ViewSonic TD1655 Portable Display - Pros & Cons
ESSENTIAL GEAR FOR HOME WORKERS
The TD1655 is a 15.6" full-HD portable display. It's a second monitor designed with simple connectivity and flexibility in mind. The target market, according to ViewSonic, is remote workers, business travellers and digital nomads. It does feel a little specialist and niche, but with the massive increase in home working since March 2020, this type of display has come into its own.
It's nice to have a big workstation set up for working from home with plumbed in monitors and laptop docks but that's not reality. Many people move their workspace around the house either because of necessity or simply to have a change of scenery and try out a new spot. The TD1655 is perfect for this and can be connected with just one cable** and placed next to your computer on whichever surface is your desk for the day. It can be used in both landscape and portrait mode and has full touchscreen capability.
** USB-C is an industry-standard connector but it has many roles. Different laptop manufacturers choose to implement different support. For example, USB-C could just carry good old USB 2.0 though it is capable of much more. Check your laptop and look for a lighting symbol next to the port. If it has that, it supports Thunderbolt which means it will probably carry power and potentially video too. Remember, not all laptops will supply video over a USB-C port.
Today I'm going to take a look at the pros and cons of the TD1655 and hopefully give you an idea as to whether it's right for you. Before I do that, let's run you through what's in the box and cover the technical specs and an objective overview of the product.
NOTE ON ETHICS
It's important to point out here that ViewSonic sent this display to me for review purposes however this is not an advert. All my opinions are entirely my own. I always make it clear to partners that I create honest reviews and don't produce content scripted by third parties. ViewSonic is happy with that approach.
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IN THE BOX
The display was shipped to me in a practical, solid brown box. This isn't pretty retail packaging, but it's very well done, and everything is held securely in place.
In the box, you get a magnetic snap-on display cover which reminds me of the type you see on iPads or other high-end tablets. You naturally get the display itself. ViewSonic also provides a metal stylus, a high capacity USB-C power supply, an HDMI to Mini HDMI cable, a USB-C to right-angled USB-C cable and a USB-A to USB-C cable.
If you would like to see an unboxing of this product, check out my 'Goods In' video from when I first received the TD1655.
TECHNICAL SPECS
Display Type: LED-lit 1920x1080 full HD IPS panel
Colour Space: 6-bit
Total Colours: 262K
Response Time: 14ms
IO: 2 x USB-C | 1 x Mini-HDMI | 1 x Headphone out
Power Consumption: 6-10W
Touchscreen: Capacitive 10-point
Internal Speakers: 2 x 0.8W
Weight: 1kg
I've been working from home full time since March 2020, and I use a display similar to this every day. My productivity is hugely improved with a second screen, and I would never work without one.
When I received the TD1655 in the mail, I swapped out my other display for this one and have been using it every day for the last couple of weeks. I haven't tried to do anything fancy with it. I wanted this to be a review from the perspective of a remote worker using the display for precisely that.
So let's look at what I like and don't like about the ViewSonic TD1655.
PROS
Display: I have to give the panel itself a mixed review, but there are definitely some good aspects. It's sufficiently bright, and it's IPS so has a wide viewing angle. This is extremely useful when using it to display data in a break-out style meeting where colleagues could be sat around a small table. At 15.6 inches, it's also a decent size and certainly on the larger size of this type of product and many tablets.
Design: This is one of the best looking portable displays of this type I have seen. The glossy touch screen is housed in an all-metal casing and is virtually bezel-free on three sides with the lower edge having a wider bezel. Initially, this sounds bad, but as the display sits on this edge, it makes sense for the screen to be raised up a few centimetres from the desk. If it weren't, a simple mouse, pen or phone could block your view of the lower parts of the screen and operating the touchscreen could be more difficult. This is the right choice.
Overall, the grey and silver design is beautifully minimal and very corporate. It may lack a bit of personality, but it's ideal for a product of this type.
Stand: Many portable displays use their case together with a magnetic flap at the back to hold the screen in place. While this works, it's nowhere near as secure and doesn't provide the same angle of adjustment as the ViewSonic. They have a solid sheet of metal hinged to the back, which opens out and can provide up to 60 degrees of adjustment. It's an excellent system which allows the display to be stood up free from its case.
Build Quality: As mentioned, this is a fully metal display. At 1kg, it feels substantial (a bit like carrying a MacBook). The stand is attached with 3 metal hinges, each secured to the body with 3 screws. The ports are built to last and feel solid when connecting cables.
Touchscreen: The 10-point capacitive touchscreen works better than I expected. It's responsive and accurate and, although it's not something I would use regularly, it would be a perfect partner to a touchscreen laptop.
