BURY ST. EDMUNDS, U.K.—At the 2026 NAB Show, April 18-22 in Las Vegas, Autocue will highlight its latest prompting solutions, including its new PTZ prompter

Launched at the 2026 IBC Show and making its NAB Show debut, Autocue’s new PTZ prompter will be demonstrated with a Sony FR7, showing how the camera can calibrate seamlessly within the hood. This enables fast setup and startup, helping operators maintain efficient workflows in remote and automated productions.

Autocue will also demonstrate its Pioneer Studio Teleprompter, a high-performance, high brightness prompter designed to meet the demands of modern studio production. Shown with a clock and tally light, the complete Pioneer Studio package delivers a reliable, broadcast-standard prompting solution while remaining a cost-effective option for a wide-range of production studios.

“NAB is an important opportunity for us to demonstrate how our solutions are evolving alongside the industry,” said Aaron Brady, Technical Specialist. “From our award-winning PTZ prompter to accessible, high-performance studio systems like Pioneer, we’re focused on making professional prompting more flexible and efficient than ever.”

Autocue will be in booth C5816 in the Central Hall of the LVCC.

BURY ST. EDMUNDS, England—Autoscript and Autocue will showcase their newly launched PTZ prompter system during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.

Designed to provide seamless, professional prompting in dynamic multicamera environments, the PTZ prompter system is shared by both brands. The Autoscript PTZ Prompter and the Autocue PTZ Prompter feature a purpose-built, rigid enclosure that houses the PTZ camera. The solution offers streamlined installation, efficient cable routing, PTZ camera protection and a superior on-air experience.

“Prompting with PTZ cameras has always involved compromise until now,” said Anel Abiken, product manager of prompting. “By collaborating across both brands and closely with our customers, we’ve developed an innovative solution that offers a stable, flexible solution for any studio setup. It simplifies installation, protects the camera and improves workflow across the board.”

Engineered for broadcast use, the PTZ prompters support a wide range of PTZ cameras, including the Sony FR7. When used with the Sony FR7, the camera can calibrate with the prompter glass mounted, eliminating the need to remove the glass to make adjustments.

Features include:

• In-hood calibration fully compatible with PTZ cameras, including the Sony FR7.
• Internal camera cradle for inverted PTZ mounting.
• Continuous adjustment of the camera position.
• Plus-or-minus 15-degree panning and plus-or-minus 5-degree tilting inside the hood with wide-angle lens.
• VESA mounting on top and rear for flexible rigging.
• Robust composite structure with internal cable routing.

The Autoscript PTZ Prompter comes in a premium EVO-IP configuration with carbon fiber finish and side flags, while the Autocue PTZ Prompter features a matte black design and Pioneer monitor options.

The PTZ prompters can be ordered beginning in September 2025 in the Autocue Pioneer and Autoscript EVO-IP configurations.

See Autocue and Autoscript at IBC2025 Stand 13.A05.

More information is available on the Autocue and Autoscript websites.

WICHITA, Kan.–ABC affiliate KAKE Television, owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group, went on-air in 1954 from a facility here in Wichita, Kan. The station serves as the flagship of KAKEland Television Network (KTN) which comprises eight stations that relay ABC shows and other programming provided by KAKE. Central to our success is our popular locally produced newscasts that reach homes across central and western Kansas and stretch as far as counties in Colorado and Oklahoma.  

This year marks a milestone for KAKE as we celebrate our 70th anniversary by launching a totally redesigned state-of-the-art studio. We wanted only the very latest cutting-edge technology to provide our viewers with a superior visual experience. The project included an updated camera system, new LED lighting and an advanced motion graphics package. We also knew that this major upgrade had to include the very latest and most reliable teleprompter technology available. 

New Studio, New Tech
As corporate chief engineer of the Lockwood Broadcast Television Stations Group, I oversee growth initiatives for the group and am involved in all technical operations.  As such, I was determined that each equipment choice represented the latest technologies, met our requirements, and was interoperable. 

I was introduced to CueScript at several industry events and came to know the company as a forward-thinking organization.  Michael Accardi, CueScript’s founder and president, was a terrific ambassador for the brand, always available and always paying close attention to our requirements and priorities. I knew both support and performance would be top notch.

IP-Based Teleprompters
We installed six IP-based CueScript teleprompters which are a combination of the hardware framework, and the software that run the scripts. We use Juniper switchers in the studio that are connected by fiber to our Juniper core IP infrastructure. Connectivity is only as good as the network and using IP connectivity made setup fast and easy.

