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SpyderUtility preferences

2017-03-03 by lcunning@...

I purchased and installed Spyder5Pro earlier this week, and used it to calibrate both Dell monitors in a dual-monitor system (Windows 10 in case it makes any difference). I'm very happy with the results. The two monitors (for the first time in a couple of years) match each other in terms of brightness, contrast, and color balance, and prints that come out of my Canon Pro-100 now closely match what I see on my monitor. So far, so good.

My questions refer to the SpyderUtility widget that now sits in the System Tray, and its preference settings. Can anyone explain what these settings do? I have a vague idea, but I would appreciate some clarification. There's nothing in the manual regarding these settings, and I couldn't find anything on the Datacolor Web site about them.

Here are the settings I'm referring to:

General: Dialogs will be automatically dismissed after:
The settings range from Never to 8 Hours. What dialogs, the ones that appear right after booting or rebooting the PC, or something else?

Room Light: Check Room Light Level Every:

I'm guessing that setting this to anything but Never requires keeping the Spyder hardware connected via USB, which I don't plan to do. Is this correct?


Video Card: Load Video Card LookUp Table (LUT) Every:

The settings range from Never to 60 Minutes. Am I correct in thinking that the software reloads the LUT periodically in case Windows or other software messes with the color settings? Any recommendations as to what setting to use? Is there any penalty for reloading the LUT more often?


Recalibration: Check Recalibration Every:

The settings range from Never to 6 Months. What does this check for, and how often should this be checked? I'm having the most difficulty wrapping my head around this one.


Recalibration: Notify if display has not been recalibrated (ReCAL) within the last:

The settings range from Never to 6 Months. I seem to remember setting this when I ran the original calibration. Is this the same thing as I saw in the main program?


Startup: Display Startup Dialogs:

I think I've figured this one out on my own.


One last, generic question: Ever since SpyderUtility began living in the System Tray, I've noticed that periodically, my screensaver mysteriously stops (and the monitors come back to life) without any PC activity to cause it. This change coincided with my installing and running the Spyder software. Could SpyderUtility be causing this?


Thanks in advance for any guidance regarding all of this!


Larry

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