Hi all!

I've been reading around here for a little bit. I bought a Mitsubishi HD1000U projector and it looks real good, but I wanted to see if it could get better, plus I have a lot of friends who could benefit from me being able to calibrate their sets also. So I bought the SpyderTV Pro and I've never done anything like this before. It looks real easy, but before I waste time or think I have done it the best it can calibrated I wanted to see if someone could give me some pointers on it.

For projectors what placement of the camera gives you best the results? I have a light gray screen. The instructions say 12 to 16 inches in the dead center. Is this usually the most optimal place to put it?

Does anyone have any tips in general to make the result easiest or better?

Does anyone have any tips on adjusting the model projector I have with SpyderTV Pro?

Thanks! I'm stating to get the hang of this home theater thing and I really like it a lot!

-Mandy

Mandy -- Check out this thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=572098. Ursa is one of our experts. BTW, its a sensor and not a "camera", and you have to position it (on a tripod) below the center of the screen and aimed upwards at screen center (otherwise the sensor wiil create a shadow on the area you want to measure). You can also place the sensor about a foot or two in front of the PJ lens, aimed at the PJ (to measure the output directly). There are other measurement tool options too (which can be less prone to errors than the Spyder products). The GMB (Getrag Macbeth) Eye-One LT/DT or Pro versions (same price range as the Spyder products. There are also other software tools (other than the ones supplied with SpyderTV Pro) like CalMAN and the free HCFR stuff which can be used with any of these sensors.

One thread on the Display LT (the Eye-One Display LT - the lowest cost version) can be found here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=810535. derekjsmith and Bear5k are two of the AVS members that are invloved in the CalMAN project. Derek has done a lot of testing of the Spyder and Eye-One Display devices and their relative accuracies (the Spyder sensors are a little inaccurate at low light levels). They have provided some very good information on a number of threads. Here is another thread: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=808663.

There is nothing wrong with jumping in the deep end, but it can be very dauntilng, unless you are somewhat familiar with calibration in general (and are technically inclined).

Rather than spending a lot of money, up front, on a colorimeter type of measurment tool, you might want to buy a calibration DVD and get used to doing the adjustments. This won't be quite as good as a measurement device, like the SpyderTV Pro, but it is a lot easier to use, if you've never done calibration before. I own both AVIA and DVE (non-pro consumer versions) but I prefer the GetGray Caldisc (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=7178409&&#post7178409). It's more accurate and both easier and quicker to use (I wrote the instructions (see the "ReadMe" PDF file on the www.calibrate.tv web page.

Is the SpyderTV Pro v7 with the new Spyder2 Platinum meter?

Ursa is one of our experts.
[..]
derekjsmith and Bear5k are two of the AVS members that are invloved in the CalMAN project.
One should note that Bear5K started posting right at the same time that Ursa achieved his 5,000th post. Those that know both of them say that they are both strikingly handsome, but irritatingly hard to tell apart when they are in the same room.

One would note that the calibration charts that Ursa has posted in the SpyderTV review are curiously similar to what Bear5K and derekjsmith include in the CalMAN package. Of course, only Bear5K has a commercial interest in CalMAN. Ursa is apparently off fishing for salmon or hibernating or practicing his latin grammar or some such. ;)

Bill

For projectors what placement of the camera gives you best the results? I have a light gray screen. The instructions say 12 to 16 inches in the dead center. Is this usually the most optimal place to put it?


If you read my, er, um, Ursa's calibration guide (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=618182), you will see some information on the theory behind calibration. In the appendix of the version we bundle with CalMAN, there is some information on aiming a Spyder using a front projector. I found that I got better results pointing the meter upwards at a 45 degree angle, with the meter about a third of the way up the screen mounted on a tripod. YMMV and I do not speak for Colorvision, etc.

Bill

Oops :eek:. I forgot that your old AVS member name was ursa. I keep getting ursa (you) mixed up with umr, especially when get tired and "my computer gets a serious case of dyslexia" (and they do both start with "u" :rolleyes: ). I'm glad you guys have a good sense of humor :D. We'd be lost without it.