The actual installation was also a breeze and very intuitive. KAKE Chief Engineer Mark Jenkins— who was on set daily—said the process was effortless and the smoothest part of the installation. The prompters pointed at our MOS system, connected, and started pulling scripts immediately. We didn’t need any real training either, just a short remote session and we were up and running.

CueScript prompters offer a choice of handheld remotes or very sturdy foot pedals. So far, our talent seems to prefer the remotes, but it’s nice to have the choice. Looking forward, if we have a need to increase our prompter family, I will call CueScript. 

More information is available at www.cuescript.tv/

At the 2023 IBC Show, Sept. 15-18 in Amsterdam, CueScript will showcase a range of tools to help broadcasters more easily produce content in the field.

The company will demo its newest product CueTALK Cloud, which is designed to allow CueScripts’ prompting software CueiT- and CueTALK-enabled devices, which feature the latest in IP connectivity, to communicate over WiFi. It allows controllers and prompt devices to be accessible via the cloud using standard public internet connection. It is also designed to align CueiT to be more user-friendly and easily set up between local and remote applications.

 CueTALK Cloud serves as a VPN replacement solution and brings an enhanced level of flexibility to users working on remote locations. By doing so, this allows for accurate teleprompting anywhere there is an Internet connection and is great for prompting on-the-go, the company said.

CueScript will also highlight SayiT, its first voice-activated solution for its CueiT prompting software. SayiT software application receives a talent microphone input and allows those using the CueiT teleprompting software to be able to have the script automatically scroll in accordance to what they are saying, matching what is displayed on the output of the teleprompter and eliminating the need to manually scroll the prompter script. SayiT can also be used as a main or back-up option for stations with no or few operators, or for stations looking to automate talent scrolling their own script. 

OnTime, a WiFi enabled clock device that can be easily configured to the local time zone, will also be highlighted at its booth. Designed for broadcast teams that require an accurate timing device on the road—especially for those that are traveling to multiple locations—OnTime provides NTP to clocks and is connected via WiFi.

“CueTALK Cloud, SayiT and OnTime are all designed to provide ease of operation for broadcasters across multiple production applications and workflows,” says Michael Accardi, President, CueScript. “By employing these solutions, broadcast teams can work smarter with more reliability, anywhere in the world. CueScript is dedicated to delivering state-of-the-art prompting for in-studio and remote broadcasting workflows.”

CueScript will be in Stand 11.D10. To register for IBC, visit show.ibc.org/registration

LONDON—Autoscript today released WinPlus-IP v1.12, the latest upgrade for its prompting software with new support for the ability to take prompt output from a PC as local video or an NDI stream and Arabic languages with its Voice speech recognition system as well as use of a single license on different installations.

“Voice delivers real-time control of a prompted script simply by speaking the words,” said Ibrahim Akkad, Autoscript regional sales manager for the Middle East. “Arabic is the official language of 22 countries in the Middle East, where the broadcast industry is significantly growing. This important update brings the power of Voice speech recognition to Arabic speakers, freeing presenters, and production staff from dependence on foot or hand controls.”

The latest release offers new optional local and NDI prompter licenses, which allow the prompt output to be taken directly from a PC as a local video output or as an NDI stream and thereby removing the needed for an Xbox-IP or IP prompter in all cases. NDI integration with the company’s IP prompting workflow enables fully IP productions to produce prompt output video for third-party equipment, such as TriCasters and multiviewers, the company said.

WinPlus-IP v1.12 also introduces dongle license support, allowing licenses to be linked to a dongle rather than a PC. This gives users the ability to transfer their license between different WP-IP installations, it said.

“Dongle licensing… [is] particularly useful for rental houses with operators out on a variety of jobs each week, giving them the freedom to move operators independently from the prompting PCs. Dongles can also be used for manual disaster recovery,” said Autoscript product manager Philip Dalgoutte, who added the approach overall is more flexible for  WinPlus-IP users.

Existing WinPlus-IP owners who upgrade to v1.12 can migrate from the current machine ID licensing to USB dongle licensing. WinPlus-IP customers can upgrade for free for up to one year from date of purchase. The company is supplying the latest software release as standard with all new installations, it said.

A free demo version is available online. More information is available on the company’s website.

LONDON—Autoscript has unveiled Autoscript Voice, a prompter control technology that gives presenters real-time control of their prompted scripts by speaking the words written there, removing dependence on foot or hand controls.

Designed to be used with the company’s WinPlus-IP fully IP-enabled prompting software, Voice offers a solution customized to the user. It monitors production audio and automatically advances the script as words are spoken, said Autoscript.

