Monitor Calibration Systems and you!

Doh! I didn't even think about checking Newegg. I got mine from Amazon since I had a coupon. :p
 
Amazon's price is $62.99 with free super saver shipping. Still a good deal I guess.
 
Hm, $59.95 from Adorama Camera via Amazon, weird. Then again I live in Delaware. sup no taxes.

Anyways (don't want to derail playing price-tag :eek: ), unfortunately I haven't been able to get a Spyder2 or a Eye-One through work because a money flux occurred so I had to hold off on upgrading my graphics monitor and the tool to calibrate it.

I guess you can call me sneaky but then again I make graphics for them at home too. :D

I want my dark-dark greys to appear a bit more but I cannot bother to try and go through steps to fix it... ...maybe soon...
 
zigaroo said:
Hm, $59.95 from Adorama Camera via Amazon, weird. Then again I live in Delaware. sup no taxes.

Anyways (don't want to derail playing price-tag :eek: ), unfortunately I haven't been able to get a Spyder2 or a Eye-One through work because a money flux occurred so I had to hold off on upgrading my graphics monitor and the tool to calibrate it.

I guess you can call me sneaky but then again I make graphics for them at home too. :D

I want my dark-dark greys to appear a bit more but I cannot bother to try and go through steps to fix it... ...maybe soon...
Click to expand...

Let us know how things go and which product you finally decide to purchase.
 
joemama said:
I had the same problem when I tried to monkey around with it a couple days ago...I thought I was simply not doing something right and with no guide/instructions I couldn't figure out exactly what that was.
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well i was able to find the updated software on the colorvision site, installed, and now the problems are gone, it works great with no problems:)
 
Opus007 said:
I agree that there is little or no support. Colorvisions support page is useless.I bought this 3 days ago and it sits in its box doing nothing.I was under the impression that this would calibrate my lcd and load a profile.And yes the instructions are confusing and of very little help.After installing the drivers I rebooted and on reboot Spyder2 tells me no color profiles loaded .At this point I havent even plugged the usb sensor in.So I plug it in and xp recogonizes the usb sensor.I start the program and get a error....I click next after clicking ok and get a new page with a new error that the meter is not sensing.I click ok and get to where you put the meter on the screen and go through the color process.At the end it says color profile has been loaded .But there is no change.I reboot...Colorvision tells me color profile loaded but there is no change????? My desktop is still the same no changes in color or anything.I look in my color profiles and find a spyder2 profile ....so now what ???am I supposed to do something with it ???? I know what I would like to do with it and this piece of junk Spyder2....cant return it as from newegg and no return on this...Sure am not going to make a international call for tech support which looks to also be useless.I have also loaded the spyder2 profile in color management and made it defualt...no change.I did a complete reinstall of xp all latest greatest drivers for my Nvidia 9700 gt sli....no change...bios uptodate...all xp updates ...no change.
Anyone got any ideas ?????????
Click to expand...

you're doing something wrong, just install the software. if it tells you it cant find the sensor, just click next, trust me, it recognizes it even though it says it doesnt.
You HAVE to RESET your monitor to the factory settings FIRST before you calibrate, its a must or you wont get good results.
i got sweet results with mine, for the record:)
 
Im about to pick up the Spyder2Express. Will it show a noticable improvement in games after calibration? Someone posted some pictures of CS:S before and after using the Pantone Huey and the difference was huge. (I think it was in the x22wg sceptre thread)
 
Strategy said:
Im about to pick up the Spyder2Express. Will it show a noticable improvement in games after calibration? Someone posted some pictures of CS:S before and after using the Pantone Huey and the difference was huge. (I think it was in the x22wg sceptre thread)
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I noticed some colors in BF2142 that I hadn't seen before I calibrated with the Spyder2Express, It's definitely worth it as BF2142 is a dully colored game anyways. If the Future is that miserable looking, I'm glad I don't have to live that long.
 
Sinister Crayon said:
I noticed some colors in BF2142 that I hadn't seen before I calibrated with the Spyder2Express, It's definitely worth it as BF2142 is a dully colored game anyways. If the Future is that miserable looking, I'm glad I don't have to live that long.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the confirmation
 
Ok I just got my spyder tonight and calibrated my screen. The before/after difference was HUGE but for some reason whenever I load my games windows or my ATI drivers seem to use their own color profile, any way to disable this?

edit: guess i shold rephrase this "whenever I load SOME games"
 
Strategy said:
Ok I just got my spyder tonight and calibrated my screen. The before/after difference was HUGE but for some reason whenever I load my games windows or my ATI drivers seem to use their own color profile, any way to disable this?
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Under ccc, Color (using the advance view) there should be a button to disable ATI Color Control. I am not 100% sure because mine reads Re-activate ATI Color control. I don't want to press it because that means I need to re-calibrate again.
 
Hmmm Im not using CCC, im using ATI Tray tools, The only game that seems to NOT use the windows profile is CS:S. Titan Quest and BF2142 both use it...strange.
 
