Datacolor Spyder TV

Setting up the perfect home theatre system involves a lot more than just plugging everything in and turning it on. The Spyder TV is therefore an easy way for enthusiasts to set up their televisions correctly.

TVs sold on the high street usually have the picture settings pre-set to attract the eye in the typical brightly-lit showroom. They’ll be over-bright and have the colour ramped up, all of which means in a normal domestic setting they’ll look truly awful.

Most people will play around a bit until they hit on settings they like, or even use a test pattern such as those found on THX-certified DVD videos, but to get professional consistent results you need a colorimeter that measures the signal coming out of the screen.

This is exactly what the Spyder TV does. In the box you get the distinctive 3-footed USB1.1 colorimeter with a suction cup and a 2m lead, the calibration software and two DVDs with appropriate test patterns for Pal/Secam and NTSC TVs.

There’s also an adapter for the colorimeter to allow it to sit flat on curved CRT TV screens, plus a tripod adapter. It can be used with any type of TV, even rear projection models.

The software is wizard driven and very easy to use - just follow the clear steps and in about 30 minutes you’ll have your TV optimised.

The clear printed manual explains how to cope with different styles of on-screen display controls - manual test patterns are also provided. Settings and results for multiple TVs are recorded in a database for reference.

The only major annoyances are that the interface isn’t resizable and requires a minimum 1,024 x 768 display. The 2m USB lead is also a bit short if you don’t have a laptop or your PC’s not near the TV.

Apart from that, it’s a great product if you’re serious about home entertainment.

See also:

Pantone Huey

Low cost colour calibration tool for your monitor with ambient light sensor  18 Jan 2006

Spyder Pro and Printfix

Impressive colour calibration results and a must for professionals.  06 May 2004

Hands On - Graphics & DTP - True colours

Ken McMahon solves the age-old problem of printed colours being completely at odds with their on-screen versions. Colour management systems are the answer to the perfect match.  02 Apr 1998

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