Relying on real-time speech recognition, proprietary algorithms and advanced pattern matching, Voice scrolls the script in perfect sync with the presenter, the company said.

Voice pauses for adlibs and resumes scrolling when the presenter is back on script. The system automatically handles various script and show formats. Multiple presenters can use Voice. It can be used simultaneously with other Autoscript scroll control devices, Autoscript said.

“Everyone is talking about Voice,” said Philip Dalgoutte, product manager at Autoscript. “The networks that have been using Autoscript Voice in their daily live operations [and] have been astounded by the quality of the workflow.” 

“For presenters, it’s almost unbelievable that such precise prompting control is possible by simply talking. It’s effortless, with no controllers for them to operate [so] they can focus on presenting, and everything just works.” 

A large U.S. TV network has used Voice for more than three years, which included an extended beta test during which live newscasts were shadowed. The testing and consultation with the network were important drivers in successfully developing Voice for live news broadcasts and entertainment productions. Following the test period, the network integrated Voice into its workflow, it said.

The new Autoscript Voice teleprompting control system can be used to control output to EPIC-IP and EVO-IP prompt monitors and Xbox-IP Scroll Engines. It is available for demonstration from Autoscript representatives now.

More information is available on the company’s website.

LONDON—The teleprompter has long been a mainstay of live television, replacing the earlier and unkindly named “idiot board,” but still ensuring that on-air presenters get their lines right. Its necessary usefulness moved beyond TV into live events such as political conferences, corporate presentations and product launches.

Their ubiquity and effectiveness now extend into the realm of independent and individual internet broadcasters, to the extent that there are regularly videos on YouTube selecting the best teleprompters for YouTube.

SMALL AND PORTABLE

By its very nature, this end of the market is serviced primarily by systems in the $80–$1,400 price bracket but over the past year the higher-end manufacturers have been looking more closely at how their technology can be used both at and from home, for traditional broadcasters rather than YouTubers.

“We have seen an increase in the need to use smaller, more portable displays for prompter text, especially when home working,” said Robin Brown, product manager of Autoscript (part of the Vitec group with Autocue). “These screens are mostly tablet-sized and the ability to connect an iPad into the system as a prompter, without any added latency from streaming video, has been significant for many of our customers.”

Brown explains that “network coverage and simplicity of configuration” have made this way of working easily adoptable and simple to apply. The mass uptake of remote workflows was necessitated by the pandemic of the past year but has been enabled by the continuing evolution of connectivity technologies. “The speed of change in IP development and deployment—plus the global pandemic—has dramatically changed what users expect of prompting and what it can deliver,” said Brown. “Remote operations have become commonplace for users to request this mode of working, which is making for a buoyant market.”

Covid-19 has affected every person and every business, forcing media enterprises to find more ways to connect to small devices at remote locations, according to Chris O’Brien, president of Telescript International. The understanding and popularity of teleprompting has increased considerably, O’Brien says, with greater demand for these units not just in the home but new and established studios as well.

“The need for ‘smarter’ IP-based solutions is extremely important, which is why Telescript is partnering with a global technology company to add their IP into our monitors,” he said, adding that the details of this partnership will be announced this month.

FEWER PHYSICAL BOUNDARIES

A practical downside to the shift towards more compact devices is emerging technology meeting the limitations of human faculties.

“Everyone wants smaller but the problem is that the talents’ eyes are not getting any better,” said Michael Accardi, president of CueScript. “Small consumer-based products fall short on readability, connectivity and dependability. Now more than ever, people are depending on prompters to get the message out the first time and we have been designing systems that meet the customers’ needs. There is no room for error.”

In general, Accardi observes, the prompting market is scrambling to cope with the new normal. The reaction to Covid-19—with more home and remote working—has brought about new styles of broadcast operations, which extend to teleprompters.

“Today, operators and talent can be anywhere—they do not have to be together,” he says. “All physical boundaries have been lifted and it is common for an operator in their home to be prompting for multiple talent in multiple locations.”

Prompter vendors have been seeing very specific requests from end-users to meet these changing requirements, according to JT Meidl, president of Mirror Image Teleprompters, noting that one particular customer requested an iPad be mounted on the front of the company’s new LC-12 E camera teleprompter.

“The iPad acts as a talent monitor and receives a live network feed, allowing for perfect eye contact,” Meidl said. “The system was installed in the customer’s mobile studio van and has been used since the start of the pandemic by a major network.”

Studio equipment developers have also been looking at how to incorporate prompters into more compact and integrated systems. Robotic camera control specialist Telemetrics developed the Telepod with this in mind.

