BenQ ScreenBar Review

The BenQ ScreenBar is certainly a unique and innovative take on the age-old problem of eye strain. This really is outside the box thinking and quite honestly is an ingenious solution. A solution that works and works very well no matter what you and your eyes need in order to reduce eye strain… not what company X thinks you need.

This really is surprising. When we first heard about this product, we must admit to being rather… well… skeptical to say the least. After all, you can pick up a small LED based (or CFL or etc. etc. etc.) desk lamp and seemingly get the same benefits for a heck of a lot less money. The reality is rather nuanced to say the least. Yes, you can turn on a lamp and get reduced eye strain… but then again if you are in a dark room you are in a darkened room for a reason. Maybe it is because you don’t want to annoy others, maybe it is just because you have a bunch of LED enabled PC peripherals and like the ambiance of your setup. Not matter the reason an omnidirectional solution that also takes up precious desktop real-estate is probably going to be sub-optimal for most people. With the BenQ ScreenBar you do get nearly the best of both worlds. You get reduced eye strain – no matter the environment – and yet do not light up the room like a typical lamp would. That is impressive, and it does make a noticeable difference when at your desk for long periods of time.

With that said it is not perfect. Yes, the Kelvin temperature output of the ScreenBar can be customized but the total lumen output cannot be finely modified as there simply is not enough ‘steps’ in its output levels. Plus, at times you will be fighting with its built in ‘auto’ dimming feature – so much so we would recommend ignoring this button all together. Basically, with only one button to increase (and then decrease) the brightness/temperature in set intervals getting the ‘perfect’ light source can be hit or miss at times. Such a feature is available, via a nice and large dial, in the ‘Plus’ version but having to spend more for a basic feature is less than optimal to say the least. Considering this is not an inexpensive lighting solution to begin with the idea of spending even more than 1-bill is sure to annoy many a potential buyer.

As such, while the ScreenBar is indeed innovative and can work rather well it still has room for improvement. So do your research and think about how often you change the amount of light in your work/play environment. If you don’t mind fiddling with things then the basic ScreenBar is worth the cost. If you want a more precise option… we probably would splurge for the ScreenBar Plus model. Either way this device does deliver on its promises and will justify its asking price if you give it a chance. Put another way, as long as you can get over the asking price the BenQ ScreenBar is probably going to be a safe bet for you.