The BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2 is a monitor light bar that costs a hundred and ninety nine dollars, and that price is the first thing you have to get past. The original ScreenBar Halo is the reason anybody owns one of these, so the question is whether the second version is worth the money or whether you are paying for a name. Here is what it does and what it does not do.
The Short Version
The light bar worth buying if you are buying one at all.
| Best for | Photographers, designers, and anyone working at night in a dark room. |
| Skip if | Anyone in a well lit room all day, and anyone whose desk sits against a sunny window. |
How it was tested, and where the method is written down: How We Review.
The Spec
| Type | LED monitor light bar, clamp mount, no desk base |
|---|---|
| Fits | monitors 0.17 to 2.36 inches thick, flat or curved from 1000R to 1800R |
| Color temperature | 2700K to 6500K, stepless brightness |
| Controller | wireless dial with its own display |
| Light quality | CRI over 95, flicker free, LED tested past 50,000 hours |
| Price | 199 dollars |
The Light
The front light is the part that matters. BenQ calls it ASYM-Light, and the front LEDs sit at an 18 degree angle aimed down at your desk instead of straight out at your screen. You get a lit keyboard and a lit notepad, and you do not get a reflection of the bar in a dark monitor. The backlight on the rear of the bar spills onto the wall behind the screen, and that is what kills the contrast between a bright display and a dark room. That is the actual eye strain fix, and it works. The point is that a dim room with this running stops feeling like a dim room, which is the whole problem it exists to solve.
The Controller
The controller is a wireless dial that unplugs from the bar and lives on your desk. It has a small display on it, so when you turn it you see the actual brightness number and the color temperature value instead of guessing. You can dim it in the dark without trying to find a button on the bar itself, which matters more than it sounds like it would. It remembers your last setting, and there is a My Favorite mode if you land on a color temperature you like and want one twist to go back to it. The useful range sits between 3200K by day and 2700K at night.
The Mount
The clamp grabs the top of the monitor and takes up no desk space at all, which is the whole point over a stand. It fits anything from a 0.17 inch thin panel up to 2.36 inches thick, and it handles curved screens out to 1800R. Installation is one hand on the bar and one hand on the knob. The bar has an ambient light sensor, so it turns on and off with your monitor and there is nothing to click in the morning. It also dims itself when the room is bright, which took me a day to notice and then I would not want it back out.
Who It Is For
Photographers and designers get the most out of this one, because a CRI over 95 means the color on the screen matches the color on the desk. If you write code for a living and work at night, the backlight earns its keep on its own. If you are in a well lit room all day, you do not need this, and a 30 dollar bar does the same job. If your desk sits against a sunny window, this does not solve that problem either. It is a dark room tool.
The Verdict
Two hundred dollars is real money for a light bar, and the honest answer is that the ScreenBar Halo 2 is the one worth buying if you are buying one at all. The engineering is not marketing, the controller is better than it has any right to be at this price, and the backlight is the piece that actually makes long nights easier on your eyes. Buy this if you work at night and want the room to match the screen. Save the two hundred if you do not.
Common Questions
How much does the BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2 cost?
A hundred and ninety nine dollars. Two hundred dollars is real money for a light bar, and the honest answer is that the ScreenBar Halo 2 is the one worth buying if you are buying one at all.
What monitors does it fit?
Monitors 0.17 to 2.36 inches thick, flat or curved from 1000R to 1800R. It is a clamp mount with no desk base, so it takes up no desk space at all, which is the whole point.
What is the light quality like?
CRI over 95, flicker free, and the LEDs are tested past 50,000 hours. Color temperature runs 2700K to 6500K with stepless brightness, and the front light is asymmetric so the screen does not get a hotspot.
Is the controller good?
It is a wireless dial that unplugs from the bar and lives on your desk, and it has its own display. It is better than it has any right to be, which is most of why this is the light bar worth buying.
More Reviews
- OBSBOT Meet SE 1080P 100FPS Webcam Review — 1080p at 100fps, 4.3/5
- Funlicht ML2302 Monitor Light Bar Review — 4.5/5
Ready to buy a ScreenBar Halo? Support the channel.