According to company Vice President Michael Cuomo, Telepod interfaces with “most teleprompting systems and automatically keeps the prompter facing the talent at all times and varying heights.”

Cuomo adds that the Telepod is a response to the trend for fewer personnel in TV studios. It includes the RoboEye 4K pan/tilt camera system, Televator Mini elevating pedestal, floor dolly and RCCP-2A robotic control panel featuring reFrame AI software. “Hands -free prompting will soon be used for all newscasts, going the way of the three camera setup of robotic camera that is now operated by one person in the control room,” he said.

INTEGRATION WITH THIRD PARTIES

Overall integration is the ongoing trend in broadcasting with Telescript’s Chris O’Brien adding that customers are increasingly looking for integrated IP prompting systems that work with the main newsroom technologies from the likes of ENPS, Avid iNews and Octopus while at the same time supporting SDI facilities.

“With many studios, colleges and TV professionals turning to IP solutions, teleprompting displays that natively connect to IP environments make adding prompting to a network easy,” he said. “The future is smarter, smaller, sleeker, with the emphasis on smarter systems that can interconnect through IP networks.”

Autoscript, a pioneer of IP workflows for telepromting, says its “Intelligent Prompting” system, which is fully-IP enabled, will similarly change how people use teleprompters.

“Our primary focus is building responsive technologies that enable broadcasters to work more flexibly and manage resources more efficiently,” Brown said. “Ensuring presenters always remain confidently on script is our goal because that’s the ultimate test of any prompting system.”

Accardi agrees that IP-based prompting “is not the future, it is today,” adding that the demand for flexibility, speed and dependability is driving development. He also does not see the new workflows developed for remote production will go away.

“This adoption of remote prompting will only expand, changing the way we do sports, location shoots, satellite studios and more,” he said. “Customers now understand how to leverage their existing systems and in turn we will see prompters in more places than ever before.”

WATERTOWN, Mass.—One of the biggest stages in broadcast TV is a political debate. While the candidates do their best to make a good impression on voters, the equipment behind the scenes must perform flawlessly. When our ECS Video Systems team rolled into Manchester, N.H., for the Democratic debates taking place just days before the state’s Presidential primary in February, we relied on teleprompter displays from CueScript to keep everyone on script.

ECS Video Systems, a Boston-area-based video equipment rental company specializing in teleprompter gear, was contracted by ABC News to provide prompter support for their production of the primary debates, as well as additional coverage of the debates for “Good Morning America,” “ABC Live” and “World News Tonight.” The broadcasts occurred in two venues, including a skating rink that was turned into a very large studio for the debate, among other broadcasts.

INCREASED DEMAND

We were contracted by ABC several weeks in advance, but it became evident as the requirements evolved, and as other requests for gear during the primary came in, that we would need more equipment to fill all the order. The customer service I received from Michael Accardi and CueScript was great. We were on the phone Tuesday and I had six very large boxes couriered to our office on Thursday, ready for us to transport to New Hampshire the next day.

Across the venues, our team installed six displays, using a combination of 17-inch (CMS17) and 19-inch (CMS19) LED high-bright HD-SDI displays. Each display had an output of 1,500 nits, so we were confident these high bright prompters would give us exactly what we needed in terms of readability, clarity and brightness.

The displays also worked well with the different support equipment used on the broadcast, and their rigidity allowed for wobble-free movement. It also helped that these displays set up relatively easily thanks to most pieces being able to be assembled by only using a slotted screwdriver. Finally, the monitors are equipped with multiple input options from composite through HDMI and SDI; for the New Hampshire primary debate, both composite and SDI were utilized.

The CueScript displays handled intro and outros during the debate, as well as text for the moderators and anchors. When someone has a prompter that is bright, crisp and clear, they are more comfortable, they present better and the event can flow more smoothly.

The bottom line is the equipment has to simply work in a live production environment, and that was the case with the New Hampshire primary debate’s use of CueScript displays.

Eric Silverstein is the president of ECS Video Systems Inc., in Watertown, Mass., just outside Boston. ECS Video has been renting teleprompter gear to the corporate, broadcast and staging communities for more than 30 years. Eric can be reached at erics@ecsvideosystems.com.

For more information, visit www.cuescript.tv or call 203-763-4030.

SEATTLE—Teleprompting has come a long way since the half silvered mirror allowed scripts to be scrolled in front of the camera lens, unseen by the viewers at home. Today, the influx of mobile devices connected via IP has greatly expanded options and capabilities for any newscaster (or politician).

