Spyder 2 projector placement?

Didn't know that Spyder 2 could be used with front projection systems. I saw it in a local store the other day and the sales assistant told me that it was only for LCD, CRT displays because the little detector thingy had to sit on the screen. Is this right? And if Spyder 2 does work with projectors then how good is it at calibration?

For best results measuring FP, the spyder II should be placed ~1 feet from the screen, facing the screen with an up/down angle pointed to the lens of the pj. The Spyder II can indeed be used for FP, but not with all of the bundled software packages. There's a couple of third party commercial and non commercial applications with Spyder II support available. Check out Color HCFR. It's free. And it's awsome.

The sensor is the same in all Spyder II packages. Go for the cheapest one.
Or even better. Buy a good sensor instead... Monaco OptixXR (xrite DTP-94), or eye-one display 2 / eye-one display LT.

// Lyckman

So I could buy Spyder 2 Express and use the third party applications and still do a good job?

Absolutely. Within the limits of the Spyder II accuracy and your calibration skills.
There's a lot of threads in this forum about display calibration with the Spyder II using third party apps. Do some reading.

Look for:
ColorHCFR (Free)
CalMAN (Commercial)
AccuCAL (Commercial)

// Lyckman

Thanks!

Being all enthusiastic about this I was just looking on ebay and found the original Spyder at a good price. Does anyone know whether this will work with Color HCFR to calibrate my Optoma HD72 DLP projector? Or do I definitely need a Spyder2 sensor?

I have no idea, but I would guess No...
What I do now, is that the original spyder is considered to be very inaccurate. So don't go there.. Go for a Display LT or DTP-94...

// Lyckman

^^^ Agreed with Lyckman

The older Spyder's did not do very well and where really only designed for CRT's not even LCD's. We are now finding out the Spyder2 can be easily be out performed by the Display2 or Display LT which are the same meter or even the DTP-94 if you can find one.

I started out with the Spyder2 about a month ago, but I returned it and got a Display LT last week. I can confirm that the eye-one Display is more senstitive at lower IRE than the Spyder, although the Spyder definitely works OK and can do a good job calibrating you projector.

The biggest advantage of the eye-one Display in my experience, however, and I don't see anyone talking about this, is that it is MUCH faster at taking readings than the Spyder. I would guess about twice as fast ( I never had a chance to do an AB comparision). This presents a hugh time savings when you consider how many hours it takes, at least for beginners, to do a proper calibration. For this reason alone the Display is worth the extra 50 bucks.

Thanks for the advice.