Thanks for the correction Bill. I didn't quite remember the recommended setup.

EDIT: I did want to point Mandy to the Eye-One Display LT/2 as a, possible, better alternative to the Spyder products for PJ calibration. That is still true, isn't it?

EDIT: I did want to point Mandy to the Eye-One Display LT/2 as a, possible, better alternative to the Spyder products for PJ calibration. That is still true, isn't it?
We've got a Spyder Platinum in-house and are testing that now. For the general Spyder2 line-up, yes, I would recommend the D2/LT over the Spyder for Home Theater use. You linked to threads showing some of the questions/concerns over performance with plasmas, and that would be the caveat to the recommendation. However, if the OP has already purchased the STV Pro, then the question is more of how to get the best use out of it? As a curiosity, Derek and I would both wonder which flavor did he get: normal Spyder or Platinum Spyder?


Bill

Hi all!

I've been reading around here for a little bit. I bought a Mitsubishi HD1000U projector and it looks real good, but I wanted to see if it could get better, plus I have a lot of friends who could benefit from me being able to calibrate their sets also. So I bought the SpyderTV Pro and I've never done anything like this before. It looks real easy, but before I waste time or think I have done it the best it can calibrated I wanted to see if someone could give me some pointers on it.

For projectors what placement of the camera gives you best the results? I have a light gray screen. The instructions say 12 to 16 inches in the dead center. Is this usually the most optimal place to put it?

Does anyone have any tips in general to make the result easiest or better?

Does anyone have any tips on adjusting the model projector I have with SpyderTV Pro?

Thanks! I'm stating to get the hang of this home theater thing and I really like it a lot!

-Mandy

I've used the SpyderTV Pro you've purchased successfully with both Sony Ruby and Sanyo Z5 at home. I'm not a calibrator so I've not attempted as yet to go beyond what ColorVision has provided (I'm planning to give HCFR a try real soon).
I'd stay with their recommendation of placing the probe near the center of the screen at about a foot to 1 1/2 feet as you indicated. Apparently their design point is to receive light outside the shadow which may be created. To give you an idea of my setup, the Ruby is almost at dead center of my 100" diag Firehawk. The Sanyo is a foot below the Ruby (I use the Sanyo for non-critical, e.g. talking heads and other SD type viewing, leaving the Ruby to handle HighDef or quality DVD sources). I've used the SpyderTV software/hardware combo numerous times and it's produced consistent results.

I'm not familiar with your Mits but beyond the normal controls, I've simply used the Cuts/Gains or whatever Mits would call these to get the gray scale looking good. Since it appears that only two IRE levels are used via the software (I'm guessing maybe 20% and 80%) it is attempting to get the broadest range of performance from most projectors given the capabilities of the sensor and the wide variance of real capabilites of projectors out today (and of course the potential for some ambiant light mitigating things somewhat).

Use the software in an iterative fashion to get the optimal gray scale. You might want to go back a few times making adjustments. Also, be sure to have the source DVD player and display on for 20+ minutes each to get to a stable situation.

Good luck!

All I can say is that Spyder2TV Pro is a waste of $ for the price vs what can be done with the sensor and HCFR.

Needless to say the TV Pro package is going back and I already bought the Express sensor.

Now my big problem the HD1000U locks out the Color/Tint options in HDMI, and only displays Color in NTSC signals (I've tested both NTSC Avia and the PAL HCFR disk), and I think it may mean only 480i signals?

Anyways, my CIE graph and real time measurements show I am way off in Red, Blue and Green are close, but still beyond the Delta 4 threshold.

I tried a brand new calibration focusing only on primaries first, and I could not do anything with the other options (Custom Color temp which are my RGB cuts-gains, Gamma, or bright/contrast) that would get it close. I think I need to find the service menu. Since is related more to the actual device I'm starting a new thread, but anyone who can provide some insight on this with the HD1000U, please do!

Thank you!