NO MORE CONVERTING

The new standard for IP video transport prompted Cuescript to roll out the CSMV2, a prompting system based on the SMPTE-2110 protocol, according to Michael Accardi, president of the company.

“With this solution, I don’t need a single adapter cable, I don’t need a single up converter, down converter, all that expense, all those failure points,” he said. “We’ve easily been working on that five years, because SMPTE hadn’t actually decided on a standard until recently.”

Not everybody needs to dive in head first to a total IP prompting solution, however.

“There are now some applications where you say: ‘this IP stuff sounds interesting,’” Accardi added. “But if you’re in an installation that has distribution for composite or HD-SDI, going to an IP solution doesn’t buy you much.”

Accardi says stations can use IP to stay connected between hubs and remote facilities.

“They can connect between the big facility and the little remote facilities via IP, as long as they can see the network,” he said. “They can prompt to that remote facility and it doesn’t cost them anything. It’s such a simple, simple way to do it.

“So we’re actually thinking IP is a hybrid,” he added. “It kind of works with the guys who have coax already, but when they’re doing a remote, that’s all SMPTE 2110 IP.”

READY FOR IP

Robin Brown, product manager for prompters at Autoscript and Autocue with The Vitec Group, agrees that not everybody needs to go full-tilt into IP prompting. “Customers or users who are a little bit apprehensive about going all IP can still use exactly the same workflow that they did before,” he said.

But they want to be ready when a customer wants to deploy IP. Brown said the company began redeveloping its Autoscript products “from soup to nuts” approximately two and a half years ago.

“We’ve completely redeveloped the application, the connection and the mode of data transport,” he said. “So basically, all of the devices now have IP connectivity.”

Brown emphasizes that the new IP-based prompters send data, not video over IP.

“When the script comes in from the newsroom, when we send it to our device which is either in Seattle, or in L.A. or it’s in San Francisco or in London, it gets sent as small data packets,” he said. “The rendering is done in the device itself. So the monitor which the talent is sitting, reading from, we’re not streaming video.

“So you can send very small data packets very quickly, very easily, very simple to configure, and it means you can do prompting anywhere,” Brown added. “And we also do it on an iPad. So rather than just a big studio teleprompter, we can send exactly the same data to an iPad. If you have breaking news and you need a prompter, you can take your iPad with you, stick it on your Wi-Fi network, and the scripts are then scrolled from the main newsroom studio.”

TEAM EFFORT

Chris O’Brien is not only managing partner of Norwood, N.J.-based prompter manufacturer Telescript International, he also owns VIP, a teleprompting service company.

“Because of the relationship between Telescript and VIP,” he said, “we use feedback from VIP operators to help us change and adapt our prompting equipment. We make adjustments for the industry and professional operator based on the feedback we get from them.”

One feature they’ve added for the most complicated prompting jobs is a proprietary messaging system, where operators can send private messages to each other. He cited the example of an Oscars or Emmys program, “where you need multiple operators working the show because it’s so difficult to do,” he said. “There are so many changes. Maybe they’re running out of time. Maybe somebody didn’t show up, which happens.

“So with our messaging system, one operator can send a message that says ‘hey listen, I’ve made an update, or there’s something going on,’ where they can talk to each other. And it allows multiple writers to make changes to scripts and send them to the prompter while it’s still in the Prompt mode. It’s a big deal to allow those instantaneous last minute changes that those shows demand.”

STAYING UP TO DATE

Prompting software needs to stay current with the latest OS it resides on, according to JT Meidl, president of Mirror Image Teleprompters in Oshkosh, Wis. “There’s nothing worse than software that doesn’t work,” he said.

“We deal with a lot of schools and small TV stations as well, and when they make an investment in software, they don’t want it obsolete after a year or so. So it’s important to me that software is updated to the latest operating systems.” (All prompter makers we talked to made a point of staying current to operating systems.)

Meidl pointed to a split of customer opinions when it comes to replacing monitors for teleprompting systems. “On the industrial side, people want HDMI inputs,” he said. “On the professional side, which is basically the TV stations, they’re looking for SDI inputs. And that’s kind of an interesting thing.

“We’re replacing a lot of older LCD panels, which are VGA monitors, with SDI monitors,” Meidl added. “And of course they’re Pro Series, and they have video reverse. People are really enjoying that because they don’t have to worry about the flip boxes to reverse the mirror effect; they’re having the software doing the flip for you.

“It’s a nice monitor upgrade: we’re able to save the mirror, save the hood, save the bracket, save the housing. Just get a better monitor in there.”

SEATTLE—If you ever start taking the teleprompter system in the news studio for granted, just watch what happens when it goes down: you’ll see mayhem followed by finger pointing and yelling. The teleprompter is mission critical.

