BenQ’s ScreenBar range of monitor lights aim to make sitting at your computer a more comfortable
experience by balancing the contrast between your computer monitor and your surroundings,
and they’ve sent me the newest addition to the line-up, the ScreenBar Halo, to take a look at.
Welcome to Switched on Network, I’m @paulfp and I’ve looked at a couple of BenQ’s previous
ScreenBars on the channel before... but this, the ScreenBar Halo, nows features both a wireless
controller for easy operation and a clutter-free desk as well as the option of a light on the back
to softly illuminate the wall behind your computer monitor as well, further reducing
the contrast in your work area and helping to prevent eye strain when focussing on your screen.
The ScreenBar essentially consists of a strip of dimmable LEDs with a light sensor in the
middle which sits on top of your monitor like this, in much the same way as a webcam does,
and is powered by a USB cable so can either plug into the back of your computer,
the monitor itself if it has USB ports, or any other USB power supply. It’s also designed to fit
well on curved monitors too if you have one, via the use of these two little accessories.
I mentioned that the ScreenBar fits to your monitor in a similar fashion to a webcam, and
some of you might be thinking, “well that’s all well and good but where’s my webcam gonna go now?”
And that’s exactly one of the issues I found with the original ScreenBar so I’m very pleased to see
that BenQ have addressed that, although it’s via the use of an optional extra Webcam Accessory
you have to buy separately. It consists of a magnetic pad with self-adhesive base which
sticks to the flat top of the clamp, and a little widget which magnetises to that
giving a base for your webcam to sit in the centre of your monitor.
I’m not quite sure why the flat area of the base couldn’t be magnetic already,
eliminating the need for the sticky pad, but it works quite well and means you can
mount both the ScreenBar and a webcam more easily, no more having to put the
webcam at the edge of the monitor and try to, sort of, angle it back towards you.
So it’s clear what it does, but is a ScreenBar something you need on your computer monitor?
Well for me, I don’t always stick to a 9-5 working pattern so I sometimes work later in the evenings
when there’s no natural light coming in the window which means the brighter light from my computer
monitors can be a bit more dazzling for my eyes. I mean, that’s often an issue during the day as
well because I live in England so for most of the year it’s dull with grey skies outside (!) but the
ScreenBar does a really good job of making my work area feel much less dull - especially as
my desk is in this recessed area and it even means that I don’t always need the main light
on in the room so this could potentially save on your electricity bill, depending on how much
extra power they pull from your computer’s power supply versus the lights in your room.
The light you get from the ScreenBar is also focussed entirely on the area you need it, ie.
your desk area and where you’d have your keyboard and possibly a notepad or something placed on your
desk. Compared to having a light on or lamp in the room, it’s much nicer and it also eliminates
annoying glare and reflections from your computer monitor that lamps and lights can sometimes cause.
The ScreenBar also frees up space on desk as there’s no need for an extra
desk lamp and in keeping with the theme of keeping your workspace clutter-free,
the wireless remote controller you get with the ScreenBar Halo also helps to avoid
clutter and I like having the easy-to-reach controls without having to lean forward.
This makes it much easier to control compared to the original ScreenBar that I looked at last year.
Using the remote, you can choose from different colour temperatures depending
on if you want to focus on work and be productive or if you’re relaxing,
playing a game or watching a film or YouTube videos at your desk.
The colour temperatures range from 2700K at the warmer, more orange end to 6500K for a whiter,
daylight colour. If you have a particular colour temperature and brightness setting
that you prefer, you can press and hold the Heart icon for 3 seconds to save it as a Favourite,
meaning that a single tap on that will restore your preferred settings in an instant.
Or you can leave the ScreenBar on its Auto-Dimming mode, which uses the ambient
light sensor built into the bar to adjust the overall brightness level of your desk to 500 lux,
which is (apparently) the recommended brightness for office lighting.
I do really like the ScreenBar Halo and it’s definitely something which sits in the category of
“things I will genuinely continue to use and enjoy after reviewing”. It’s not perfect though, so here
are a couple of things I didn’t like so much... - Firstly, the wireless controller is sometimes
a bit slow to wake up. This is because to save battery life, it hibernates when not in use.
To wake it up, you wave your hand 2cm above it and then it jumps into life. Whilst it’s a bit slow,
it’s not like you’re using it all the time so it’s not too much of an issue - especially
if you use the Auto-Dimming feature. - Secondly, if you have a grid-style
monitor setup like I do here, a ScreenBar on top of a lower monitor can get in the
way of the one above it a bit, however I found that placing it on the upper
row of monitors works well and it also helps spread the light a bit more, too.
But overall the ScreenBar Halo is simple and easy to use, works well
and provides soft and gentle lighting for a more comfortable work environment.
At £149 or €169, it’s certainly more expensive than say buying an IKEA desk or floor lamp,
but I do really like how a ScreenBar helps maintain a tidy,
minimalist look, gently illuminates my work area so it doesn’t even feel like there’s a light on,
and the wireless remote makes adjustment really easy without having to stand up or reach forward.
So the ScreenBar Halo gets a thumbs up from me, and I’ve put more details and purchasing links
in the video description, which you’ll find just underneath the Like button.
And if you’ve watched all this and you’re thinking “that looks great but I do a lot
of work on a laptop rather than a larger desktop monitor”, then you can watch this video here where
I took a look at the ScreenBar Lite which is a bit smaller and designed specifically for laptops.