Colorimeter / Color calibrator tool on monitor and TV

[Headfoot]

I know that there are some great open source color calibration packages out there that can use a number of different inexpensive colorimeter/color calibrator tools.

I've got 5 monitors and 1 Samsung KS8000 55" TV i'd like to use it on. I'd move my computer around to each. I'm a bit lost as I don't know how these tools attach to the screen and whether they'd fit on my TV as well as the monitors. Anybody have some experience with using a Spyder tool on a TV?

 

[Gryz]

I don't know the answer to your question.

On a PC it is simple. Your colorimeter has a cable with an USB-plug. You plug it into your computer, hang the colorimeter in front of your monitor, and start the software that comes with the colorimeter. The software can "see" the colors that are on the screen through the colorimeter. It then adjusts the colors and brightness and contrast and such, and measures how the colors change in reality. At the end, it produces a color-profile, which you can install&enable in Windows.

Of course it can't work like this on a TV. The way I envision it is that you have to manually change the color-settings on the TV. The software can run on your PC, it can measure the colors on your TV. But it can't adjust the settings of your TV. So all it can do, as far as I can imagine, is to tell you "a little bit more red, a little less contrast", etc. After you manually adjust the colors on your TV, the software will measure again, and see what other adjustments are necessary. Again, this is my speculation, as I've never looked into detail on how to do this.

This advertisement from Spyder seems to confirm what I thought.

If you want to know for sure, you can ask Spyder directly.
Or check out the calibration sub-forum on TFTCentral.co.uk.
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/forum/YaBB.pl?board=Calibration
I think you are required to register for TFTCentral before you can actually read their forums. But no big deal, it's worth it.

 

[hawtdawg]

Don't buy a spider. The meter you want is the i1 Display Pro, or some variation of it.

Any colorimeter, including the Spider or I1 Display Pro can be used with ColorHCFR to take readings. If you want to take things to another level, if you use an HTPC on your television, you can have DisplayCAL create a 3D LUT that can be used with MPCHC/MadVR.

Mostly though, do not buy a spider.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...47088&cm_re=colormunki-_-32-347-088-_-Product

this would be a great place to start. It's essentially an i1 Display Pro, but it takes slower readings.

If you want some good info on calibrating your television, I recommend AVSforum calibration section. Some of the best professional calibrators in the world post there.

 

[Headfoot]

Thanks for the info guys, I think I'll try and keep an eye peeled for a used ColorMunki or i1 Display Pro unit that I can run all the open source stuff on