Product Manufacturer: Mountain
Price: $199 RRP
Estimated Time With Gear: 10 weeks

Where to buy: Mountain, JB Hi-Fi

What Is It?: Streaming and Content Creation Controller with 12 customizable Display Keys
Compatible With: Windows via Basecamp Software

Mountain keyboards have been a favourite peripheral maker of mine over the past few years. If you checked out my review of their keyboard and mouse last year, you would see how impressed I was. With their release of the DisplayPad, I was keen to get my hands on their latest device, a Stream Deck alternative, and give it a go.

I enjoyed the usefulness of the Everest Max’s num-pad display buttons; the DisplayPad is an advancement of that design, and adding pictures and folders to the 104x104px screens was a breeze. The setup was easy. The hardest part was deciding what I wanted quick access to on the DisplayPad. For my first profile, I decided on a bunch of functional tools, running the GPU, CPU, RAM, and HDD Percentages. Next up were the shutdown and sleep functions. On top of these, I also added a clock, pause/play, mute, network speed, screen snip and a folder option for fast access to the recent projects I have been working on. This was made easy using the Base Camp software. After some setup, I found I wanted a change and utilised the drag-and-drop feature to move my top line to the bottom and vice versa after accidentally shutting down the computer one too many times. I later discovered the ability to create folders and gained access to additional screens without needing to change profiles. 

SPECS

• Colour: Midnight Black

• Display Keys: 12x 104x104px

• Image Formats: Animated GIF, JPG, PNG, BMP

• MCU: Cortex M0

• Interface: USB 2.0

• Dimensions: 14.7x8x6.7cm

• Materials: Aluminum plate, ABS bottom cover, rubber pad

• Warranty: 2 years

• Number of Profiles: ∞

• Display: 4.5″ 800x240px IPS

• Polling Rate: 1000Hz / 1ms

• Connector: USB Type-C

• Cable Length: 2m

• Weight: 127g (538g incl. stand)

• Software Support: Base Camp™ (Windows only)

• Included Accessories: Stand w/ Rubber Pad, 2m USB Type-C to USB Type-A Cable, Quick Start Guide

Mountains Base Camp software allows users to change multiple items with the Display Pad easily. Setting up was fast, and the big decisions came around about what I would use it for. Various default images are included, or you can upload your custom ones. Moving icons around were as simple as dragging and dropping in the software. There are even options for macros, and I set up a couple for when I was doing presentations in MS PowerPoint. The Base Camp software is a great tool for getting organised. Base Camp also allows for a bunch of profiles; you can change these manually or even set one of the DisplayPads buttons to cover this function. I mainly used one profile and set up a second for streaming. 

Mounain’s DisplayPad comes with a nice sturdy stand with a non-slip texture on the base, and once it is placed, it does not move. The DisplayPad is built in a way that it can be mounted on the full range mountain keyboards. After some deliberation and a bunch of time rearranging my desk, I decided to mount it on its stand offset from my main setup. The whole design is unique and allows for many options. Although my first setup was nice, running the cables using the cable tidies provided made for a much nicer finish to the new desktop layout.

The performance on the DisplayPad was as expected, and it performs as well as previous items I have from Mountain. The device feels solid, and mounting was a breeze. I liked how easy it was to set up, even if I did have some choice paralysis on what to put on the screens. The software makes it simple to set up, and I have enjoyed seeing more information regarding my desktop’s inner workings while gaming or performing daily tasks. I also like that Mountain continues to use heavy-duty cables, and you can feel the quality in the texture. Since receiving the DisplayPad, I haven’t had any significant issues, and the only item that springs to mind is a software control issue while using OBS. In saying this, I could not determine if Base Camp or the OBS software was the issue. The other was my fault and was regarding placement, I had the top row with both sleep and power-off functions, and on multiple occasions, I bumped the power or sleep button while reaching past the DisplayPad. 

The DisplayPads box opening can be seen as a feature, Mountain has gone out of its way to aim at creating sustainable products, and the boxes reflect this. While there is plastic, it is fully recyclable, and it was a pleasure to unbox the device from them. The design around these makes them fun to open and use for storage. 

Overall, the DisplayPad has performed fantastically, and I can see it being of more use than I may have gotten out of it; I am thrilled with its functionality for an everyday-use item. Because it is so simple to use, it has become a part of my daily use when using my PC. Placing the things I use most on the screens and customising the functions is quite easy while changing them or creating a new profile is as simple as a few clicks. I enjoy watching it boot up with the PC, and powering off without reaching for the power button is a simple pleasure. While I am still yet to have the time to do a stream with it, the options and opportunities it presents to content creators are easy to see, and the OBS integration is outstanding once set up correctly. I have enjoyed my time with the DisplayPad, and I look forward to testing more with it for the foreseeable future.

(A review unit was supplied for the purposes of this review)