What are you using for teleprompter software?

[George Odell]

Looking for recommendations for teleprompter software. I built my last system based on an 8" CRT and that works fine if the "talent" is within 6 feet of the screen. The software for it is DOS based and kind of clunky to use but I've made it work for some 20 years or so.

Looking to upgrade now. Will make a new system using an LCD screen.... 12" sounds about right. Problem is you cannot flip the scan on an LCD the way you can with a CRT... just reverse the coil wires. I need a program that will flip the output and keep the laptop correct. Not easy to find.

I've tried some half dozen "freebee" and "low cost" programs out there and they are all terrible... just terrible. Tried a product called "Promptdog" that I had very high hopes for. Easy to edit and change fonts, etc. and it would output to a second monitor and allow you to flip the lettering left to right and keep the laptop screen correct. Great!!

Problem is it scrolls terrible. Way to choppy for any serious use. My old DOS system was smooth as silk at any speed and so easy to control the speed by sliding the mouse up and down. I loved it.

So what else is out there?

[Battle Vaughan]

Have a look at dvinfo.net user Mike Drob's excellent freeware, here: EasyPrompter - The free, web-based, plugin-free, browser independent, online and offline teleprompter and auto-cue software

[Les Wilson]

My Prompter People teleprompter has a 16x9 7" flat screen and it flips in hardware.

I use Presentation Prompter software that scrolls smoothly and has speed adjustment. It also supports flipping.

[Josh Bass]

As a professional freelance prompter operator (yes, for real), the ones I come across most frequently and like are Telescript AV, PowerPrompter EZ, and Flip Q Pro.

I have no idea what these cost or if they're purchasable separately from the prompter hardware.

[George Odell]

Originally Posted by Les Wilson

I use Presentation Prompter software that scrolls smoothly and has speed adjustment. It also supports flipping.

I see that's Mac only so I've ask a friend to download the demo and try it.

Thanks : )

[George Odell]

Originally Posted by Josh Bass

As a professional freelance prompter operator (yes, for real), the ones I come across most frequently and like are Telescript AV, PowerPrompter EZ, and Flip Q Pro.

Well, Telescript AV is $1000 so we will forget that one for now.

By PowerPrompter do you mean ProPrompter? I will try that one next. Sells for $250 for the advanced version.

I tried Flip Q on two Dell laptops and could not get the VGA output to scroll smoothly. Always had some artifact like stuttering in one case and wavy lettering in the other. Called them and the tech guy said "We've sold 20,000 of these and no one has ever complained of this before."

Just my luck I bought two different computers and they both have these issues. \ (

Are you able to get perfectly and I mean perfectly smooth scrolling on your VGA monitor at all speeds? If so, what software are you using and what computer (model, speed, OS) are you running it on?

Do a right click on your desktop and select Properties > Settings > Advanced > Adapter
and tell me what graphics card you have and how much memory.


Thanks

[Josh Bass]

I don't own any gear. . .I always subcontract through others who provide the gear.

Maybe it is Proprompter. . .I'll try to look next time.

Flip Q, yes, I've used it with several different clients' computers and it always scrolls smoothly. Couldn't say what accounts for your issue.

Describy the "wavy letters". . .do you mean a line in about the middle of the screen, through which any letters that pass become wavy for just a split second? Sounds like what sometimes happens when scrolling really fast (or what I consider fast). If it's what I'm thinking of it's pretty mild, and I've never had a reader complain. Same with the stuttering. . .going faster than a certain speed can make it a little less smooth but again, never had a complaint.

Might try reducing font size so you don't have to go as fast. I realize at a certain point or in certain conditions this becomes impossible (font too small too read, or talent is necessarily very far from cam necessitating large font size).

Let me just say this. . .Telescript is hella expensive, BUT, just like anything else. . .where/in what situations/how often will you be using it? I do everything from small corporate gigs to live shows with presidential systems, and I wouldn't want anything else for those. Just like your with your cam, lights, audio, etc., you don't want to show up on set with some Mickey Mouse/Bush league nonsense and have it fail at the worst time and embarrass you. Also, part of what makes telescript so useful is the amount of different crap it can do. When your client says "can you make the font do this and then when it gets here blah blah and blah blah?" you always want to be able to answer yes.

[George Odell]

Guess I'm spoiled from using a CRT system all these many years. They do not suffer the ills of the LCD. Scrolling was like mercury on glass... at any speed and any font size.

God bless the CRT. You will be missed : (

[Tim Kay]

I've tried one of the free softwares. It was good but had a limit of 3 pages or 3 mins. Forget the name, but if I needed the full version I'd be happy paying for it.