Six hours of videoconferencing remains a reality, which means sitting in the same position for long and, sadly, embracing neck and back pain because most of the monitors we use have almost zero flexibility. The last few days I have been using a solution, which first appeared perfect for an office environment but I quickly realised its importance at home.
Viewsonic has a very practical solution in the form of a video conferencing monitor called VG2440V. Let’s get something out of the way — it’s not a monitor for gaming or for watching films exclusively. This is perfect for work with other multimedia activities on the side. The 23.8-inch monitor can, in fact, make for a great purchase decision if you are in the market for long-term use.
In the specs department you get a monitor running at 1920x1080, full HD resolution, and it offers brightness of 250 candela per square metre, and has a response time of 5ms. Then, there is a 2MP webcam, which makes all the difference.
Practical and flexible
ViewSonic has been making all the right noises in the screen solution category, offering a range of products to meet every need. The need that’s tackled here is videoconferencing though you can do much more with the VG2440V.
You can swivel, pivot, tilt and turn. All you need is a light touch to swivel the display up to 120 degrees, tilt it up to 40 degrees, pivot 90 degrees for portrait viewing and raise the display up to 130mm, yes, we are talking of a huge degree of flexibility that makes a big difference to the workflow. I work long hours, complete with plenty of video calls. During the seven-day review period I could tackle all back- and neck-related issues easily.
The feature I liked most is the adjustable webcam that comes with the monitor. Besides having a dedicated physical shutter, you can easily adjust the vertical angle up to five degrees to ensure you, your team, or your content is perfectly framed.
Flawless performance
A problem I have with most review monitors is the unboxing experience, which takes a lot out of you. Not here. All you have to do is take out the stand (not the monitor) and set it up by sliding it on to a base, which is followed by the tightening of a screw. Next, slide the stand into the two clamps at the back of the monitor and then pull the entire thing out of the box. Uncomplicated.
ViewSonic has ensured that all monitor-related needs are taken care of. So, there are enough ports on the back — HDMI, display port, VGA, USB hub and so on. Equally simple are the operations that can be handled with the four buttons on the bottom right of the monitor.
During the review week, I used the inbuilt dual front-facing speakers, which is not very loud but good enough for work. The onboard microphones perform well, ensuring enough clarity. As for the 2MP webcam, it looks good.
Should you get it?
Those who are setting up a small business where monitors with inbuilt webcam are needed, this is a brilliant solution, especially because of the flexibility the device offers. It’s also good for schools and colleges. And it blends well into a work-from-home environment. Perhaps the only drawback are the thick-ish bezels. I wish the monitor had arrived a few months ago. So, go ahead and give your videoconferencing the swivel it needs
The monitor comes with built-in mics, speakers and web camera.
At a glance
Device: ViewSonic VG2440V
Price: Rs 23,600
High notes
• Good viewing angle
• Enough swivel and height adjustment allowed
• Built-in webcam can be adjusted
• Enough ports to tackle all needs
• Dual speakers are reasonably loud for videoconferences
Muffled notes
• Thick bezels