Review on ViewSonic VG2860MHL 4K Ergonomic Monitor with DisplayPort, HDMI, HD, LCD - ‎3840X2160P Resolution, VG2860MHL-4K by Joe Sandoval

This large monitor is wrapped in anti-static paper and tightly packed with Styrofoam inserts in the obligatory, easy-to-carry cardboard box with an integrated plastic handle that I don't dare lug around. The loose plastic bags contain the base ring, power cord, instructions and software disk, and connection cables. Although the quick start guide shows you five different cables to use to connect your monitor to your computer and one to connect it to your phone or tablet, it only comes with four cables (in addition to the speaker cable). If you need a USB to USB cable or a large DVI cable with thumbscrews on the sides of each port, you'll need to provide your own. a six month old HP desktop system. I unplugged my old HP 23 inch monitor, plugged it in using the same cable, checked for loose wires and ran the smoke test. The display worked flawlessly with no drivers to install (the included DVD doesn't have anything you need to get this bad boy up and running). This is where my disappointment started. The first thing that popped up was a message to set the screen resolution to 3980 x 2160 pixels "for better picture quality". Well I can't do it. Despite the newness of my system and its best specs, the highest resolution my graphics card can support is 1920 x 1080 pixels. When I try to go higher I get a message that the available bandwidth is exceeded. So I am stuck in using this reduced resolution monitor due to its capabilities. That might explain why he's so damn fuzzy. I've tweaked every setting for brightness, contrast, sharpness, color temperature, and other controls, but the display still leaves a lot to be desired. It looks washed out in all indoor lighting conditions - conditions where my original HP monitor was sharp, clear, high-contrast, and bright. Maybe it's my system or my graphics card or my driver or something else besides the monitor. But if so, then this monitor is far from the plug-and-play standard. My eyes start to hurt after a few minutes of using it. In desperation, I burned the instruction manual onto a DVD in RTFM format. Was prompted to look for additional software in the "Software" catalog on the DVD. "Maybe there's a driver or something that improves the display," I thought. But there is no "Software" directory on the DVD. There's not much except PDF documentation in dozens of languages. Second Strike. In addition to the faded, washed-out display, two things really bother me about this monitor. First, there are buttons that control clunky on-screen menus. Sunk under the face of the screen, they're tiny, embossed bezel inscriptions that can't be read by my aging baby boomer eyes without a flashlight, and the power button is the same button in the same place. Place! I've lost count of the number of times I've accidentally turned off the power while fumbling for the adjustment knob. This is the opposite of the "full ergonomic functionality" (whatever that means) that ViewSonic boasts about in its ads. Second, the built-in speakers suck. When I bought my new computer, sound quality wasn't that important to me since I use it primarily for writing and graphics and not for gaming, music, or video, so I bought the cheapest speaker set I could find at Best Buy. Well, my $15 speakers. sounds like Carnegie Hall compared to those built into this monitor. Multi-image (up to four video sources) and picture-in-picture functionality is pretty cool if you need it, but I suspect most potential buyers won't. find it useful. I haven't tested the UI on an iPad or Android tablet, but I have no reason to think the display would be any better. The user doesn't have to jump through hoops to get decent picture quality. You may need to buy a new graphics card to take advantage of the highest resolution on this monitor (as you probably would for any other similar monitor, so that's not a minus). Finally, there are some silly user interface quirks that users simply don't have to put up with on today's computer systems, and especially on a monitor of this price range. I hate looking a gift horse in the mouth considering I got this monitor for free through the Revain Vine program. But it's my duty as an honest and ethical reviewer to give them what I see and I don't think this monitor is worth the money. All in all, I'd recommend looking elsewhere if you're looking for this type of monitor.