If you work long hours in front of a monitor, eyestrain is a real issue. I never thought much about a monitor light bar before, mainly because my two monitors kick out a lot of brightness and I have a wonderful desk lamp. However, I was sent a BenQ ScreenBar Halo to review, so it was time to see if these lights had any benefit to my eyes — and by extension, my productivity and efficiency.
BenQ ScreenBar Halo — First impressions
Your computer setup won’t suffer at all with this light. Just like its packaging, the light is modern, sleek and durable. It effortlessly clamps to the top of your monitor thanks to a counterweight design that doesn’t harm your monitor or desk. It’s a nifty piece of engineering that works on most flat and curved monitors (with included accessory) while weighing less than two pounds.
The light has a USB cord for power. When I plugged it into my USB hub, the light flickered. However, plugging it directly into the USB port on my monitor provided sufficient power to stop the flickering. 5V/1.5A power supply is required for proper function.
BenQ ScreenBar Halo — Technical specifications
All specifications were taken from the BenQ website.
- Light Source: Dual Color LED
- Color Rendering Index: Ra≥95
- Illuminance: Center Illuminance 800lux (Height 45cm)
- Lighting Coverage (At 500 Lux): 63cm x 40cm
- Product Color: Metallic Grey
- Materials: Aluminum alloy, PC / ABS
- Accessory (Optional Accessory): Webcam Accessory
- Power Input: 5V,1.3A USB Port
- Power Consumption: Max.6.5W
- Power Supply: Lamp : USB / Controller : Triple AAA batteries
BenQ ScreenBar Halo — Even lighting
I was expecting to see glare on my monitor once the light was on. Thankfully, this did not appear. The reflective panels in the light delivered balanced soft, flicker-free lighting without glare. While the light itself is about 20” long, it seemed to fill the majority of my 43” monitor in an oval pattern with barely noticeable drop-off.
On the monitor itself, I could tell the lighting made a difference when viewing a black/dark screen. It was difficult to notice the light on a bright/white screen, but that doesn’t mean my eyes weren’t benefiting (and it’s one of those things where you definitely notice it when you turn it off). With an adjustment angle of 35-degrees, you can set the light to also provide light upon the work area in front of the screen. This is great, because it shines a near-perfect level of light onto your keyboard and other nearby items. In fact, I find that I don’t need the more powerful and harsh lighting of my desk lamp in many situations.
Numerous articles discuss the importance of surrounding light in reducing eye strain, and this light adds it in an adequate yet unobtrusive manner.
BenQ ScreenBar Halo — Three awesome features
ScreenBar Halo has three modes: the normal front illumination, back illumination, and front-and-back illumination. The back illumination is great for providing ambient lighting. When both are on, I find it even more comfortable on the eyes.
The Halo version comes with a wireless control. The obvious benefit here is freedom from cords, but that comes at the expense of needing 3 AAA batteries (which are included). I have a feeling the wireless control goes easy on the batteries, and I like the ability to easily place it anywhere that’s convenient on my desk. The control’s top allows you to touch a setting, which lights up to signal that it’s ready for adjustment. These settings include brightness, color temperature (2700K-6500K), auto-dimming, mode toggle, and recall of a favorite setting. The control has an amazing design, allowing you to rotate the outer ring to adjust settings. It is super smooth and fluid. Indicators light up to let you know where you are in the range of the setting values.
Finally, the auto-dimming feature reads the ambient light and then adjusts to 500 lux, which is a recommended lighting setting. This works in all light modes.
