Teleprompter for Zoom Meetings

09 Nov 2022  James  11 mins read.

You can achive more natural video meetings by using a teleprompter. You will be able to look directly at the video feed of the other meeting participants, while simultaneously looking directly at your own camera. The video carefully explains all the details.

Reference Info

The equipment shown in the video can be found in the links below. I have also included links to various sound and lighting equipment.

Although this hardware can greatly improve the quality of your remote meetings, don’t expect the experience to be as good as in-person can be.

Teleprompter

Interesting Teleprompter Choices

  • GlideGear TMP750
    • This is the teleprompter shown in the video.
    • This GlideGear model will support the larger iPad Pro.
    • When using a full-frame camera, a focal length less than 35mm is likely to show the edges of the teleprompter hood. I would have been just as well off with a 35mm prime lens as I am with my 16mm to 35mm wide angle zoom lens.
  • GlideGear TMP100
    • This smaller GlideGear model will only support a standard sized iPad such as the one you see me using in the video.
  • IKan PT Elite Universal Table Teleprompter
    • A more expensive iKan model will be better built than the GlideGear models.
  • Prompter People Prompter PAL Desktop Portable Teleprompter
    • This Prompter People model is very tempting.
    • I believe Prompter People and iKan are both very well built, with the iKan brand being just a tad more popular. B&H can advise you better than I can on this.

Teleprompter Stand

  • iFootage RB-A200 Monopod with round base
    • Strong enough to handle the weight.
    • I suggest drilling a few holes in the round base and using wood screws to attach it to a wooden base for better stability.
    • The water bag weight iFootage sells might add enough stablity to make a broad wooden base redundant.
  • One inch thick, 2 foot diamter round board
    • This is the round board you see me using in the video. I took the time to stain mine to make it look a little better.
    • Most any home center carries these. I believe they are frequently used for making stools.
  • Matthews 1/8” Apple Box
    • You can use a thinner apple box such as this one as an alternative to the round board I have used.
    • A standard sized apple box is likely to place the top of the iFootage monopod a bit too high.
  • Modified Matthews Telescopic Baby Stand Extension
  • I modifed a Matthews Telescopic Baby Stand Extension by using a pipe cutter to shorten each telescopic section slightly. You can find my modification instructions in one of the B&H reviews entitled “Modifying Minimum Length”.
  • I am using the upside down telescopic baby stand extension in combination with a Matthews Mounting Plate with 5/8” Receiver and a Manfrotto 208 3/8” Head Mounting Plate with Lock Screws.
  • Since the small 1/4”-20 t-handle knob nearest the Manfroto mounting plate was hitting the mounting plate, I replaced it with a standard hex head 1/4”-20 bolt.

  • The iFootage RB-A200 monopod should be a better choice than what I am using. I wasn’t aware of the iFootage RB-200 at the time I created my solution.

  • Punks Corey Tripod Range by 3LeggedThing
    • If you decide to place a tripod behind your desk, the Punks range made by 3 Legged Thing are well priced choices which can handle the weight.

Luna Display

  • Luna Display
    • The LunaDisplay has the “teleprompter” mode you need. Unfortunately, Apple Sidecar doesn’t currently have this feature.
    • Dedicated teleprompter monitors don’t have the high resolution you need for Zoom meetings. iPad or iPad Pro rules the day.

Luna Display Alternatives

Most of the time the LunaDisplay works well. Occasionally, the image quality degrades for whatever reason. Unplugging and re-plugging the USB-C cable typically fixes the problem.

In the future I am tempted to try a hardware only solution. Any of the following broadcast monitors with image flip capabilities might be a good choice. I have not tested any of these choices. If anyone has experience with this sort of approach, please let me know what hardware you are using and how it is working for you.

Another option would be a portable monitor coupled with a UpDownCross Converter of some sort.

Lighting

  • Various Alzo LED bulbs
    • Just replacing all the lights in your office with daylight balanced bulbs will go a very long way. As long as all the lights are the same color temperature the camera’s automatic mode will work much better. This is just as true of standard webcams as it is of the fancy mirrorless cameras.
  • Godox ES45
    • I have two of these edge lighted panels mounted at the back of my desk. One as a key light, and one as a fill light. These two Godox ES45 in combination with a Godox S60 serving as a backlight, and another Godox S60 lighting the backdrop consititute a four point lighting setup.
  • Elgato Key Light
    • This is Elgato’s version of the Godox ES45.
  • Godox UL60
    • I didn’t buy this light since it didn’t have the focusing flood attachment I needed in my application, yet I love that it is completely silent with no fan.
  • Godox S60
    • I have two of these. I use one as a backlight light. The other I have pointed at my backdrop.
    • I have found the fan noise completely unimportant in my case. My horribly lound air conditioner vent and portable fan make far more noise than fans in these lights ever will.
  • Godox CS50D Collapsible Lantern Softbox
    • There are a myriad combinations of soft boxes and other approaches for a nice soft light for your key and fill light. Softboxes are bulky and take up space, but they likely produce better lighting results than the edge lighted LED panels I am using.
  • Impact Safety Cable
    • I have a safety cable such as this one on each of the two Godox S60 lights I have mounted on a cross bar near the ceiling.

