Monitor Calibration

[Kurt Bowman]

I am still very new to photography and processing and have never calibrated my monitors. I was wondering what the best calibration equipment is on the market? Also, what is the best value for my money? I would like to stay relatively inexpensive (if that is even possible). It would be great if I could use the same device to calibrate my HDTVs. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Kurt

[Axel Hildebrandt]

I use Eye-One Match 3, which works well on my desktop and laptop, I think it is about $250. I'm not sure about calibrating a HDTV, though. There are cheaper devices such as the Spyder but I don't know how well these work.

[Dug Threewitt]

I also use the EyeOne software with a Eye One Pro(from work). I haven't had any problems so far.

As for calibrating the HDTV, you can use whatever calibrator you want, but you'll need to use either Calman(pricy) or ColorHCFR(free link). There is a lot of info on tv calibration at avsforum.com in the calibration subforum(link). It is a time consuming process, but it made my tv's look tons better. DIY calibration won't be as good as ISF calibration, but it will get you most of the way there basically for free.
dug

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

I have used the following for gamma, contrast( white levels) and brightness(black levels). For colors, you will need something more sophisticated.

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/

[Kurt Bowman]

Thanks for the comments and help! I will certainly look into all of these options. Interested to see if others have to say. It seems like everyone uses something different :D

[Ed Cordes]

Another vote for the Eye one.

[Paul Granone]

I use the Spyder 3 Pro on Windows 7 64bit with no issues. The calibrated monitor helps with RAW processing.

[Benjamin Kennedy]

I use an Eye One. If you are using your HDTV as a computer monitor, it would be no problem. You (generally) cannot use these devices to calibrate your HDTV when it is not hooked up to a computer though. Your computer would store the monitor profile created during calibration and load/apply it upon startup - it will not be accessible to your HDTV unless used as a monitor for your computer. Hopefully that makes sense.

[Dug Threewitt]

I use an Eye One. If you are using your HDTV as a computer monitor, it would be no problem. You (generally) cannot use these devices to calibrate your HDTV when it is not hooked up to a computer though. Your computer would store the monitor profile created during calibration and load/apply it upon startup - it will not be accessible to your HDTV unless used as a monitor for your computer. Hopefully that makes sense.

You can use the software I noted before to calibrate the tv to dvd/bluray/cable by taking readings, make adjustments to the tv in user and service menus. then retake readings and make more adjustments. It's a very hobbyist thing to do and it is time consuming.
Dug