Mirror teleprompter
Teleprompter glass reflects your screen, which reverses the text. Turn on mirror mode below and the reflection reads normally. It's free, runs in any browser, and the tablet or phone under your glass is all you need.
Prompter settings
Most people speak at 130–160 words per minute on camera. How to choose
Narrower text keeps your eyes closer to the camera.
Your script stays in this browser. Camera recordings are saved to your device, never uploaded.
Mirror ↔ is already switched on for this page. Press H or V inside the teleprompter to change it while you test against your glass.
How teleprompter glass works
A hardware teleprompter puts a sheet of beam-splitter glass at 45° in front of the camera lens. The glass is partly reflective: it bounces the image of a screen lying underneath it towards you, while letting most of the light through to the camera behind it. You see the script floating in front of the lens; the camera sees you, not the text.
Because the screen is seen in a reflection, the text appears back to front. That's why every glass rig needs a mirrored source, and why ordinary apps and documents look wrong on it.
Which mirror setting do I need?
| Rig | Screen position | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Standard camera teleprompter (most kits) | Flat, below the glass, top of screen facing the talent | Mirror ↔ |
| Screen mounted with the top towards the camera | Flat, below the glass, rotated 180° | Flip ↕ (or rotate the tablet) |
| Overhead or "reverse" rigs | Above the glass | Mirror ↔ + Flip ↕ |
| No glass: screen next to the camera | Upright | No mirroring |
Not sure? Start the teleprompter, look at the glass, and press H and V until the first line reads normally from your position.
Setting up a tablet or phone under the glass
- Open this page on the device that goes in the rig and paste or import your script. To edit on a computer instead, save the script as a .txt file and import it on the tablet.
- Turn auto-lock off on the tablet, or keep the teleprompter open: the page asks the browser to keep the screen awake while it runs, where supported.
- Turn brightness to maximum. The glass reflects only part of the light, so the screen needs to be bright.
- Use white or yellow text on black. A black background disappears in the reflection; a white one shows up as a grey haze in front of the lens.
- Make the text big. You're reading from further away than usual. On a 10-inch tablet at 1–1.5 m, 70–90 px is a good starting point.
- Start full screen (F or the expand button) so browser bars don't appear in the reflection. Safari on iPhone doesn't support full screen for web pages; hide the toolbar by scrolling or use an iPad.
- Control it remotely. A Bluetooth keyboard or presentation clicker paired with the tablet lets you, or an operator, pause and change speed without touching the rig.
Building a DIY teleprompter
You don't need a kit to try it. A sheet of clear glass or acrylic from a picture frame, held at 45° over a tablet with the camera behind it, works for tests. Plain glass reflects less than real beam-splitter glass, so the text is dimmer and you may see a double image from the back surface; work in a dim room with the screen bright. When you're ready to buy, look for glass rated around 60/40 or 70/30 (transmission/reflection) and a hood that blocks light from the sides.
Recording on your phone without a rig? You don't need mirroring at all. The Tuzu app scrolls the script over the selfie camera itself.
Frequently asked questions
What does mirror mode do on a teleprompter?
It reverses the text left to right so that, when it's reflected in teleprompter glass, you see it the right way round. Vertical flip turns it upside down for rigs where the screen faces the other way.
Can I use an iPad or phone as a teleprompter with glass?
Yes. Most consumer rigs are designed for a tablet or phone lying under the glass. Open this page in the device's browser, turn on Mirror ↔, and start the teleprompter full screen.
Why does my teleprompter text look back to front?
Because you're reading a reflection. Turn on horizontal mirroring and the reflection will read normally. If the text reads correctly but scrolls upside down, add vertical flip.
Does mirroring change the speed or scrolling direction?
Speed stays the same. With vertical flip on, the text moves the other way on the screen, so it still moves upward in the reflection. Drag and wheel controls are reversed to match.