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Quote:
Originally Posted by topspeed
Ummm...What happened to the Spyder?
I have not pressed TT for it but I have sent him my mailing address via a PM.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by westcott
I have not pressed TT for it but I have sent him my mailing address via a PM.
Wholly Crap!!! How did I miss this thread? I must have been in Florida on Vacation that week. Damn.
That ed is some kind of member....kudos to him.
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Kexo,
You certainly must have been gone that week. I called you out in the first post, along with a bunch of other unusual suspects, to see what you thought of the idea. Funny you should say "that ed." My in-laws used to refer to me that way before I joined the family. Now it's become something of a running joke.
Ed
By the way, this thing has taken on such a life of its own that I didn't think to find out whether Wescott had received the Spyder yet. Evidently not. Sir TT, watch out. I think Speedy's after you.
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Well Ed, I have to give you props...that was awefully generous of you. I haven't read the whole thread, but if it's still in one piece after everyone gets a crack at it, or it makes a tour of Canada, lemme know...
Dunno how it'll work with all them postage stamps stuck to it...
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I was definitely thinking about a run to Canada, but, no offense, the mail service between our two countries ain't that great. If you think we can work it out, give me a holler.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edtyct
I was definitely thinking about a run to Canada, but, no offense, the mail service between our two countries ain't that great. If you think we can work it out, give me a holler.
LOL...tell me about it...
It all depends how you ship it, how big it is, how much it weighs, etc....There are options. Bouncing back and forth across the 49th parallel with families on both sides, well, you learn a few things...
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Only for my own negligence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by edtyct
Sir TT, watch out. I think Speedy's after you.
I inadvertently left my anchoring bolt for my tripod attached to the Spyder when I shipped it. Tman thankfully found it, but I kinda would like it back :rolleyes:.
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I had visions of you chasing SirTT down the street, sticks in hand, waiting to beat him silly like one of Sandy Nelson's tom toms. Wrong again. Sorry, SirTT, no offense.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edtyct
I had visions of you chasing SirTT down the street, sticks in hand, waiting to beat him silly like one of Sandy Nelson's tom toms. Wrong again. Sorry, SirTT, no offense.
No way, Ed. Sandy probably played with 7A's, Sir T deserves something with some meat to it, like this Vater 3S.
http://www.vater.com/newproducts/imagelarge/3s.jpg
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The 3Ss are good. It's amazing how much abuse Terrence is willing to take without retaliating. Is he mobilizing, or does he actually have a life?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by edtyct
The 3Ss are good. It's amazing how much abuse Terrence is willing to take without retaliating. Is he mobilizing, or does he actually have a life?
I am too tired and jet lagged to respond adequately to all of this abuse. However, when I get home and ship off speedy's piece, and Westcott the spydar and get me some rest, beware of the smart bombs aimed at all of you guys houses :devil: LOL
There was such a huge lag in response after I finished with the Spydar that I didn't get the chance to ship it off before I got on the road again. ABC has me playing their version of the great race at this moment.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
Hey all,
After dealing with a rollout deadline that was moved up one month, and a tragic death in my family, I have finally finished with the spydar.
Just a quick word on how I worked with it. It was absolutely no help on my reference system, as it was calibrated using a much more sophisticated measuring device than the spydar is. So I tried it on my 55" analog television in what I call studio A, my old bedroom that is being converted to house a smaller hometheater. It has two component video inputs with each input having the ability to be independently calibrated. I used two identical DVD players hooked to these inputs.
I calibrated one input using video essentials, the other using the spydar. Before making any calibrations I adjusted the convergence. I will share my results when I finish writing them up.
Who is next in line? Thanks for your patience, especially you Ed.
I almost forgot to post my results. As I stated above I first adjusted the convergence using the set internal convergence whick is a 64 point system. I made sure I left the television on for at least 8 hours before doing anything.. I calibrate input A with video essentials, and input B with the spydar. I used two of the same model DVD player to accomplish this, and do a playback comparison.
The spydar was relatively easy to use, and I had no problem installing the software on my laptop which is loaded full of audio and video test signals. The suction cups stuck to my television screen just fine, and stayed in place throughout the entire calibration process.
The calibration process itself did have some glitches with the spydar giving me one set of values on contrast, and then a completely different set when I repeated the task. Eventually I got everything lined up, and everything looked quite good.
I then calibrated the set with video essentials which I have used so many times, that it is just nothing.
Using the split screen, two copies of The Incredibles, and a syncmaster by grass valley to line up both feeds to the television, the difference between the two calibrations was almost minimal. I thought the black levels of the video essentials calibration to be a little more black. However I thought the colors look just a bit more vivid but not pushed with the spydar side. Both did exceptionally well at making the television look its best.
My conclusion would be the spyday doesn't make much economic sense to me. If I can go out and purchase a DVD for $20 that can do the same job as a $249 calibrating machine, then the machine doesn't make much sense. However, the equipment geek in me will probably buy the spydar pro model that is currently out because I like using equipment to calibrate things, as opposed to the DVD.