Along with the rest of a studio’s infrastructure, teleprompters are now increasingly IP-based. A fully IP prompter system would be connected by nothing but CAT5 cables riding on a network. Instead of feeding video to the prompter monitor, data is fed to it and the monitor makes its own video, which it displays. Among the advantages to this is that there’s no issue with different formats and video cables. And anywhere you can get to the network, you can have a scrolling controller, even if it’s half way around the world.

NOT A ‘SEAMLESS SOLUTION’
CueScript and the two Vitec Group teleprompter brands, Autoscript and Autocue, have been working on IP prompter systems in their arsenals for several years (editor's note: updated from print version of this story).

CueScript’s PTZ Prompter System

“IP is certainly a growing trend,” said Vitec Group product marketing manager Ginny Grove. “And we’re seeing it globally, it’s something customers are moving to or aspiring to. It never has been a seamless solution, however. Somewhere you always end up with another cable being required.”

It’s still a little early, agreed Michael Accardi, president of CueScript. Although a few facilities have built all IP infrastructures, including prompters, just to show they could do it, “broadcasters in 99 percent of the cases are not ready for an all-IP prompter system. They may have IP prompter screens and controllers, but if their multi-viewers aren’t IP ready, then they’ll need a video box to generate video for that. Just because my prompter monitors can take a CAT5 cable doesn’t mean my whole facility can take it.”

Both companies are building hybrid components that sport a variety of input jacks, including CAT5. This allows the facility to migrate to IP on their own schedule. “We don’t want to cut out our existing customers, existing facilities,” said Grove. “So we’re maintaining a video structure alongside the IP structure, so people can transition as they want.”

Both companies have wireless scrolling controller solutions available, but have steered clear of Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connections at this time; it’s a matter of trusting those technologies. As noted earlier, prompting for live television production is mission critical.

This slow rollout of fully-IP prompter systems has allowed prompter makers to refine their systems without the pressure of equipping the entire industry with the technology today. “We’ve had our baptism, we know what the firewalls are like, we know nets and subnets, and security at different facilities,” said Accardi.

TABLETS AS AN OPTION
“We’ve noticed a steady rise in the number of people that want to use an iPad or tablet for teleprompting,” said Mike Burdick, sales manager for Mirror Image in Oshkosh, Wis., which has coupled tablets with components of the company’s professional prompter line. “We use the same wide-angle mirror, heavy-duty lens hood and fully adjustable camera mount as our high-end teleprompters.” He cautions that “although the ability to use the iPad or tablet as a teleprompter is an easy, cost-effective prompting solution, it does have some drawbacks.” Among the most obvious is that the screens are not bright enough to be effective when used for prompting outdoors. Though a tablet screen may be visible in daylight normally, it’s well to remember that when used as a prompter, the mirror will cut down light passing through it. For that kind of outdoor use, Burdick recommends at least a 1000 NIT day bright monitor. (A NIT is an amount of light output equal to one candela per square meter (cd/m2)).

Autoscript’s EPIC-IP 19XL teleprompter

Just back from NAB, Chris O’Brien, managing partner at Telescript International, said he’s seeing that “everything’s getting smaller, especially robotics and robotic cameras. So we make monitors for prompters specifically for robotic cameras.”

It’s a problem of achieving the right balance of the monitor and the new, smaller cameras. Customers want the same-size monitor and mirror assembly so that the anchors can read scripts alright. But that can make the payload on the robotic head front-heavy. “We take the electronics out of the front end of the monitor and stick it onto the back,” said O’Brien. “This allows us to significantly reduce the weight of the payload because we don’t have to put a counterweight back there.”

One challenge that prompter makers are running up against is mounting prompting systems onto the small PTZ cameras. The panning and tilting motors on PTZs are so small that they can’t perform smoothly when trying to carry the monitor assembly along with the camera.

O’Brien’s solution for PTZ prompting is a fold down design that can be erected when prompting is needed, “and when you don’t need the teleprompter you can fold down the teleprompter glass and hood, and you can actually gain a lot more of the PTZ panning and tilting because the teleprompter isn’t in the way.”

Teleprompters are likely to change a lot in the next decade.

OTTAWA—Judging by the products teleprompters manufacturers introduced at the 2016 NAB Show, today’s TV stations want prompters that can run on low-cost platforms like iPads, yet can stand up to the brightest light that the sun can throw at them.

