Software for TeleScreen-32 Pro teleprompters from DRS-DigiTrax

By Larry Lemm

Review contents:

Prompting: it is not only for the news Television crib Portable teleprompter ART-5 for studio and field shooting Acoustical prompter ART-9 Prompter systems from Autocue Company BDLAutoscript Teleprompters Software for TeleScreen-32 Pro teleprompters from DRS-DigiTrax Systems from Electronic Script Prompting Company Inteliprompter Software Engenius Prompting Mirror Image teleptompters Teleprompters of Stewart Instruments VSS-2 Teleprompter Color TFT LCD Teleprompting Displays and Software from Telescript Teleview Teleprompters The teleprompter of Vectorbox News system

Be you the video journalist with big or not so an operational experience but if you create television program in which a presenter is foreseen in the frame, you appreciate advantages of the teleprompter use. Eventually, you see even professional presenters from known broadcasting companies use these devices so why and you to not take advantage of their opportunities? Purchase of professional prompting systems is enough expensive, but by means of software TeleScreen-32 it is possible to transform practically any computer on platform Windows 95/98/NT/XP in the teleprompter.

Minimum of a place — a maximum of opportunities

The first, that the user of this application marks, it is a small volume of the software. Whole packet occupies about 650 kbytes, and it is only half of floppy disk. That is the packet at all does not demand use of a compact disc. The DRS-DigiTrax company enables to write from it site the truncated test version of the program. If it approaches to the user he actually gets only a code of activation and after it introduction there are accessible all functions of the application.

But the small byte number in the program at all does not speak about its limited opportunities.

Let’s start the application

Installation of TeleScreen-32 is accessible even to the beginner. The application can well work in 32-bit color space, but it depends on capacity of the computer (minimum Pentium III 500 MHz, RAM 128 MB). If the computer is weaker it is possible to work in a mode of 256 colors. Actually, there are all adjustments at installation. Everything else is made automatically.

Work with the application

Exploitation of TeleScreen-32 is simple. We can only use already available text editor for conversion of the script to a text file (txt), then to open it in the application environment. As soon as the file is open in TeleScreen window, it is possible to choose the font size and to apply it to the whole text. It quickly allows preparing the text for use with the teleprompter. After adjustment of the font sizes for reading from the certain distance (in most cases it is 3.5…5.5 m) the text is ready to an output to the screen. Now it is enough to press the display button, and on the screen the white text on a black background will spread. If the text goes too quickly, it is possible to slow down its movement by means of a cursor in the interface of the program. If in such a way it is not possible to slow down the movement of the text up to a necessary level, it is possible to count it in 16- or the 32-bit format instead of 8-bit accepted by default.

Application interface (top) and its operation result

Certainly, this method is primitive enough, but in the future the DRS-DigiTrax company plans to develop more perfect methods of the speed control of the text scrolling. For today there is also a possibility manually operate by movement of the text on the screen for what the computer mouse is used.

For introduction in the text of numerical marks it is possible to use a symbol “^”, for example, ^3^ means the input in the text of a mark “3”. It is made with the aim of a situation when by pressing the right button of the mouse the prompter would passed to the nearest last mark, allowing the fast return to the previous text if presenter had not time to read it.

Into the TeleScreen-32 structure also enter the text editor with base functions and an option for an output of the text to the NTSC-monitor (in the case if in the computer the video card with the TV-output is installed or it is used the special converter of scanning). However in that case the quality of a signal leaves to wish the best, therefore the company for creation of titles and video graphics recommends to use any more perfect editor. But for prompting this quality is quite enough.

Reflection in a mirror

The user may want to use TeleScreen-32 together with the self-made teleprompter who would work similarly to professional device. In it the monitor is overturned “on a back”, and the image from its screen is reflected in the mirror plate fixed before the camera lens. Application TeleScreen-32 is ready to such test, and in it especially for a case of application of the mirror screen the picture reverse function is provided.

Instead of the conclusion

Coming back to bases of work with the teleprompter, it is necessary to remind, that for its use it is not necessary of anything supernatural. Simply it is necessary to establish its nearby, above or below from a video camera. Naturally, you want, that the spectator has not guessed that you read the text from the monitor. But instead of technical opportunities it is already a question of your skill.

Minimal requirements to the computer:

• PC platform;
• Operation system Windows 95/98/NT;
• RAM 24 MB.

Material is provided DRS-DigiTrax Company