Eazeye Radiant 15.6-inch portable transflective LCD review

Eazeye sent me a sample of the Radiant 15.6-inch transflective LCD review for review after I wrote about the Eazeye 2.0 24-inch reflective LCD monitor last August. Yes, there’s been a little bit of miscommunication as I got a transflective LCD (TLCD) launched last year, instead of the new reflective LCD (RLCD).

But that’s OK. While those are two different technologies, both monitors are designed to rely on natural light, and I assumed either would perform better outdoors and reduce eye strain compared to traditional portable monitors or laptop displays. Let’s find out.

Eazeye Radiant unboxing and specifications

I received the portable monitor in a retail box. The main surprise here was that I was expecting a 24-inch monitor, and this looked a little small. I quickly realized the Radiant was a 15.6-inch model instead.

We can get part of the specifications on the back side of the package.

But let me share more detailed Eazeye Radiant specifications:

• Display
  • 15.6-inch Transflective LCD (TLCD) panel
  • Resolution – 1920 x 1080
  • Refresh Rate – 60 Hz
  • Contrast Ratio – 1000:1
  • Response Time – 5ms
  • Colors – 16.7 million colors
  • Viewing Angles – 65° H; 65° V
• OSD – Light, image, color temperature, language, and other settings
• Video Input – Mini HDMI and USB-C port up to 1920×1080 @ 60 Hz; USB-C also carries touchscreen data
• Audio
  • Input via HDMI and USB-C
  • Output via built-in speakers and 3.5mm audio jack
• USB
  • Additional USB-C port for mirroring mode (Miracast/Airplay)
  • Micro USB port for system use
• Misc
  • Backlight switch
  • Support for 75x75mm VESA mount (not included)
  • Four buttons for OSD, brightness, and volume adjustment
• Power Supply – 5V/2A
• Power Consumption
  • Backlight off – 3 Watts max
  • Backlight on with maximum brightness – 8 Watts
• Material – Aluminum frame

Inside the package, we’ll find the Radiant portable monitor, a folio leather case, a USB-C to USB-C cable, a mini HDMI to HDMI cable, a USB-A to USB-C cable, and a user guide. The latter also mentions there’s a power supply in the package, but in my case, there wasn’t any.

On one of the sides, we can find a mini HDMI port for video and audio input, a USB-C port for power and touchscreen, as well as optionally video and audio input, a USB-C  power-only port that triggers wireless mirroring mode, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

On the bottom side, we’ll notice the backlight switch and two rubber pads.

The rear of the monitor comes with four threads for a VESA mount and holes for the two speakers.

At this point, I peeled the film from the sticky part of the leather case and pressed it firmly to the monitor for installation. The first time, I got the orientation wrong, but I quickly corrected that (it must be attached to the thin part of the monitor), and this is what it looks like once done.

The leather allows us to carry the monitor around safely and provides two angles when placed on a desk. We had a bad experience with this type of foldable case with the Elecrow Crowvi, as it would often slip on the desk, but the one used with the Radiant is of better quality, and I didn’t have any issues.

We can also see the micro USB system port and four buttons for the OSD: Up button, Menu Confirm button, Down button, and Signal/Return button (from left to right)

I also initially thought it could be carried around and used on the bed like a tablet, but there’s no battery, so a USB-C cable must be connected at all times, and it’s fairly heavy at almost 1.4 kg.

Eazeye Radiant TLCD features testing – Mini HDMI, USB, and Miracast/Wireless display

Time to have a try. So I connected the monitor to AAEON’s UP Xtreme ARL developer board via mini HDMI and USB-C (power only) when I was outdoors on the porch. The Radiant monitor faced inside the house, and I found it to be incredibly dim, not being able to see, let alone read much. I then made sure the backlight was turned on, adjusted the brightness to 100%, and it improved things a little bit.

I finally moved the display to face the sky during a cloudy day, and it was not great either. We can see the Ubuntu 24.04 desktop and the About System window, but I was not super impressed by what I saw…, especially since those R/TLCDs are supposed to be alternatives to E-Ink/E-paper monitors.

I also noticed square patterns all over the display, so I decided to contact the company to find out if this was normal, and whether I could do anything to improve the situation..

Here’s the answer I got:

Yes, the patterns on the display are entirely normal. It is the touchscreen layer built into the glass. If you display a white background instead of a dark theme, the device’s readability improves. You can also adjust the contrast slightly. Many users also purchase this device as they dislike the brighter displays from traditional LCDs. That said, the eazeye monitor 2.0 is much more reflective than the radiant; however, it has no built-in light source if environmental light isn’t sufficient.

So any dark themes have to go. I also decided to wait a few days for the Kalmaego storm to pass, hoping for a clear, bright sky to try it outdoors once more. It took longer than expected, but I was able to test the transflective LCD again a few minutes before sunset using a white background (CNX Software website) and my laptop’s display for comparison.

