SpyderTV Walk-Through and Calibration

Everyone has probably walked into a mass-market consumer electronics store and been dazzled by the array of high definition television sets lined up like cattle. If you've kept a watchful eye open, you've probably also noticed that they all had differing color tones and varying levels of brightness. M any television units ship from the manufacture calibrated for one purpose: impress people walking around under florescent lighting and grab their attention. High definition television sets capable of impeccable color accuracy and black levels are consistently gained up from the factory floor to present a virtual "Buy M E!" sign which blazes forth from the set like a torch to attract the insectile consumers buzzing by. So what's the problem 舑 if it looks good in the store...? The trouble is, most consumers don't have florescent lighting in their homes, and their goal (hopefully) isn't to use the contrast of their HDTVs to lure their neighbors from across the street. In fact, sit down long enough, and some televisions will really take a toll on your eyes (something that rarely has time to manifest in a store environment).

Enter Datacolor who, until July of 2004, dealt primarily with professional computer display calibration tools and software. Last year, however, they acquired M ilori, Inc, a company specializing in the calibration of consumer electronics and maker of the famous ColorFacts Pro software used here at Audioholics. It was seemingly a marriage made in heaven and SpyderTV is the first consumer-targeted television calibration tool to hit the market that we are aware of. Considering the average price of an HDTV set falls between $1500 and $2500, I think the price is on-target for consumers looking to get improved performance (and life) out of their displays.

In the Box

Datacolor's SpyderTV includes the "Spyder" colorimeter which measures levels of red, green and blue emanating from direct view and rear projection televisions. It also comes with software, a Quick Start Guide, suction cup/tripod adapter, and a DVD that contains a complete tutorial/walk-through as well as test patterns which work on both 16:9 (widescreen) and 4:3 (standard aspect ratio) televisions. All you need to use the SpyderTV system is a television, DVD player, remotes and a PC or laptop (preferred) running Windows XP or 2000.

DVD Walk-Through and Tutorial

The DVD has 6 chapters under the "How to use SpyderTV" section for the disc, including a complete overview of the SpyderTV system. It goes over topics from verifying you have everything you need to get started, to walking users through the reasons behind television calibration. It completely and thoroughly steps you through the process required to use SpyderTV, including locating the television controls and understanding how to designate the methods your TV uses to make picture and color adjustments. It then goes over setup and launching of the software as well as how to attach the Spyder colorimeter to the television set.

The fifth chapter of the tutorial section of the DVD explains how to use the 7 test patterns located on the disc. It also makes mention of the "Before and After" images that are included and which allow you to really see the practical results of the SpyderTV calibration.

The final DVD tutorial section, "Chapter 6: Guided Set-Up", contains a semi-complete walk-through of a calibration session. I found the entire tutorial (all six chapters) to be extremely informative and thorough. It's important to note that the disc also contains some additional test patterns which are available to users who wish to check sharpness or other common controls found on most televisions. The software does not directly interface with these controls except to point out what they are and the patterns which can be used to make adjustments.

The Calibration Process

After installing the software and letting Windows XP install drivers for the Spyder colorimeter, I proceeded to launch the application and undergo the full SpyderTV calibration process. Under the first section, "Record Your Settings" I entered the basic settings for the television, including current, minimum and maximum values for black level (brightness), white level (contrast), tint, saturation and color temperature. You can also edit the color temperature choices to more exactly reflect the ones on your set (high, medium, low vs. cool, medium, warm). If your television set does not have a particular parameter or function, you can simply uncheck the box next to that feature and SpyderTV will gray it out and eliminate it from the testing.

To go through the testing and calibration process you merely select the test pattern on the DVD and then tell the application to take a reading. You do this for all of the settings and follow the instructions on the PC or laptop. The basic order of the testing process is:

• Initial readings of settings (Brightness & Contrast)
• Color Temperature
• Black Level (Brightness)
• White Level (Contrast)
• Saturation (Color)
• Tint
• Evaluation and Reporting

Throughout the testing process, SpyderTV is attempting to understand the minimum and maximum values and settings before making adjustments. In this way, it goes back and forth to arrive at what it feels is the best setting for the particular parameter. Each setting goes through about 7 steps to accomplish this, two max extreme setting evaluations and a 5-step ping-pong approach to narrow the gap down to the ideal value.

During the Black Level test I noticed that the software seemed not to realize it was asking for the same setting twice. As I mentioned, it typically takes a maximum, minimum and middle reading, followed by various readings at recommended points in between as it zeroes in on the optimal value. I found the unit asking for a measurement at "0" (its recommendation) directly following a previous "0" measurement... This actually happened 4 times in a row (requiring 4 measurements of the same parameter) before the system moved on. At one point the system was even prompted to ask me if I was making the requested changes. After consulting with M ark Hunter of Datacolor I was made aware that due to certain conditions, such as a plasma TV that suffers from temporary burn-in or a television set that hasn't sufficiently warmed up, the system will make repeated adjustments at times in order to ensure that a set is ready to move forward. It is possible that perhaps the unusual nature of this LCD television's black levels caused the issue.