Maybe OP can post a couple of charts from both data feeds. If he is using for backtesting the obvious answer would be to run backtest on both data sets and let the metrics decide.
OP, Unless you are killing it with the tick charts, might as well go for time based charts and save yourself the monthly fees.
Well, maybe I can learn something new here. I have only come back to trading for a month or so after a few years off but I am a new trader. I started following a guy who trades price action exclusively with a 2000 tick of the ES. My limited understanding is that tick data displays information based on actual trades and not time. Honestly I use it because I like to follow this guys recap of the market he does each day. Here is one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmm-1aEhAxk&feature=plcp Anyway, I got used to looking at his chart and it makes it easier to follow along. I gather that most people do not use tick? I figured that because when I look in NT, the default charts are all in minutes. Tell me though why you think they are messier? Do you believe they are less accurate then?
Create 3 different charts all covering approx the same amount of time. So if you have a 5 minute chart and based on the size of the chart window say it spans from 9:30 - 4:00 (in visible area). Make 2 more chart windows the same size (as 5 minute), and populate with tick and volume data (when I am speaking about volume I mean volume charts), play with the size (meaning number of ticks/volume) of each one so that you get close to showing the same times 9:30 - 4:00 (in visible area). See what you think, does one catch your eye? Compare the 2000 ES tick chart to a couple of different minute based TF's (time frames) do the PA setups also show up on the minute based charts. Easier to see, yes/no? You just have to play around with it and see what catches your eye. There is no right or wrong answer.
Kinetik is a rebranded iq-feed, which is the best feed excluding Bloomberg-like feeds. TT and DNIQ are a few hundred a month after tacking on everything, like you said. CQG is cheap and good. Rithmic and Zenfire have issues with certain parts of the data. Kinetik has (last I heard) 120 days of history, which isn't good. So you should find data elsewhere. If I'm wrong on my analysis - please tell me.
Wow, you were right. I compared the two, one above the other, and the tick chart has a lot of missing data. I guess it's not missing but it is all compressed into one bar. I'm guessing the 5 minute is helpful to tell more of the story and track what is going on a little more clearly. Thanks for mentioning that.
Update on TS data fee's... Received e-mail today.... Important Changes That May Benefit Your Futures Data Pricing and Selections Dear Client, Weâre pleased to announce some exciting new changes that will benefit many TradeStation futures clients from both a pricing and bundling standpoint. Effective August 30, 2012, we are changing the way that real-time data for electronically traded CME Group exchanges ¬â CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX â is bundled and priced for funded TradeStation futures accounts. If you have a funded futures brokerage account with TradeStation and are paying $20/month or more in CME Group real-time market data fees, then you will be affected by this change in the following three ways: 1. Your monthly fee for real-time CME Group exchange data will be $20/month starting in September 2012. For most of you, this means that your cost will decrease. For some of you, this means that your cost will stay the same. 2. Your range of real-time market data coverage for CME Group exchanges will be expanded to include all electronically traded full- and mini-sized markets for all CME Group exchanges, including CME, CBOT, NYMEX, and COMEX. 3. If you are currently subscribed to any of the CME Group pit-traded markets, you will automatically be unsubscribed from them. If you would like to re-add them for $90/month, you can do so at any time by going to the Add/Remove Optional Data Services section of our website , but for most of you this will not be necessary since weâve expanded our electronic CME Group market coverage to include full-sized contracts. Please note if you choose to re-add the pit-traded contracts, you need to remove the Globex data bundle so you are not charged for that bundle in addition to the pit-traded data. Please note that you will not be affected by this change if either of the following applies: ⢠You do not have a funded futures brokerage account with TradeStation. ⢠You have a funded futures brokerage account with TradeStation but are paying less than $20/month for CME Group real-time market data. We hope these changes in pricing and functionality prove beneficial to our futures clients, and we thank all our clients for their continuing support. Sincerely yours, TradeStation Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with TS other than Customer [platform & data fee's]
If you REALLY need ticks...then you should understand some rules of the game... Like Random.Capital stated earlier...if you REALLY need tick data...then you should be in the colo of the exchange for whatever you are trading. Here are some hints for you guys (I was a feed sys admin for over 10 years)... and these are ONLY for those who TRULY need tick data... 1.) Find out what your data provider uses - that you receive data from... *nix/Linux - acceptable feed "hardware" - acceptable Microsoft product - RUN AWAY!!! I have yet to see the feed shop that is technically savvy running Windows. If it were tuned right - and I have not heard of 1 company actually tuning Windows for feeds - then it 'could' work. Again - I have not seen a feed shop that produces "sweet" feeds...and runs Windows. You are probably lying to yourself if you connect to a Windows shop and think you have a "good" feed. 2.) If somebody is offering you a deal that is "too good to be true"...it is probably too good to be true! My advice would be: Chose the symbols that you want to "listen" to...call the exchange that will provide that symbol...and ask what bandwidth would be needed for that symbol. Add up the bandwidth you would need for your symbols to be supplied by some provider...and figure out what it would cost them per month to provide YOU with that bandwidth. If you want ES??, YM??, QQQQ, SPY, etc. and you figure out that it will be several Mb/s...do you REALLY think a data provider can...collect the data on some servers...make the data available on redundant servers in a colo that requires battery backup and diesel generators...and available from multiple colos...do you think they can pluck from an allotment of say 2,000 Mb/s and sell you that data at, ohhhh, say $50/month AND be profitable enough to keep in business...and have good data? Please note my order...find out the bandwidth per symbol that you need - get that data FROM THE EXCHANGE...add up your symbols...and then check with DATA PROVIDERS. I am guessing that you won't be connecting directly to an exchange, but using a data provider. Here is a hint for you: Check out what it would cost to provide 1 Mb/s of web traffic for some tiny web site...my guess is that (including power, the server, taxes, software, etc)...you are over $150/month. That estimation was for a tiny little website...no backup server...no backup bandwidth...etc. Does it sound "reasonable" that you could pull down several hundred symbols with thousands of events per second (running into the Mb/s)...and you would have a charge of under $100/month? Maybe somebody can do it...but, I would sure be wondering how they did it! Sorry for the long winded reply...just adding some background for you. Ciao, gastropod
For some perspective on costs, dedicated hardware for feed handling will typically run anywhere from $5k to $50k a month, depending on details, number of venue feeds, etc. The tick game is not for the underfunded. And you really really need to understand the realities of what a "tick" means, once delivered to you. IMO, etc.