In the photo above, the Radiant monitor did not get full sunlight due to the shadow from the trees. The next day, I tried again at 14:00 with bright sunlight. That’s where the Eazeye Radiant monitor really shines (pun intended), and it is much clearer than the laptop’s display.

I still had to adjust the angle, and I initially had direct reflection from the sun on the display, making it unreadable. The key is to find the right angle for optimal reading. Also, I live in the North of Thailand, and we usually avoid the sun like the plague, as it gets pretty hot here on a winter afternoon at about 32-35°C. Everything gets hot, including the monitor and the laptop, and I measure the table at around 50°C with a thermal gun. I can imagine it’s a different story in more moderate climates, where a bit of sun might be welcomed. In my specific circumstances, I found the Radiant not to be that great outdoors during the daytime. You can watch a short video showcasing the display, touchscreen, and video playback under direct sunlight.

In the next test, I decided to test mirroring mode (Miracast, AirPlay, wireless display) and nighttime use at the same time. So I connected the “wireless mirroring USB-C  port” to a power adapter, and the monitor automatically entered the mirroring mode.

At the point I followed the instructions on the monitor, went ot my Android 14 smartphone (OPPO A98 5G), entered the IP address 192.168.49.1 in my favorite web browser, and tried to scan the WiFi access points.

It failed, likely because my favorite web browser is Firefox, and nobody tests their software with it anymore. So I switched to Chrome, and scanning worked, so I could connect the monitor to my 5 GHz access point. From there, I went to the Android settings, selected Screencast (the name may differ between manufacturers), and the Radiant monitor was detected as DONGLE-C46110, and I could connect it to.

This is what it looks like at night with the backlight on and a light on the ceiling. Perfectly usable, and easier on the eyes than a smartphone. The text looks OK, albeit not perfect due to video compression. I was hoping for the touchscreen function to work over Miracast, but it doesn’t.

I then tried to disable the backlight, and the screen became hard to read as expected.

If I also turn off the ceiling light, then we basically have a black screen, and it’s unusable, again, as expected.

I tried to bring a desk lamp, but the results were not convincing. The best is just to use the built-in backlight at night or indoors.

I then moved indoors to test the wireless display function with my laptop. I usually run Ubuntu 24.04, and GNOME supports wireless displays through the Debian Network Displays. There are two ways to install it. Via apt:

Via flatpak:

The latter is recommended, but I eventually tried both because, sadly, it did not work properly.

The Eazeye Radiant is detected as a Chromcast Ultra dongle, and I can initiate the connection, but it will loop there forever.

I also tried to use it with the “Living Room TV”, but the program crashed. Maybe it only works with the most popular Miracast/AirPlay devices.

At this point, I switched to Windows 11. You’ll find the “Connect to a wireless display” option in the System->Display window. Alternatively, you can also press Windows key+K.

It will open a small overlay window in the bottom right corner with the list of wireless displays, and I clicked DONGLE-C46110 to connect to it. Windows 11 automatically selected Extend mode by default. It worked the first time, but after disconnecting, I often had the “could not connect” message. After a few more tries (and power cycles/reboots), I managed to connect to the monitor again, and once the connection is established, it looks stable.

The Eazeye Radiant monitor was about 2 meters to the left of my laptop, so I moved Display 3 to the left. It looks really small in the Settings, and I noticed it didn’t particularly look nice on the monitor itself.

When scrolling down in the Settings, I noticed the resolution was set to 1024×768.

So I changed that to the 1920 x 1080 native resolution, and everything looked much better.

For reference, the monitor was powered by a 5V/5.1A Raspberry Pi USB-C adapter, but a 5V/2A adapter will work just fine too.

I loaded the CNX Software website on the monitor, and it looks pretty decent considering the video compression involved. So in my specific environment, I find the Radiant monitor is better suited for indoor use. Note that, like with the Android smartphone, the touchscreen function doesn’t work over Miracast.

Conclusion

The Eazeye Radiant 15.6-inch transflective LCD won’t be for everyone. You have to pay a premium for this type of monitor, and while the company compares it to E-ink monitors with improvements such as high framerate while keeping natural sunlight support, I honestly don’t think both are comparable. I never had the opportunity to test a proper E-ink monitor, but I did play around with a small E-ink display, and it was readable in most conditions, except in dark rooms. The Radiant needs the perfect lighting conditions and angle to be comfortable outdoors, and it works better indoors, at least where I live, with a hot climate where sitting in direct sunlight is not desirable.

I do like the option for both HDMI and USB-C video input, the touchscreen support, built-in speaker, 3.5mm audio jack, built-in support for Miracast/AirPlay, and the relatively thin design. But those features can also be found in cheaper portable monitors, except potentially wireless display support, which I hadn’t seen before in the other displays we reviewed here.

I’d like to thank Eazeye for sending the 15.6-inch Radiant transflective LCD for review. It sells for $789 on the Eazeye store (when it is in stock).

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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