standard is the same either on a computer monitor or a LCD TV. Also, am I right in saying the hardware is the same on either package?

I'm asking for the device to be recalibrated. Is this something you are unwilling to do? If not, I will return the item as its unfit for the purpose. "

they then replied again

"no, your Spyder2express is different in firmware compared to SpyderTV sensors or the newer Spyder3TV sensors."

Sound like rubbish as is usual from customer services these days?

[D65]

Hi,

The spider2 probe is pretty accurate for crt and plasma, and would be sufficient for a DIY calibration on both these technologies..

But that's about all it's good for.

For LCD, forget it. you'll probably end up with a brown-scale.

Dimitri

[Mumid]

Originally Posted by Mike RB

I contacted datacolor about this problem and here is their reply

"Spyder 2 Express is intended for computer display calibration only, not for TV.We do offer Spyder TV for those purposes"

I replied

"Surely, the D65 greyscale standard is the same either on a computer monitor or a LCD TV. Also, am I right in saying the hardware is the same on either package?

I'm asking for the device to be recalibrated. Is this something you are unwilling to do? If not, I will return the item as its unfit for the purpose. "

they then replied again

"no, your Spyder2express is different in firmware compared to SpyderTV sensors or the newer Spyder3TV sensors."

Sound like rubbish as is usual from customer services these days?

That is rubbish since most monitors are in fact LCD. So are they unwilling to have a look at it and recalibrate it for you? Point out to them that there is a thread on here about this and they would get bad rep if they are unhelpful over this.

[Martin J.]

I bought a Spyder3 Elite for my PC monitors and it was miles off. Their support staff (in Swizerland, not the USA or UK) were actually really helpful, they replaced the unit for one that they knew was accurate.

Therefore I'd suggest the manufacturing tolerances are all over the shop; if you get a good one then it should be fine for general LCD TV calibration, but there's no way of knowing that without a good eye or a benchmark.

[Mike RB]

After speaking to tech support and them saying they won't help as its not for LCD TVs, I contacted Amazon who said no to replacing the device.

After pointing out the sales of goods act, they promptly replaced the unit.

This one seems better and more comparable to other peoples settings.