Unbox and Review BenQ ScreenBar PLUS!

There are products out there you never knew you needed.  Products you don’t even know exist because you’ve never looked for them.  You don’t even know what to search for.

I previously reviewed the BenQ ScreenBar e-Reading LED Task Lamp and I loved it. Click here for that review  It's an 18 inch long LED light bar that sits on top of my monitor.  It provides a nice, wide light over my desk and work area, without any glare on my monitor, that I use it instead of a lamp.  That product uses four touch-sensitive buttons along the top. The ScreenBar Plus uses a desktop dial instead of the buttons.  It allows more precise control of the LED lamp and works out better for people who could not reach the buttons on top of the lamp bar.

The light is attached not by screws, glue, clip, or vice, but by simple gravity.  The base uses a simple counterweight to keep the light atop my monitor.  It's simple to attach, simple to power, and simple to use.  Power is supplied by a USB cable.  I connect mine to a USB connector plugged into an electrical outlet but the ScreenBar Plus can also connect to one of your computer's USB ports.

It's extremely easy to use the desktop dial to control the ScreenBar Plus.  The dial is a knob and and two push buttons.  The knob itself is the power button. The dial also has two push buttons -- one to toggle whether the dial adjusts the light brightness or light temperature and the other to toggle the auto-dimmer mode.

When the automatic mode is enabled, the push button glows with a green ring.  The ScreenBar automatically adjusts to the ambient light in the room using a sensor just above the knob on the desktop dial.

You can also easily adjust the brightness and temperature manually to best fit your needs.  With the light temperature, you can spin the dial one way for cool white and the other for warm white.  You can adjust it to the exact temperature you want.  If the ScreenBar is in automatic mode and you adjust the settings, it will automatically move to manual mode.

Your settings are even remembered while the ScreenBar is turned off.  When you come back later or the next day, you can press the knob and the light comes back on at the temperature and intensity you last used.

I use the ScreenBar Plus to illuminate all of my workspace.  Under the light, you can easily see your keyboard, paperwork, or project.  A couple of feet away, the rest of your desk is also lit.  I use the ScreenBar rather than my desk lamp.

Since the ScreenBar Plus is asymmetrical, more light comes toward you rather than toward your screen.  You can adjust the ScreenBar to aim more toward your monitor or you, depending on how your desk is setup.  I don't have any glare on my monitor.  The only downside is that the light, as it grazes the monitor surface, lights up any dust that has accumulated.  Once I clean off my monitor, the ScreenBar's light isn't even noticeable on the monitor screen.

The base clip fits any monitor that's 0.4 inches to 1.2 inches thick.  The bar itself is 18 inches wide.  The USB wire connects in the middle of the back of the product and trails down the base.  It connects to the desktop dial and then to the USB power source.

I love both the BenQ ScreenBar and ScreenBar Plus.  I use both daily.  The ScreenBar is easy to install and use, but the desktop dial on the ScreenBar plus makes it even easier.  The dial would work great for people who would have trouble with the touch-sensitive buttons on top of the monitor, such as children, older folks, and people with a handicap.  I recommend both ScreenBar products; which one you purchase depends on your desktop setup and your needs.

I couldn't stop recommending the BenQ ScreenBar e-Reading LED Task Lamp before; and now I'm enjoying the BenQ ScreenBar Plus with desktop dial, auto-dimming, and hue adjustment features.  It's something I never knew I needed.

What's something YOU never knew you needed, but now you can't imagine life without it?