A
Real-Time Data Feed is a key tool for the active
trader. The key factors for a data feed are reliability,
accuracy and depth of data, then flexibility and
price. Most young traders will utilize the most affordable
product in the beginning. We emphasize that
traders who can afford the data feeds priced
around $100 utilize this feed, rather than the $20
feeds. The major advantage in the $100 feed is the
flexibility and depth of product that provides the
core tools needed for successful chart reading and
trading.
REAL-TIME DATA
FEEDS
eSignal
eSignal
is known for their reliability. Their pricing
structure is higher than qcharts, while
they offer a much more advanced standard
trading package. Their charting package
includes back testing, custom formula writing
and the ability to customize their already
preset 100 indicators. The software is accessible
with many 3rd parties charting products,
for advanced users. The also offers Advanced
Get software at an additional $160 a month.
Advanced Get is popular software that utilizes
numerous approaches to help increase accuracy,
including Fibonacci retrace levels and Elliott
Wave analysis.
Price: $129 month, plus exchange
fees Trial: Yes - 30 days System Requirements: Windows
98, Windows 2000 or NT 4.0 (service
pack 3 recommended) - 233 MHz Pentium
or compatible 128 MB RAM 20 MB -
available disk space 28.8K or higher -
Microsoft Internet Explorer browser
version 5.0
Quote.com
Quote.com
is a java based charting software that runs
through your browser. The product delivers
real time quotes, but the charts are
extremely limited. Clients can only view up
to a couple months of data on the daily
setting, while charting indicators are
extremely limited. This product is ideal for
the position trader, but not recommended for
the active trader. If this type of service
were used, a service such as bigcharts.com
would be needed to grasp historical readings
on the daily charts, as quote.com fails to
allow you to read historical levels. We
recommend prophetfinance.com charts if a
browser-based service is chosen.
Price: $9.95-19.95 month, plus exchange
fees. Trial: Yes - Delayed System Requirements: IE 5.0 or
higher
Prophet
Finance
Prophetfinance.com
leads the industry in browser based charting
services. The charts offered allow you to
zoom in and out n daily and intraday timeframes,
read data points such as open, high, low and
close and change indicators easily. These
features allow the trader to use the program
on any computer, while taking advantage of
real-time features commonly seen on larger
programs. There are numerous limitations to
this product, such as custom indicators and
scans. This product ideal only for the
small, less active trader.
Price: $19.95 month Trial: Yes - Delayed System Requirements: IE 5.0 or
higher
DTN.IQ
DTN.IQ
is one of the most affordable charting
packages on the market and is ideal for the
beginner trader. The affordability comes
into play when a 1-year subscription is paid
in full, at a tremendous 50% discount. The
reliability in the feed is known as average.
The charting capabilities are limited, but
better than java based packages, which makes
this package prime for the younger trader.
The charts offered through DTN lack the
ability to create your own indicators, but
they do come with the standard indicators,
such as Moving Average, Bollinger Bands,
RSI, etc. Those willing to pay a little more
should look at Qcharts.
Price: $89 month, plus $95 setup
fee Trial: Yes - 7 days System Requirements:
Windows 98/ME/NT/2000/XP Home/XP PRO
(Win95 no longer supported) - Pentium
Processor (300 mHz min., 450 mHz
recommended - 64 MB RAM (128 MB
recommended for Level II)
Qcharts
Qcharts
is a small division of quote.com, a Lycos
company product line. The Qcharts product
was not originally created by Lycos, but
rather bought out at a later date. The
product is one of the most commonly utilized
charting products amongst active home
traders. The Qcharts data feed has had
numerous issues, which have steadily been
improved. The charting package that is
included with the data feed is an above
average charting software, that is added to
constantly. The usability and flexibility of
this product is ideal for the active trader.
A major plus to the Qcharts data feed is the
numerous 3rd part charting products offered
that act as a plug in software for the data
feed, allowing traders to upgrade their
charting capabilities and keep cost down.
eSignal
is known for their reliability. Their pricing
structure is higher than qcharts, while
they offer a much more advanced standard
trading package. Their charting package
includes back testing, custom formula writing
and the ability to customize their already
preset 100 indicators. The software is accessible
with many 3rd parties charting products,
for advanced users. The also offers Advanced
Get software at an additional $160 a month.
Advanced Get is popular software that utilizes
numerous approaches to help increase accuracy,
including Fibonacci retrace levels and Elliott
Wave analysis.
Quote.com
is a java based charting software that runs
through your browser. The product delivers
real time quotes, but the charts are
extremely limited. Clients can only view up
to a couple months of data on the daily
setting, while charting indicators are
extremely limited. This product is ideal for
the position trader, but not recommended for
the active trader. If this type of service
were used, a service such as bigcharts.com
would be needed to grasp historical readings
on the daily charts, as quote.com fails to
allow you to read historical levels. We
recommend prophetfinance.com charts if a
browser-based service is chosen.
Prophetfinance.com
leads the industry in browser based charting
services. The charts offered allow you to
zoom in and out n daily and intraday timeframes,
read data points such as open, high, low and
close and change indicators easily. These
features allow the trader to use the program
on any computer, while taking advantage of
real-time features commonly seen on larger
programs. There are numerous limitations to
this product, such as custom indicators and
scans. This product ideal only for the
small, less active trader. 
DTN.IQ
is one of the most affordable charting
packages on the market and is ideal for the
beginner trader. The affordability comes
into play when a 1-year subscription is paid
in full, at a tremendous 50% discount. The
reliability in the feed is known as average.
The charting capabilities are limited, but
better than java based packages, which makes
this package prime for the younger trader.
The charts offered through DTN lack the
ability to create your own indicators, but
they do come with the standard indicators,
such as Moving Average, Bollinger Bands,
RSI, etc. Those willing to pay a little more
should look at Qcharts.
Qcharts
is a small division of quote.com, a Lycos
company product line. The Qcharts product
was not originally created by Lycos, but
rather bought out at a later date. The
product is one of the most commonly utilized
charting products amongst active home
traders. The Qcharts data feed has had
numerous issues, which have steadily been
improved. The charting package that is
included with the data feed is an above
average charting software, that is added to
constantly. The usability and flexibility of
this product is ideal for the active trader.
A major plus to the Qcharts data feed is the
numerous 3rd part charting products offered
that act as a plug in software for the data
feed, allowing traders to upgrade their
charting capabilities and keep cost down.