I go through a lot of home office equipment for my work, which means my workstation is constantly changing. A new desk today, another office chair tomorrow – you get the idea. The only constant over the last three years? The BenQ screen bar. You may have heard of BenQ before (the Taiwanese company makes excellent monitors and projectors), but this lamp is my number one accessory for working from home.
ScreenBar takes up no desktop space as it hangs over your computer monitor and brightly illuminates your desktop. It’s a simple little thing, but it brings me a lot of joy, and the company has been iterating on it, with the latest version being ScreenBar Pro. I’m here to tell you that you should probably get one for your home office.
let there be light
ScreenBar comes in several versions: the Screen bar, Halo Screen Bar, Plus Screen Barand the Screen Bar Pro. I tested the original ScreenBar and the Pro: Halo offers a backlight that pushes light behind the monitor if you want light on your desk. and the wall behind your computer screen. The Plus is the same as the standard ScreenBar, but has a separate attached dial to control light settings instead of the touch controls on the top of the lamp.
You can set these lamps to your preferences by changing the color temperature and brightness or even activating an auto-brightness feature to match the ambient light in the room. But what sets the latest ScreenBar Pro apart from its siblings is the motion sensor. Now, a few minutes after I leave my desk, ScreenBar Pro turns off. When I return, my desk lights up; It’s like I’m starting my battle station. Radiant.
These ScreenBar lights are designed to have minimal bleed so those LEDs don’t blow up your eyes, although you’ll want to make sure your monitor is at eye level to avoid them. There is also not much light bleeding on the monitor screen. That being said, the only time I notice a glare on the screen is when I’m watching something with dark content, like a video game or a moody movie. That’s when I turn off ScreenBar to enjoy the deep blacks and deep contrast of my OLED monitor.
I also haven’t had any problems using them on all types of monitors, including my current curved monitor. Alienware AW322QF 32-Inch Curved Gaming Monitor. The best part is that you don’t have to use a precious USB-A slot on your PC or laptop to keep the lights on; I simply plug the ScreenBar directly into my monitor’s USB port for power. It also leaves the cable clean.
So where do you put a webcam if you have a ScreenBar on top of a monitor? Well, I used to have my webcam a little off center, but it took some fixing and software adjustments to the field of view to get it looking right. The best solution is to simply get BenQ Webcam Accessory. This sticks to the top of the ScreenBar and you can balance your webcam on top. It puts the webcam quite high, but I was able to tilt it my MX Brio well so that it doesn’t seem strange.
Leave no one behind
ScreenBar is meaningless if you don’t have a computer monitor at your workstation. But if you work exclusively with a laptop, BenQ hasn’t forgotten about you! Last year, I tried LaptopBar, which mounts to the back of a laptop screen to illuminate the keyboard and work area during those nights at the office.
However, there are some trade-offs in this version. You need to stick a magnetic sticker to the back of your laptop, which is how the LaptopBar stays put. When you don’t have the LaptopBar connected, there is a permanent magnetic circle on the outside, which doesn’t look very good. LaptopBar is also battery-powered and can last around two hours at maximum brightness, but you can plug it into your laptop to keep it running longer (this will drain your laptop’s battery).
Still, it’s a small portable lamp, perfect for anyone who regularly writes in the dark. The lamp comes with a carrying case, is dimmable, and offers warm or cool color temperatures.
This may all seem a little silly: it’s just a lamp! Who cares! I know, I know. But the unique looking ScreenBar series really saves space on my already full desktop. I also love light: I like to have the lights on in the house, while my wife prefers to sit in the dark (I once found her cooking in the dark, which is crazy to me). So illuminating my desk with all the light I want makes me feel happy at my workstation, especially in the months when the sky gets a little dark after 4 p.m.
It’s small, convenient things like these that make working from home a pleasure. And not having to wear work clothes. Or travel. Or prepare lunch. Well, you understand.