Do It Like Tom's: Calibrating Your Monitor With CalMAN RGB

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I know it's exaggerated for the purpose of demonstrating differences in calibrated views, but you have got to pick a better "before and after" pic than the one you've been using up to now. They don't even compare the same subject. Half of the image is one thing and the other half is something else entirely. It's impossible to compare something if you're not even certain what exactly it is that you're comparing. I'd argue they don't even depict the kind of differences you'd see in calibrated vs uncalibrated displays, just different preferences in regards to artistic color-grading.
 
Are the Datacolor Spyders now properly calibrated out of the factory? Apparently quality control and specs were not very well handled with the Mk3 and befores. Basically every Spyder 3 would give different results.
 
I would recommend a review on ColorHUG (about $110), open source display colorimeter. It's fast, and worth it's money (http://www.hughski.com/index.html).
 
CNET reviews TVs and they post their calibration settings that they use for the best results. Each calibration is set up with professional tools, you can look up each tv by model number. I don't know if it is as good as this but.. its free! And it made a difference for me. But others like colorHUG, displaycalGUI, etc... are good just some different options if anyone is looking.
 
Hate to say it, but this one reads like an infomercial....
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This is simply the follow-up to an earlier story we did on Datacolor's solution that was well-received: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/spyder4-monitor-calibration-image-quality,3581.html. Both tools are in-use in our labs--I think it's useful to show our readers what we use to review monitors and how they might achieve similar results. At least, that was the intent.
 
I'd really like to calibrate my projector using more than just my eyes for perception. Using either the Spyder or CalMAN solutions, which ones offers me the least expensive path to that goal? Is it better to buy one of their all-inclusive packages, or find a colorimeter and software independently?
 
This is simply the follow-up to an earlier story we did on Datacolor's solution that was well-received: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/spyder4-monitor-calibration-image-quality,3581.html. Both tools are in-use in our labs--I think it's useful to show our readers what we use to review monitors and how they might achieve similar results. At least, that was the intent.
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Agreed - I read the first and this one - both are very informative. I wasn't trying to place any accusations of bias, just on how it reads. The first article read like "Here's what we do at Tom's for calibration" and was very clearly educational. This one just read differently - a little more like a commercial - that's all.

I'd love to be able to rent one of these for about $20 for a day instead of forking over the $250 - wonder if that's possible.
 
I just bought a 38.5" Westinghouse 120Hz LED-LCD 1080p TV for about $260. When I first turned it on and saw the splash screen which is a white crown on an all black background you could tell there was a super bright spot in the middle that was so bright and annoying it made me want to put it back in the box and return it immediately. Fortunately I had things to do and I had to let it ride for a few days befroe I could return it. After it being on for the entire weekend though the horrible bright spot is no longer there and its a much better picture than the last LG 120Hz TV I bought for over $1000. That being said, there is no way in hell I would buy a $250 calibration kit for my $260 TV.
 
CNET reviews TVs and they post their calibration settings that they use for the best results. Each calibration is set up with professional tools, you can look up each tv by model number. I don't know if it is as good as this but.. its free! And it made a difference for me. But others like colorHUG, displaycalGUI, etc... are good just some different options if anyone is looking.
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Each display is different. e.g. Samsung displays don't all use Samsung panels, you'll need to go into the service menu to determine you either purchased a Samsung, Sharp or Chi Mei panel. Someone with a Sharp panel might not yield the accuracy of calibrated settings posted by someone with an IPS Samsung panel.
 
I just bought a Crossover 27" Korean IPS 2560x1440 (a steal at $315 US) and am looking for a calibration tool. Still not happy with the Nvidia tool from the video card. With all the other HDTVs, PC monitors, laptops, and tablets I have, it would be well worth the investment to spend $250-$400 to get them all up to their best specs possible as I've never been really happy with any of their display settings, usually taken from ideas from AVS Forum member settings. I can understand the rejection of paying this kind of money for calibration on one or a handful of items, but if you have 10+ items that could benefit from one of these tools and are unhappy with their settings, IMO it is worth it. Not to mention you would still be using it on items purchased in the future too (like a shiny new 4K 30" monitor for $1200 a couple years from now).
 
I can't find anywhere to buy this bundle for $249 like the article suggests. SpectraCal watns $299 for the C3 colorimeter + software. Their resellers want either $299 as well or it's out of stock. So even if someone wants to get this, they can't do it. I tried the Spyder4Pro before and it was terrible. Both my laptop (WLED, TN) and Dell U2412M (WLED, IPS) got a strong green cast after calibration and the software insists it is accurate. I returned it immediately. If you are not a professional, just pay someone $30-50 bucks to do it.
 
CNET reviews TVs and they post their calibration settings that they use for the best results. Each calibration is set up with professional tools, you can look up each tv by model number. I don't know if it is as good as this but.. its free! And it made a difference for me. But others like colorHUG, displaycalGUI, etc... are good just some different options if anyone is looking.
 
I can't find anywhere to buy this bundle for $249 like the article suggests. SpectraCal watns $299 for the C3 colorimeter + software. Their resellers want either $299 as well or it's out of stock. So even if someone wants to get this, they can't do it. I tried the Spyder4Pro before and it was terrible. Both my laptop (WLED, TN) and Dell U2412M (WLED, IPS) got a strong green cast after calibration and the software insists it is accurate. I returned it immediately. If you are not a professional, just pay someone $30-50 bucks to do it.
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It looks like Spectracal has changed their pricing since I wrote this article. You are indeed correct that the cheapest package is $299.-Christian-
 
I'm a professional photo retoucher, and I depend on display calibration and profiling as well as printer profiling for certified color proofs. We also have to maintain a working environment that complies with all color recommendations. Having said that, display calibration for gaming and entertainment purposes is completely unnecesary. Not only you will not see improvements (the before after image is riduculous), but in gaming, from RGB (developer) to RGB (gamer), there's no color management. In fact, after calibration, the results could even be the oposite of that before after image, as sometimes, full gamut isn't used if a small theoretical profile like sRGB is targeted. If the developer was creating games with real life color swatches or measured LAB values, only then display calibration would be necessary.
 
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