Strategy said:
Hmmm Im not using CCC, im using ATI Tray tools, The only game that seems to NOT use the windows profile is CS:S. Titan Quest and BF2142 both use it...strange.
Click to expand...

Hmm, that's odd I am not a big CS:S player so I don't know all the codes.
Maybe if you ask your question here they might be able to help you
 
Actually I am not sure where I read this , whether here or on AVS, But from what I understand the calibration profile from these devices will Only work in a 2D windows environment like photoshop /web browsing and such, when you switch to a 3D game the color profile is not active. From my understanding the only way to get Calibrated results in games is if all the calibration is done to the monitor itself ( As in separate RGB adjustments for brightness/contrast and Hue) . This is one of the big reasons I was holding out on some of these calibration systems until a piece of software just allows measurements of color values and you play around with the separate RGB controls in your monitor to get a perfect colors , specifically maybe a DVD image so that people hooking up an xbox 360 or other consoles to their monitors can calibrate that port as well just like a TV. This also apparently is the case with movies since they are rendering as overlays , perhaps when Direct X is active in games we lose the profile?

I tested this by making a profile ( using software , no colorimeter yet) specifically with messed up colors in windows , and switching to a 3d game gets the colors back to normal in game , while exiting to windows the profile is loaded again and gets messed up colors ( same with movie playback). Now the calibration systems do help people a bit since you end up adjusting brightness and contrast on your monitor to a better level , allowing those perceived improvements in games, but in reality the colors are not calibrated , I suggest people try this themselves and share their experiences.
 
Pretty much anything (famous last words) above the level of a Spyder 2 Express or a Pantone Huey allows adjusting the monitor itself.
 
Well my colorprofile works just fine in most games and i can see the difference as soon as I load them, just one game I have right now (CS:S) is not using it.
 
I noticed that my color profile seems to disable in most of my games, if not all. However my 2405 was already pretty close from manual tweaking, just a bit red heavy.
 
Is it worth buying a Spyder2 Express even if I'm not buying it for comparison of monitor color to print color? I'm not a graphics person but I do want colour accuracy on my monitor in the sense that, for example, on sites I want to see the colours as they're meant to be seen. Like say on Newegg the orange bars at the top seem overly bright (sorta neon-like) to me. So is it overkill to buy a S2 Express when I'm not doing any sort of print work? I do game though but from rawashdeh's post above I'm not so sure I should buy it now..
 
feo said:
Is it worth buying a Spyder2 Express even if I'm not buying it for comparison of monitor color to print color? I'm not a graphics person but I do want colour accuracy on my monitor in the sense that, for example, on sites I want to see the colours as they're meant to be seen. Like say on Newegg the orange bars at the top seem overly bright (sorta neon-like) to me. So is it overkill to buy a S2 Express when I'm not doing any sort of print work? I do game though but from rawashdeh's post above I'm not so sure I should buy it now..
Click to expand...

It's worth it to me, I really like the way everything looks when it's properly calibrated.
 
Strategy said:
Well my colorprofile works just fine in most games and i can see the difference as soon as I load them, just one game I have right now (CS:S) is not using it.
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Hey strategy , would you mind mentioning which games seem to still work with the color profile and which calibrator you are using? It would be very interesting to learn that there are some games that can actually use the profile , It definitely would help me get a calibrator soon :D . Also do you seem to notice that the profile works in movies for you? ( whether dvd's or Divx/xvid files?).

This might be asking too much but if you don't mind loading a messed up profile to test that as well that would be awesome , as then we can start having a list of games that definitely seem to benefit from calibration on a budget.
 
I'm using the Spyder2Express

Games that work:
BF 2142
Titan Quest
C&C3
Oblivion

Games that don't:
CS:S (If I run this in window mode it uses the calibrated profile)


UPDATE: After doing some more testing the profile works in all my games except CS:S and only stops working if I ALT+TAB out of the game.


DVD's and .avi's also use the profile.
 
Cabezone said:
I noticed that my color profile seems to disable in most of my games, if not all. However my 2405 was already pretty close from manual tweaking, just a bit red heavy.
Click to expand...

most icc profile store on display card LUT,and most game ignore the LUT,and when video player use overlay ,it ignore the LUT too....
if you want all screen use your profile..buy a internal LUT monitor
 
any tips to try to make 2 monitors look the same? I have a macbook and a 17" samsung (5 years old) and i just got the Spyder 2 Suite.
 
Anyone know how to disable (Spyder2 Express) that popup message at startup reminding to recalibrate since it has been xxx amount of time since last calibration?
 
IsLNdbOi said:
Anyone know how to disable (Spyder2 Express) that popup message at startup reminding to recalibrate since it has been xxx amount of time since last calibration?
Click to expand...

I don't know how to do it afterwards, but when I calibrated it the first time it asked.
 
