Review on 🌈 ViewSonic VP3481A ColorPro Blindness Calibration Monitor - 3440X1440, 100Hz, Hardware Calibration, Height Adjustment, Frameless, Curved, LCD by Luke Romero

BENEFITS Vivid 1080p images Slim 1/8" bezels HDMI/DisplayPort/VGA port 2 USB ports (can be used for power and for connecting to a computer if you are using a USB connection from computer to monitor ) Reliable and Accurate Image ControlCONSHeavyThick for a modern monitorMonitor setup uncomplicated but tedious use of side buttons to access built-in menus for image settings No speakers or audio port: if you want to use it as a video monitor for your Roku, Apple TV, or similar device, you have to do this Buy an HDMI splitter. OVERVIEW The ViewSonic VP2458 Professional 24-inch 1080p Monitor is a great monitor for work or home. It's a highly customizable monitor with extremely sharp and bright images at a great price. comes in 3 parts - you need to install the stand and then attach the screen to the base with 4 screws It comes with a DisplayPort cable - if you want to connect via HDMI I or VGA you need to bring your own. Setup should be easy - you'd expect HDMI to be plug and play. That was mostly true - the MacBook Air was easy to set up via a USB-C dock with HDMI, and my Roku synced up. However, my pathetic little Windows 10 laptop — the low-power ASUS Vivobook laptop — gave me some trouble. I downloaded and installed the Viewsonic drivers but was still having issues until I rebooted and then it all came together. The base unit is heavy. The screen isn't one of those ultra-thin monitors, measuring around 2 inches at its widest point. (If you're buying a monitor cover, you need to factor in a depth of about 4 1/2 inches including the monitor stand.) However, the bezels are incredibly thin at only about 1/8 inch, so what you see when you look at this is is almost 100% screen. When used with a stand, the monitor can be tilted up, down, and at an angle. from right to left. There's also ample height adjustment, so you shouldn't have any trouble adjusting the monitor to a comfortable height and angle. The monitor can be rotated 90 degrees in either direction for portrait mode. This isn't something you'll be doing randomly or very often as all of your cables are plugged into the back of the monitor and need to rotate with the screen. It's a nice feature, but you'll probably decide right from the start whether you want it in portrait or landscape mode and won't change it too often, if at all. IMAGE Colors come alive once connected. The IPS display offers crisp color separation and very dark blacks. The HD picture (1920 x 1080) is really great and with a dynamic ratio of 20,000,000:1 the picture is just fantastic. I don't know what stats are, but you can view the image almost 180 degrees horizontally or vertically. This is an incredible monitor at this price point. Image control is via the buttons on the right side of the monitor. There are 4 color settings and one custom setting (good for photographers who want perfect color matching). Contrast and brightness, input selection (although there is an active input, it is automatically selected for you). Different users can choose their own custom mode and there's a quick way to access those settings, as well as a quick way to toggle the blue light filter on and off to avoid eyestrain. Many fine adjustments can be made in the main menu, but unfortunately these are done with the help of five buttons on the side of the monitor. You have a great way to customize the monitor to your liking, but the built-in menus are beyond cumbersome when you're just using the buttons and not exactly intuitive. It would be great if there was a software option to adjust the monitor from your computer after you plug it in, but there isn't. There are a number of display modes including Game Mode, Cinema Mode, Web, Text, Mac, Designer, and Photographer Mode. There are 5 different preset modes for the photographer including a monochrome mode for black and white photography. There are three design modes: CAD mode, animation mode and video editing mode. The screen is compatible with Viewsonic Colorbration software, which uses the CSXRi1 color sensor to display true color. There are ways to manually adjust the monitor to your liking. The settings are amazingly detailed, but doing so with the side button and built-in menu system is probably too cumbersome for most, but the most demanding of enthusiasts. For me the picture is just fantastic. For office work, graphics and text are incredibly clear and legible. 1080p and monitor size make it a great and comfortable desktop monitor. When watching movies, the picture is excellent. NO INTERNAL SPEAKERS/AUDIO CONNECTION: When using this monitor with a PC, you can use the USB cable to expand the connections so you can set up a series of audio speakers. However, if you want to set it up as a video monitor for your Roku, Apple TV, or similar device, you'll need an HDMI splitter and a set of speakers. This allows you to connect the video to the monitor. INCONVENIENT CONNECTOR POSITION Many monitors have connectors on the back of the monitor, but they are also "hidden" because they face down. I prefer the ports on the back of my iMac to be flush with the surface of the back of the monitor. On the one hand, the connectors point downwards, so that most peripheral cables do not have to be bent. On the other hand, connecting the device is cumbersome at best. For things like video connection ports this is less of an issue, but when it comes to USB ports it basically means you only use the devices you plug in and leave in place. There's no point in using the monitor as some kind of USB hub since you're looking for where to plug your USB drive in to plug and unplug it. PROBLEMS WITH FIRMWARE UPGRADE. Firmware update failed - I'm not sure if a firmware update is really needed at this time. But try as I might, I couldn't connect a computer to the monitor to update the firmware. I emailed support but the provided links didn't solve the issue. This may be a new monitor that will need to have its firmware update software updated to accommodate this model. I will try again in the future. CONCLUSION: Overall, this is a great 24-inch 1080p monitor. Viewsonic considers this monitor a "professional series" due to the ability to fine-tune it. It would be possible to get a higher resolution 4K monitor these days, but I don't think that would make much of a difference if you're interested in buying a 24-inch monitor. Also, as with most monitors, you're likely to get a better picture if you buy a quality 1080p monitor than a cheap 4K monitor, regardless of the difference in resolution. This monitor has a maximum response time of 14 ms. Gamers may need a slightly faster response time for maximum performance, but for most of us mere mortals, this is perfectly normal. I like this monitor for regular office work and occasional video entertainment.