Multiple Power Modes: The display adjusts its settings dynamically depending on the power available through the USB-C port. Rather than not working, the ViewSonic will reduce its brightness and switch to an eco-mode.
Control Joystick: All monitor functions can be accessed through one joystick on the rear of the unit. These are always a bit fiddly to use, and the interface still has that dated monitor look from 1990, but I prefer this to multiple buttons down the side. It's far simpler to find a single joystick and go from there.
Accessories: ViewSonic supplies this with not only all the cables you need but also a decent USB-C power pack and a metal stylus with a rubber tip complete with a spare nib that's almost worthy of the Wacom name. Very nice.
Input-Output: I'd expect any portable monitor sold today to support USB-C, but I still get a little thrill of both powering and sending the display data down one cable. It's so neat and tidy and takes no time at all to set up in a morning. The TD1655 comes with 2 USB-C inputs allowing to you maybe power through one and send display through other or pull power from the other onto another device. It's all so much simpler than the days when everything had to be wired into the mains and have a giant, fat SRGB cable hanging out of the back!
Case: The magnetic cover looks neat and is easy to use and store. It's a lovely addition and has been nicely implemented.
CONS
Display: I'll come back to the IPS panel now briefly. The TD1655 is designed for business users, and it's OK for that. However, as displays go, this isn't an incredibly vibrant or accurate one. You're not going to want to edit photos on this anytime soon. With an SRGB coverage of a mere 61% (achieving 100% of SRGB is not uncommon for monitors) colours look lack-lustre and muted. Again, I must stress that this really isn't a deal-breaker, and it's not something that impacted my work whatsoever, but it's worth knowing about.
It could also do with being a bit brighter and sharper. Next to my work laptop (a ThinkPad P50) the two match. If you have a brilliant laptop screen and like to use it like that, this display might look like a poor second-best when sat side by side.
Price: If you're running this through a business, the price may be less of a concern. Still, if you're a private individual or sole-trader, £300 for a full-HD display seems like a lot when you consider that iPads start at just a little more than that. They come packed with not only a better screen with a higher resolution, but they're also an iPad.
On the flip side of that argument, the build quality of the ViewSonic certainly goes some way to making the price feel fair and, as I always say, this is a tool to do a job. I don't want to tie up my iPad as a second display all day. This is designed to do one thing, and it does it well.
Speakers: They're OK if you have nothing else, but I'd leave it at that and avoid them where possible. When you look at what other manufacturers achieve in similarly slim housings, I was hoping for better.
Again though, how often do I ever need speakers on my second display at work? Erm, never.
Thin or Thick: The TD1655 looks a little odd from the edge. The upper third is quite slim while the lower two-thirds fatten out to about 8-10mm. There are good reasons to do this, such as being able to have well-built ports, but it does look a little bit odd. Its definitely grown on me over the last weeks but I can imagine that some would prefer a more uniform thickness.
Portrait Mode: Portrait mode is a nice bonus, but it's always going to be a bit messy because your cables come out of the top. The right-angled USB-C connector helps here (if you have it with you) but if you want a USB-C & HDMI combo, forget it. It gets very cumbersome. Maybe having one of the USB-C ports fitted onto the back in the lower right could work. The casing is pretty thick at that point, but hey, I'm no engineer.
CONCLUSION
I've focused primarily on business use in my review, but the ViewSonic TD1655 really is a versatile bit of kit. It does slot nicely into business use, but it's worth considering something like this for home use or maybe for using with a phone when travelling.
I use one of these as an extra display on my main editing PC. They are so sleek and take up so little space that they leave you with more free desk space than with most other display choices.
In short, they can be used for anything where you need a display that's compact and easy to set up.
Getting a bit geeky, I tried connecting it to the HDMI loop out of my Atomos recorder here in the studio, and it gave me a clear, sizeable tertiary display to position right in front of me when filming. Great! I also hooked it up to a CCTV PVR as a permanent way of monitoring cameras.
This is a reasonably expensive monitor, but it's broadly in line with the market, so don't expect this quality for less anywhere else.
I do wish they'd chosen a better panel to use with this one. As mentioned, it's not essential for business users, but I feel it lets down an otherwise premium product. Sorry for using another Apple reference but it's like the new MacBooks still having a 720p webcam! It's a premium device yet it's let down by such an important component.
Would I buy this? For my day job, absolutely. It works perfectly. Should you buy this? If display accuracy is critical to you, you should shop around to look for something better suited. If you want something that looks sleek, clean and professional and is well built, this would be a great choice. It is a little pricey but consider this an investment into working smarter and being more productive.
Thanks for watching. Please leave any questions or feedback in the comments, and I will speak to you soon.