IsLNdbOi said:
Anyone know how to disable (Spyder2 Express) that popup message at startup reminding to recalibrate since it has been xxx amount of time since last calibration?
Click to expand...

there should be an option when you load up the ColorVision software and go to the menu at the top. That's pretty much the only option available asking you how often you want reminding. You may also find there's a program in your startup folder to load aspects of the software
 
IsLNdbOi said:
Anyone know how to disable (Spyder2 Express) that popup message at startup reminding to recalibrate since it has been xxx amount of time since last calibration?
Click to expand...
Start>run>msconfig>startup>uncheck "colorvision startup"

edit- if you have the Spyder2 profile set as default then it should still load even with this option disabled...if not then just delete any profiles other than that one.
 
Hi,
I recently bought a BenQ 241FPW, and I would like to calibrate it with the Spyder2Express. I don't do any photo editing, I just mainly use it to web surf and watch movies. Do you think it would be worth the purchase/make that big a difference for surfing and watching movies? Did I read correctly that the color profile Sypder creates is only usable in Windows? I ask this because I will be hooking up a HD-DVD player and was hoping that the Spyder would be able to correctly calibrate the monitor for that.

Thanks
 
For what you're using your monitor, and the price you paid -- I wouldn't spend another $200 for calibration....
 
theclipper said:
Hi,
I recently bought a BenQ 241FPW, and I would like to calibrate it with the Spyder2Express. I don't do any photo editing, I just mainly use it to web surf and watch movies. Do you think it would be worth the purchase/make that big a difference for surfing and watching movies? Did I read correctly that the color profile Sypder creates is only usable in Windows? I ask this because I will be hooking up a HD-DVD player and was hoping that the Spyder would be able to correctly calibrate the monitor for that.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I would if you watch movies with it. It comes in handy to have a good calibration tool to properly adjust your black levels if anything else. Doing it by eye is a tricky thing and you have to know what to look for. Besides that you are going to get overall better color,etc with a good calibration program. I am not sure how well the express will work because I use the next model up. You get what you pay for.
 
Question:

I am getting a new 26" LCD tomorrow (Planar).

I have to admit, I bumped into this forum just a short time ago, and simply DON'T HAVE THE TIME YET TO READ IT THRU -- WHICH I WILL LATER, I PROMISE....

But for now...

Before getting my calibration system --- does it need to KNOW the monitor to do the job? Or can it calibrate ANY monitor, even a brand new model?

ALSO: Which of the 2 would you suggest, Spyder 2 or Eye-One Display 2, both just under $200. I tend to go for the second one and that's what I ordered for now (can still cancel it easy)... Thanks!
 
Eastcoasthandle said:
I would if you watch movies with it. It comes in handy to have a good calibration tool to properly adjust your black levels if anything else. Doing it by eye is a tricky thing and you have to know what to look for. Besides that you are going to get overall better color,etc with a good calibration program. I am not sure how well the express will work because I use the next model up. You get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, I'm pretty sure I will be getting it. But do you know if the changes will actually stay in place when I hook up the DVD player to it? I've read the settings only stay in place when using windows.

Thanks
 
amikoenig said:
Question:

I am getting a new 26" LCD tomorrow (Planar).

I have to admit, I bumped into this forum just a short time ago, and simply DON'T HAVE THE TIME YET TO READ IT THRU -- WHICH I WILL LATER, I PROMISE....

But for now...

Before getting my calibration system --- does it need to KNOW the monitor to do the job? Or can it calibrate ANY monitor, even a brand new model?

ALSO: Which of the 2 would you suggest, Spyder 2 or Eye-One Display 2, both just under $200. I tend to go for the second one and that's what I ordered for now (can still cancel it easy)... Thanks!
Click to expand...
Those brands should be able to handle most (if not all) LCD monitors. However, I cannot really give a absolute answer. Questions like that should be directed at that company,
I have found that Spyder 2 Suite an excellent monitor calibration system to use. There is a slight learning curve though when it comes to adjusting the red/blue/green using your on screen display. Once you get that nailed down you are pretty much set.
 
theclipper said:
Thanks for the reply, I'm pretty sure I will be getting it. But do you know if the changes will actually stay in place when I hook up the DVD player to it? I've read the settings only stay in place when using windows.

Thanks
Click to expand...
It should as you should be creating a monitor profile as well as make adjustments to the red/blue/green on your on screen display. However, please be advised I am not sure if the express has the on screen adjustments. I do know that the Spyder 2 Suite does.
 
I'm 99.99% certain (going by reviews) that the express doesn't offer pre-calibration of the monitor itself. It's purely done by colour profiles (pretty sure the Huey is the same). You need to go a step up to get that.

re: amikoenig
Tests seem to show the Eye-One Display 2 as being more accurate than the Spyder 2. Stick with it.
 
DefineByte said:
I'm 99.99% certain (going by reviews) that the express doesn't offer pre-calibration of the monitor itself. It's purely done by colour profiles (pretty sure the Huey is the same). You need to go a step up to get that.

re: amikoenig
Tests seem to show the Eye-One Display 2 as being more accurate than the Spyder 2. Stick with it.
Click to expand...

So if I am going to be watching a lot of DVDs via a separate player, i.e. not on the computer, do you think it would be worth it to upgrade to the suite version, or is it really not going to make that much of an obvious difference anyhow?

Thanks
 
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