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Good report Sir TT.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
My conclusion would be the spyday doesn't make much economic sense to me. If I can go out and purchase a DVD for $20 that can do the same job as a $249 calibrating machine, then the machine doesn't make much sense.
If calibration is only limited to On-Screen adjustments (Cont, Color, etc..), then it is not really hard to zero in adjustments. And $20 DVD can probably do as good job as a $249 calibrating machine. Even “eyeing” it (without calibrations disc) can bring on screen adjustments into ball park :)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir Terrence the Terrible
Using the split screen, two copies of The Incredibles, and a syncmaster by grass valley to line up both feeds to the television, the difference between the two calibrations was almost minimal. I thought the black levels of the video essentials calibration to be a little more black. However I thought the colors look just a bit more vivid but not pushed with the spydar side. Both did exceptionally well at making the television look its best.
My conclusion would be the spyday doesn't make much economic sense to me. If I can go out and purchase a DVD for $20 that can do the same job as a $249 calibrating machine, then the machine doesn't make much sense. However, the equipment geek in me will probably buy the spydar pro model that is currently out because I like using equipment to calibrate things, as opposed to the DVD.
This was the same conclusion I came up with. I was able to toggle back and forth between my DVE calibration and Spyder cal. and although I have to give the Spyder a huge plus for ease of use, I felt you can get very close with a cal. disc and some patience.
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Excellent report all right. But Sir TT constitutes a small, and rather nonrepresentative, sample. One experiment that I'd like to see done is to have a group of people, with a little bit of background training, brought into a room and asked individually to calibrate a display as well as possible using only the user controls. Each such calibration would then be tested against a calibration performed with a test disk. I'm not so confident that the man on the street's blind results (or almost anyone's for that matter), even when informed by a modicum of interest in such things, would achieve what can be done with a test disk. Now, if you extend the sample to the larger population of people who might want to maximize performance (without breaking the bank) but feel uncomfortable with an arcane test disk, then you can see why the Spyder might have some value, assuming that it works as advertised. The Spyder can serve as a great tool for consciousness raising, not necessarily something that the stalwarts from a site like this one need, but certainly of benefit outside the realm of the enthusiast, and not necessarily misplaced with enthusiasts either.
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Westcott,
The spydar is coming your way. My assistant sent it USPS ground, however I am not sure when it will arrive. I'll have to get more info when I get back to my home station.
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Westcott, pm me your address. I've got a piece of the Spyder that was sent to me accidentally. I'll ship it out ASAP.
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Sir T's great analysis notwithstanding, I'm still drooling over the prospect of giving this thing a whirl...Curiosity is getting the best of me.
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Since Sir TT brought up the pro-grade Spyder, I thought I'd post information that Charle-John Cafiero of Datacolor just sent me:
SpyderTV PRO<SUP style="FONT-SIZE: 8px">TM</SUP> - professional installers' only all-in-one hardware/software tool designed to calibrate color in home theater displays, computer monitors and front projectors quickly with exceptional accuracy and ease at a breakthrough price.
For more information on the all-new SpyderTV PRO, click here for PDF news release. http://www.datacolor.com/emails/images/stv.jpg
Datacolor ISFC3 Toolkit<SUP style="FONT-SIZE: 8px">TM</SUP> - the latest product for high-end videophiles, custom design specialists and manufacturers that's thoroughly integrated with the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) Certified Calibration Controls (C3) functionality. Leading manufacturers like Pioneer embrace this exceptional proprietary tool to facilitate ISF display calibration; Datacolor ISFC3 Toolkit is now, embedded into the Pioneer Elite<SUP style="FONT-SIZE: 8px">TM</SUP> PureVision plasma televisions.
For more information on Datacolor ISFC3 Toolkit, click here for PDF news release.
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I have to hoist this baby back up to find out whether old Westcott is still with us. We have a couple more new takers, including Kexo in Canada, to accommodate. And I don't know whether the early enlisters who have yet to get their hands on the Spyder are still around. Any and all updates much appreciated.
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I e-mailed Westcott but got no response. Has Sir T even sent it out yet? If not, let's send it to Kex.
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If Sir T's assistant was prepared to send it out a month ago, it probably shipped by now. But we should try to get a confirmation from him. If he hasn't, and Westcott went AWOL, we should get on with it. Without checking, I believe that someone from N. or S. Dakota and someone from Maryland was ahead of Kex, but they may no longer be with us either.
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Hmmm
Quote:
Originally Posted by edtyct
If Sir T's assistant was prepared to send it out a month ago, it probably shipped by now. But we should try to get a confirmation from him. If he hasn't, and Westcott went AWOL, we should get on with it. Without checking, I believe that someone from N. or S. Dakota and someone from Maryland was ahead of Kex, but they may no longer be with us either.
I'm still in. Just let me know when.
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oh, we gotta let Hmmm have it first...he's good people...
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I sent it out a while ago. I have decided that the gearhead in me wants that Datacolor pro model. I think I'll order it next week.
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