DESIGNED FOR THE LARGER IPAD
Autocue has updated its prompting solutions designed specifically for the Apple iPad Pro. The company (a Vitec Videcom brand) is pitching its existing Starter Series iPad Teleprompter for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, while the latest update to the Starter Series is being targeted to users of the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Both come with camera hood mounts and angled glass that allow either unit to reflect its text directly in front of the camera lens; allowing talent to read while looking into the camera.

Autocue’s iPad Pro Prompter is compatible with both the 9.7-inch and new 12.9-inch models. The 12.9-inch model was just introduced onto the market earlier this year and its larger size makes it more versatile for broadcast operations, according to Robin Brown, product manager for Autocue/Autoscript. “For the talent to use [the 9.7 inch iPad Pro] as a prompter, the equipment has to be six feet or closer,” he said. “When you use the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, its larger screen allows the camera to be as far as 15 feet away from the talent, while the text remains readable. This makes the 12.9-inch version practical for most TV production studios.” The 12.9-inch version of Autocue’s Starter Series iPad Teleprompter also allows text speed and direction to be controlled using an iPad/iTouch device, or an optional wired remote.

Autocue has also announced that it has adopted NewTek’s open Network Device Interface (NDI) standard, for IP-based production workflows associated with Autocue’s QStart Prompting Software. “With NDI enabled, Autocue’s QStart is recognized as a source by other NDI-enabled devices and systems connected to a standard Ethernet local area network,” said Brown. “This exponentially increases the number of video sources available for live production without the need for a physical input or output.”

Vitec Videocom’s Autoscript used the NAB Show to announce that it has created an “original automated newsroom workflow” in partnership with Sony. The new system merges Autoscript’s Winplus teleprompting software and Sony’s ELC (Enhanced Live Control) system. ELC is a live production system that manages all newscast functions—cameras, graphics, playout servers, and other sources—from a single operator position. The new partnership provides ELC with Autoscript’s prompting capabilities, with the company’s WinPlus software giving the operator control of the script feed/speed, and the prompter rundown.

“Putting Winplus teleprompting together with Sony’s ELC makes it possible for one person to live-produce a newscast that is professional, polished, and flexible,” said Brown

Cuesript’s CSP10S prompter systemRIBBON-STYLE MENU
Cuescript used the NAB Show to mark the U.S. debut of its family of CueiT prompting software for video producers and broadcasters. The company also unveiled its new CSP10S prompter system, which is designed for use with jibs, cranes, and mobile broadcast applications.

CueiT employs a “ribbon-style menu,” so that the system’s onscreen features are viewable at all times without blocking the script and run order. It also uses commands and features that can be accessed from multiple sources during live broadcasts, and markers to let the prompting operator set up their own “sub-run order and pinpoint positions,” allowing them to move through the script in ways that make sense to them. CueiT comes with multi-language and full bidirectional ability within a script, and is available in CueiT Premier for the entry-level market, CueiT Production and CueiT News.

CSP10S comes with a collapsible hood and prompter glass that can clear the shot of a 4:5 lens, or the monitor can be rigged as a straight reading system without any additional hardware. The built-in cue lights change orientation automatically and the 10.4-inch screen boasts a 2000 nits brightness screen, meaning that it can be read in the brightest sunlight outside.

DEFEATING THE GLARE
Field teleprompters are becoming increasingly popular with TV stations who want their reporters to be as poised speaking to camera in the middle of nowhere, as they are when in studio. The only downside is that field prompters have to stand up against the glare of the sun, which can wash out the prompter’s reflective glass and leave the talent ad-libbing.

Mirror Image Teleprompters in Oshkosh, Wis., has addressed this problem with the release of its LC-120 (12-inch LCD) and LC-170 (17-inch LCD) field prompters. Both portable units output 1000 nits of screen brightness to blaze their text through the sun’s glare; and both can accept composite, HDMI, SDI, and VGA inputs.

“We have had several customers who purchase an iPad teleprompter with the intent of using it in the field, only to find that the sun washes out the tablet’s screen,” Mike Burdick, sales manager for Mirror Image. “We have been relaying this observation to all new iPad teleprompter customers as well, just in case they planned to use the prompter in the same way.”

Burdick noted that Mirror Image has updated its product line to accept both HDMI and SDI signals “that are being utilized so much more in the industry,” he said. “In changing our LCD monitors to accept these inputs, we also made them early three times as bright as they were before.”

Autoscript Epic
SEATTLE—There have been so many technology changes that stations and studios and field production crews have had to implement over the past decade, that the comparatively simple teleprompter may seem like it’s doing OK. The talent reads them day after day, after all.

