Teleprompt/Autocue - remote control question

[Ian Stark]

To meet the requirements of a few of my clients, I have rigged up a teleprompt system with an old matte box, an old laptop, an old lcd screen, an A4 sheet of 1mm perspex (from a £1 photo frame), some gaffer tape, some teleprompter software I have had for years and a dash of (someone else's) ingenuity.

It does a remarkably good job and because it's built around the matte box, it doesn't look too bad either. My clients think it is 'well used' rather than a jury-rigged penny-pinching creation! It will only ever be used in the studio when I'm shooting against a green screen. I'm losing about 1/2 a stop, which is quite tolerable.

The one thing that's missing is a way of remotely controlling the teleprompt software, which can be done either using mouse buttons or (more effectively) the arrow keys.

I have looked at many of the available remote controllers but they are just too big and have waaay too many buttons on them for my clients to accidentally press. Is there anything like a simple two, three or four programmable button remote controller available, ideally wireless?

Failing that, I may try with a wireless mini laptop mouse.

Thanks for any advice.

[Giroud Francois]

What I have done is putting the screen as remote , so it can stay on a table operated by somebody. You can do that either with a long vga cable or usb wireless vga adapter. This one looks good, seems you can assign any key to the 3 buttons of the remote. Power Presenter RF -- Wireless PowerPoint Remote Control

[Paul Cascio]

Get Keyspan Express Remote. It's a wireless remote for PC or Mac, whose buttons are keystroke programmable. I use it with my prompter. Works great. Best of all, Newegg has them for a ridiculous $14.99 and free shipping.

Newegg.com - Tripp Lite AirPort Express Remote Control Model URM-17A

BTW, I had a programable foot pedal, but it made clicking noises so it had to go.

[Jim Snow]

Although it's a little "low-budget", I helped a friend do a shoot with a laptop teleprompter and he used a wireless mouse for the remote control. It looked a little less than pro but it worked fine.

[Ian Stark]

Looks good Paul, but cheapest price in the UK I can find is £53.28 + P&P :-(

I did a little more research today trying to find something suitable. Couldn't find anything that would comfortably and unnoticeably fit in the palm. Jim, I think I may go with your suggestion.

Thanks gents.

Ian . . .

[Ian Stark]

I looked at the Power Presenter RF (thanks Giroud) but it doesn't look as though the buttons are programmable, sadly. In terms of size and minimalism it looks perfect. There are loads of these devices on the market but I haven't found one with programmable buttons - they all seem to allow for 'next slide', 'previous slide' and 'end presentation' but not for 'up arrow' and 'down arrow', which is what I need to control my software. There are some devices with mouse simulation, but those I have found are as complex as the full blown PC remote controls.

I'm beginning to wonder if I am being too fussy as I have found fault in almost every suggestion made so far! Sorry about that! The more I think of it, the more I think I will go with a mini wireless mouse.

Out of interest, the foot control that you mentioned, Paul . . . was that a teleprompter-specific pedal or a general pc controller?

[Ian Stark]

After a little more research and a pre-sales support email I discover that 'Prompt!' from this site www.movieclip.biz works perfectly with most presentation remote controls designed for use with PowerPoint. I bought the Kensington Si600, although I paid a bit more than Amazon is selling it for in the UK :-( Kensington Si600 . I'm also having fun upsetting my four cats with the laser pointer.

I've used it very successfully with the free version of Prompt! and I have to say I am SO happy with the results I'm getting from this. As I mentioned before, my clients think this is what ALL autocue's look like!

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

By the way, I also looked at another great looking browser-based teleprompter that has been discussed in this forum : EasyPrompter - Portable Standalone Version: the best free OFFLINE teleprompter. . I was about to commit to using that because it can be controlled with the scroll wheel on a wireless mouse but I had some problems with formatting large imported text files in reverse. It was fine with text typed straight in, but who has the time . . . ? I still recommend people take a look at this app though, as it looks extremely good.

Here are a couple of snaps of my setup. I've lost the croc clips and I am waiting for delivery of a slightly sturdier piece of perspex sheet (the sheet shown here bends easily and distorts the text a bit). I was a bit concerned about light reflecting off the perspex but it hasn't proved to be an issue.

[Mike Drob]

Hello Ian, I am the guy that wrote EasyPrompter - A few months back I fixed the issue some people were having with reverse text. Please give it a shot and see if it's working for you now. If it isn't, send me a sample script and tell me where it fails and I'll try to resolve your issue.

Your setup looks great btw!

[Ian Stark]

Hi Mike, I'd be delighted to test it. Unfortunately it's not going to be for a couple of weeks as I'm not in the studio for anything length of time until then. As soon as I can, I will!

Thanks for the kind comment about the set-up. Sad news on that front - I breathed on it and it all collapsed! Need to reassemble it in a slightly more robust fashion!

Cheers,

Ian . . .

[Giroud Francois]

the power presenter RF (red button, not the blue one) has programmable keys
see user manual that explained this
-----------------------------------------------
Changing the Remote Keystrokes
1) Turn on your computer and let it fully boot-up.
2) Plug the USB or PS/2 cable into the back of your computer.
3) Plug the other end of the USB or PS/2 cable into the PS/2 port on the receiver.
4) Launch a text editing software application (i.e. MS Word).
5) Open a blank document and display it on the front window of your monitor.
6) On the back of the Base / Receiver, press the Program Button three (3) times.
7) Keyboard commands will begin appearing on your open text window. When the command required for your software appears, press the button on your
remote that you wish to match to that keystroke.
a) For Power Point the normal commands are:
• Page Down – Top Button
• Page Up – Middle Button
• b (blank screen) – Top and Middle Buttons pressed together
b) For Media Shout the normal commands are:
• F10 – Top Button
• F9 – Middle Button
• F6 (blank screen) – Top and Middle Buttons pressed together
8) When a command is recognized, the LED on the Base / Receiver will flash and the scrolling text will pause. The scrolling will continue until all three
button command options (top, middle, both) are programmed
9) If you do not wish to use all three keystroke commands, simply unplug your Base / Receiver from the cable to stop the process.
10) Close your text editing software application.
11) Test your remote to confirm the commands you have selected.

[Peter Dunphy]

This looks like a really great solution! SO much more affordable that standard teleprompt solutions.

Let me just clarify, as I'm new to the world of teleprompting...

Would the following package of items available from

Kensington Si600 Wireless Presenter with Laser Pointer - Presentation remote control - radio: Kensington: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

Kensington Si600 Wireless Presenter with Laser Pointer - Presentation remote control - radio: Kensington: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

be suitable for a presenter to read a scrolling script?

Kensington Si600 Wireless Presenter with Laser Pointer - Presentation remote control - radio by Kensington £21.40

Optoma DS211 2500 ANSI SVGA DLP Projector £219.99

Adastra 86 Tripod Projector Screen £56.70

Is there anything else I might require? A particular kind of laptop or software? Cables? Crocodile clips?

Warm regards

Peter