Half TV, half monitor: LG MyView Smart Monitor

Is a small smart TV running WebOS without a tuner or a monitor equipped with extra functions an LG product?

Introduction, external

LG refers to this product, otherwise known as MyView 32SR85U, as a smart monitor, and it’s actually a perfectly good name, since it can actually be considered a 32″ smart TV, from which the tuner has been removed, but a removable, lockable webcam has been attached to the top. All in all, we get a fairly universal device, which can be ideal where a lot of visual content is consumed, but there is no need for a TV tuner – which occurs in many places in today’s world, which is increasingly leaving linear TV behind.

Design

The LG MyView is a designer, white display with a very thin frame in accordance with fashion, with a size of 32”, as already mentioned. It is worth considering that not so long ago this corresponded to an average TV, while today the 55″ range is where televisions start, this 32″ screen diagonal is already the PC world’s own.

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The design was not overthought, and that’s not a problem, it’s not a ostentatious gamer monitor, but you can see that it’s not an average office monitor either. The stand stands on a solid base and can be moved up and down and tilted. There is no rotation option, and we don’t get a pivot either. There is, however, a VESA mounting option (100 x 100 mm) – the screw locations are hidden from the view of those coming from the back by a magnetically fixed cover plate.

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A single “joystick” is available as a control device, which is also the on/off button, which can be used to call up the menu and move around in it. Fortunately, this will not be necessary many times, because we also get a remote control, which not only allows you to access the “smart” functions, but also all the settings, so the vast majority of users will use this anyway.

The connector row has been placed on the back, and what is a bit unusual, all the ports face backwards – in addition to unnecessarily burdening the connector and the cable itself, it also requires more space, and in some cases it can make it difficult to handle and plug in the cables, for example, if the we mounted the display on the wall. There are a total of two HDMI 2.0 and three Type-C connectors here, there is no separate DisplayPort, this is triggered by the DP-Alt mode.

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One of the three Type-C ports performs the upstream function, the other two perform the downstream function, and the first one also functions as a 90-watt USB-PD charger, so a compatible notebook can be connected here with a single cable, and then – if you already have a mouse on the monitor and keyboard is also connected – MyView Smart Monitor can also be used as a full-fledged docking station.

The monitor has a built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapter, but there is no wired LAN, but what is even more confusing is that there is no wired audio output (even analog, but even more digital). We missed this because, thanks to the WebOS operating system, all streaming providers are available, starting with Netflix and Max, not to mention YouTube, so you can only listen to their sound via Bluetooth (with headphones, soundbar) or the screen itself, which is not very good. can be enjoyed through its quality speakers.

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An extra service is the attached webcam, which can be placed on top of the display, it is fixed magnetically, and its connector is pogo pins. A physical shutter can also be pushed in front of the lens, so data security can be doubly protected. The image from the camera can only be transferred to the connected computer if, in addition to HDMI, the monitor is also connected to the PC with a Type-C cable. This is understandable, but despite its high price, the screen does not come with a Type-C cable (only a Type-C to Type-A adapter), which must be purchased separately.

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