But according to JT Meidl, president of Mirror Image in Oshkosh, Wis., there are obvious signs when stations should replace prompters. “If you’ve still got the big, heavy CRT hanging off the front of the camera, then it’s time to change,” he said. CRTs wear out and it’s hard to find any replacements, other than on the used market where they’re probably already close to worn out.

A new style of prompter that Mirror Image has developed is its Pan/Tilt Series LCD prompter, designed for Sony or Panasonic PTZ self-contained robotic cameras. “The camera fits inside the teleprompter hood assembly, and it’s able to pan side to side and up and down, within certain limits of course,” he said. They’ve also been working with Ross on prompters for that company’s line of full-size robotic pan and tilt robotic cameras.

FADING FLAT SCREENS

According to Michael Accardi, president of Cuescript in Fairfield, Conn., not only do CRT prompters need to be replaced, but many of the older flat screen prompters aren’t delivering what they once were. “They actually do wear out,” he said. “And you don’t realize it because it’s gradual, but most of the teleprompters out there are probably 50 percent as bright as they used to be, and it makes it much harder for the talent to read.”

He noted it’s not just the prompter screens that need replacement, but “the old style mounting equipment that’s out there, it doesn’t do justice to what people need to do a prompter job today.” This is especially true when mounted on a robotic pan and tilt head, where users don’t want a lot of play in the prompter assembly fighting the very precise robotic movements.

“TV stations like that because it looks better, they can move faster,” Accardi said. “They’ve had robotics that can do a certain move, but they had to go slower because the prompter was not able to keep up. It’s [also] much better for their servos.”

Accardi said his customers aren’t afraid to spend for his highest end prompters. “People want to buy once, they want somebody to stand behind it, they don’t want any of the aggravations,” he said. A variety of inputs is also a must. “We’re composite and VGA, but we also have the HD-SDI capability, so they can input any signal they want.”

UPGRADE PATH

CueScript’s CSM Monitor with 19-inch Talent Monitor
Ray Blumenthal, vice president of Broadcast Sales for Tiffen, parent company of the Listec teleprompter brand, said his company designed its prompters to be gradually upgraded. “I’m a big believer in either retrofit or future-proofed, so when something new happens, you could upgrade it,” he said.

Blumenthal agrees with Accardi on the need to replace fading displays. “Even flat displays, the very early ones, are coming to the end of their lives,” he said. “The new ones today have displays that are so much brighter—that’s the major upgrade people are making to their prompters today.”

One example of Listec’s upgrade path is on video inputs. “If you buy a teleprompter from us today, and you’re just using composite video—which 95 percent of the people are doing at the moment—that’s fine,” Blumenthal said. “And then down the road they decide they want to turn the whole studio digital, we can update it to digital, and you don’t have to buy a whole new display. It’s a board, some connectors, and we can install it or they can install it if they’re qualified.”

Listec’s next level is its Ethernet prompter. “The advantage there is that one cable carries video and power, so you no longer have to run a separate power cable to the prompter,” he said. That was not an issue with full-sized studio cameras, “but a lot of people are using smaller ENG type cameras in their studios, and unless they buy the big buildups, they have to run a separate AC supply to the prompter,” Blumenthal said.

LIGHTEN UP

Robin Brown, Vitec’s product manager for its Autocue and Autoscript prompters, says prompters are being replaced because adjusting their size and weight is part of the trend to reduce the mass of the camera package and support. “The cameras are just getting smaller and smaller,” he said. “You no longer need the enormous heavy tripod, you don’t need the same lenses as before, you don’t need the same heavy support. And at the same time, you don’t need a massive prompter on the front.”

But he cautions about reducing the physical dimensions of the display and mirror. “The talent still have the same quality of vision, so you might get a smaller camera, and you might get a smaller head—because it has a lower payload—but you have to factor in that the talent themselves still have the same quality of vision,” Brown said. “If they want a 19-inch prompter, they’re going to get a 19-inch prompter regardless if they’ve got a DSLR camera on the back or a full sized camera.”

Autoscript lightens the load with its one-piece Epic, a prompter monitor and talent monitor in one unit. “It has a single power source and the combined weight of [Epic] is less than they would have if they currently had a large talent monitor, which was mounted separately,” Brown said. This allows the studio to reduce the head and pedestal size, which further lightens overall weight.

For those using DSLRs, Autocue has introduced a DSLR-mount prompter. “Here in the U.K., we have broadcasters that are actually using the Flashcam setup, but they’re using the DSLR cameras, they’re not even using ENG cameras,” said Brown. “It mounts on 15 mils rails, so you don’t need to use any expensive or heavy system.”