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Non-Tech : Quote.com QCharts -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nazbuster who wrote (3957)	10/9/1999 5:49:00 AM
From: peter n matzke	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 17977

Daniel, I do agree that the data compression of Qcharts is one of its better features. But the ability to transfer data, and the quality of the data are entirely different creatures all together. As bandwidth becomes more available it should be clear to many that the quality of the data from Qcharts is not on par with other vendors. I am a technical trader; at least I attempt to be a technical trader. If X +Y=Z then a trade signal is generated. The accuracy of the data is critical to the performance of a technical trading system. There are many problems, but I will try to break it down into separate areas to be easier for people to verify it for themselves. The first project for those that really care is to take your favorite stock, commodity or index and do some extensive testing. I happen to use the emini and S&P 500 futures contracts. Examine the charts of the favorite stock on different servers, are they different?? Down load the historical file from 5 different servers, 3 days a week. Sometimes the problems are obvious; server "X" has a gap in data while other servers do not. Sometimes the problems are not clearly visible. Use the same files that you have been downloading, and test them with your favorite trading system. Using the exact same data from different servers, do the results of the system match? Are they within 50%? Are they within 100%? The trading system tests clearly point out some of the less obvious problems. I also did comparative testing against other vendor data with very different results. Have you noticed how longer period moving averages (greater than 100 periods) are not correct in Qcharts sometimes? Even though a chart may visually appear to be correct, there is a beast lurking beneath the surface. Three indicators may match 100% to another vendor, yet one indicator is off by 50% or more. For me an error like that is a serious problem because it would probably be the difference between a buy or sell signal. Qcharts does have some good points: good data compression, large workspaces, and nice charting features. They also have cured some problems over time. At one point in time the charts did not seem fixed to the price grid. It was kind of like looking at the clouds on a sunny day, price bars and background grid moving independent of one another. No matter what the management may profess, several months of testing show that the data on different servers are not consistent. One server has always been the most consistent and accurate of the Q server farms. I would prefer not to get into a litany of specifics. Please perform your own tests. Sooner or later Qcharts will have to listen to its user base or they will all migrate to other vendors. Regards peter