Colorvision STV100 Spyder TV Colormeter

by ColorVision

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.5 x 3.8 inches ; 1.7 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0009YX96O
• Item model number: STV100
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com

Make sure your TV produces the same bright, vibrant picture at home as it does in the store showroom with the Colorvision STV100 SpyderTV Colormeter, which takes the guesswork out of improving your TV picture. The easy-to-use SpyderTV colormeter and software scientifically measures contrast, brightness, color, tint, and color temperature presets on your TV and helps you make the necessary adjustments to dramatically improve your picture quality. It walks you through the entire optimization process with its intuitive interface. The comprehensive help screens guide you through each step to achieve your desired color setting. Unique before and after images allow you to quickly see improvements. It supports Plasma, RPTV, DLP, LCD and CRT TVs.

What's in the Box
SpyderTV Colormeter, DVD instructions, printed operating instructions

FAQ

Why do I need to calibrate my TV?

Right out of the box, your new TV is still set at the factory's default settings. Calibration can greatly improve performance. Your TV can only deliver maximum performance when it's calibrated to work perfectly with your video sources (such as cable and DVD) and with the room's lighting conditions. Color settings can drift over time, so calibration is recommended for older TVs as well.

What are the benefits of calibrating my TV?

The biggest change is a dramatic improvement in picture quality. Here are some of the improvements you should immediately see:

• More accurate color values
• More natural and lifelike skin tones
• Maximized shadow and highlight detail
• Visible improvement in cable and satellite programming, next generation DVDs, video games--as well as existing DVDs and home movies
• Improved efficiency and extended TV lifespan

Product Description

The Datacolor SpyderTV colorimeter and software deliver an easy-to-use solution for optimizing any TV for a better viewing experience. SpyderTV scientifically measures contrast, brightness, color, tint, and color temperature presets on your TV and helps you make the necessary adjustments to dramatically improve your picture quality. SpyderTV supports Plasma, RPTV, DLP, LCD and CRT TVs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make Sure You're Smarter Than The TV, February 24, 2008

By 

P. Perry - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Colorvision STV100 Spyder TV Colormeter (CD-ROM)

I bought this puppy a few days ago and have run it a few times to get a feel for the calibration qualities of the Sensor.

Now let me say that I've tried it in a room with only modest light as well as a room with no other Ambient Light Source and both proved to be identical values so as long as it isn't broad daylight with the blinds open it is pretty reliable.

Let me add that the device is a Colorimeter which is for calibrating color and it is actually very good at it! Much better than you could eyeball regardless of who you are.

So with all that said, let's address some of the complaints, or should I say misconceptions with the device.

1st, all the Device knows are absolutes that are pre-programmed into the software and it is designed to achieve accuracy within a certain degree (often lower than .05% Deviation) and your eyes will never be that accurate.

2nd, Skin Tones Change based on the light source used and unfortunately Hollywood knows that the lighting creates atmosphere so the skin tones will never be 100% reliable in any movie; So let's take the movie "The Guardian" for example this movie had no less than 7 different light sources depending on the scene and this would make calibrating your screen based on skin tones as tough a target as trying to pinpoint a Democrats Morals (After all, truth is relative right?). In Reality Skin tones can only truly be used to judge Calibration based on a Daylight Scene and ONLY if You Know the Skin Tone To Begin With.

So if you're going to judge the devices capabilities then you should use known quantities to judge. Good sources are Whites Lines, Known Black Items and Blue Skies or use a modern Animated Feature like Finding Nemo or Shrek where light temperature is never really a factor.

Now as for Brightness and Contrast, these characteristics are designed to work within a defined range as well and the Colorimeter is doing what it's told to do...

Basically, the software measures the top value and the bottom value for each setting and then takes a few calculated readings from in between to determine range while setting the appropriate mid-point for Range. Keep in Mind, that isn't arbitrary and as such the device will not know if part of a scene is too dark, it is just trying to keep everything operating within a certain range without letting parts of the scene get blown out (the more range your TV has the better this will work but at 700:1 or 1500:1 it will require some user intervention).

My advice for setting up a TV, that is less than 2000:1 contrast ratio, with the SpyderTV is to go through the whole setup and then tweak the brightness and contrast with a THX Video Test from a Pixar Disk like Finding Nemo or using DVE for these settings.

So, with all that said this device is every bit as accurate as higher priced calibration tools but does require a little bit of knowledge to operate properly within spec.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the money, May 22, 2007

By 

M. Jacobson (Melbourne, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Colorvision STV100 Spyder TV Colormeter (CD-ROM)

Used on Sony Bravia LCD and got same results as factory default settings except for tint which was badly biased to red. Managed to get a better picture using trial and error (by varying things like backllight and sharpness which are not evaluated by spydertv). Tech support is a joke. Don't waste your money!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It takes a drak room to do correctly!, August 2, 2007

By 

John C. Robson (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Colorvision STV100 Spyder TV Colormeter (CD-ROM)

I have calibrated about a dozen TVs with mine.
Ambient light WILL affect the finial out come of the procedure!
The only other thing is to make sure you follow the steps carefully,
If you zig when you should of zaged you get to start from the beginning. John