Light Stand Alternative

  • Impact Baby Pin Wall Plate
    • A baby pin plate can be a good choice for mounting lights without stands when you don’t mind attaching things to walls.
    • Pick whatever configuration of baby pin plate fits your needs best.
  • Impact Deluxe Varipole Support System
    • A telescoping pole such as this one will give you something to mount to without having light stands under your feet everywhere. You can get two of them and put a cross bar between them as I did.
    • B&H will give you lots of light stands by default, which is probably not what you want for a home office. Light stands are very flexible for professional photographer types, but I assume your primary interest is routine Zoom meetings.
    • I am learning I would benefit from the flexiblity of having a few light stands when making YouTube videos. That said, for normal Zoom meetings I still prefer to avoid the need for light stands.
    • This is getting into ask for advice from B&H territory.
  • Impact Super Clamp with Ratchet Handle
    • A “super clamp” is a staple of photographic equipment. My Godox S60 lights and their balasts are attached to my varipoles and cross bar using super clamps and baby pins.
    • This standard type of clamp is produced by a large number of brands. They all take a “baby pin”, and also have a few useful threaded holes you can use when attaching things.

Cameras

Cameras get tricky. There are lots of great choices.

The simple answer is to just ask B&H Photo for advice, and buy what they recommend. Make sure they understand your intention to use your camera in a teleprompter as a webcam.

The sort of image quality you get from most any proper camera will be much better than what you get from a webcam built into your laptop.

If you want to search online, the main places for advice all seem to come from one of three places:

  • Gamers who stream video of themselves playing video games
  • YouTube content producers
  • People involved in A/V for houses of worship (Churches/Temples/etc.)

If you have a kid who is into YouTube stuff, just ask them to do the research for you.

  • Elgato Camera Check
    • Great place to check whether a camera will work well and avoid overheating. Most people end up with either a Sony A7 something camera or a Cannon EOS RP mirrorless camera.
    • This is a useful guide even if you don’t buy any Elgato hardware.
  • Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera
    • The RP is the camera body I have.
    • The Canon EOS R8 is the new model which fills the same spot in the Canon product line the RP previously filled.
  • Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with 24-105mm f/4-7.1 Lens
    • The kit lens included here will probably work well in the telemprompter setup I have described. Ask B&H to be certain.
  • Elgato Cam Link 4k
    • You will need some sort of capture card in most cases if you want the best resolution. Canon’s webcam utility works, but the resolution isn’t as good as with a capture card of some sort.
  • Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini
    • I ended up buying an ATEM Mini just in case I eventually decide to add a second camera. Now that the ATEM Mini Pro has come down greatly in price, I recommend you consider buying it instead.

Sound

There are multitude of great sound equipment choices. Everything I have read says a dynamic microphone is much better in a noisy untreated room than a condenser microphone.

Condenser microphones pick up more nuances, but they also have less aggressive cardioid pickup patterns which tend to pick up everything in a room.

This topic is a whole can of worms. The best relevant YouTube channel I have found for advice is Curtis Judd’s Learn Light and Sound.

I ended up buying an ElectroVoice RE20.

In retrospect I probably would have been just as well served with either of the two $100 models below:

If you use a gain hungry microphone such as the RE20 or SM7B you will likely need a microphone activator (in-line preamp) such as a CloudLifter CL1 Mic Activator

An advantage of the Shure SM58 and Sennheiser e835 is they are not as gain hungry as the SM7B or RE20 and therefore won’t require spending money on a mic activator. Curtis Judd has a great video comparing the SM7B to the SM58 for livestream and podcasting use.

My audio interface is a PreSonus Revelator io24. Although the audio processing is done on the PreSonus hardware, while the internal mixer is mostly controlled remotely using either a desktop or iPad application. This has been wonderful in allowing me to get help from my friends with more sound experience than myself. For example, a friend in Canada was able to help me adjust my settings over a Zoom call in which I was sharing my screen.

Desk

I have been very happy with my VertDesk v3 sold by BTOD. Mine is a 30” x 72” Plus model with two motors. I am extremely glad I bought the wire management tray, without which the wires on my desk would be even more out of control.

I also purchased the castors which have been extremely helpful when I need to get to the back of my desk. Making more involved camera setting adjustments would be much harder if I couldn’t easily roll my desk away from the wall.

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James Carpenter
James Carpenter

James is an expert in helping companies create effective engineering team structures and cultures.

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