Teleprompter / Remotes
Teleprompter remotes
Cutvey Teleprompter takes the Apple Watch, keyboards, pedals and clickers (every key remappable), media remotes like headphone buttons (off by default), game controllers on a fixed map, the Contour ShuttlePro on a Mac, any browser on your network, and another iPhone, iPad or Mac in a session.
On this page
Every remote, at a glance
| Remote | What it drives | Set-up | Can you choose the buttons? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Watch | Start and stop, speed (buttons or the Digital Crown), next and previous cue, with the time left | Comes with the iPhone app | No |
| Keyboard | Every command | Plug it in or pair it | Yes, every key |
| Page-turner pedal | What you put on it | Pair over Bluetooth | Yes, on its learn page |
| Presentation clicker | What you put on it | Pair over Bluetooth | Yes, on its learn page |
| Headphone buttons, shutter remotes, media clickers | Five buttons: play or pause, next and previous track, hold forward and back | Turn on Media remotes (off by default) | Yes, each of the five |
| Game controller | A fixed map | Pair it | No |
| Contour ShuttlePro v2 or ShuttleXpress (Mac) | The ring is speed, the dial nudges, the buttons are commands | Plug in, allow Input Monitoring | The buttons, yes |
| A browser on your network | Start and stop, slower, faster, cues, jump to start, with the clocks | Turn on Browser remote in a session | No |
| Another iPhone, iPad or Mac | Everything, as a remote or an editor | Join a session with a four-digit code | n/a |
The Apple Watch
Open Cutvey Teleprompter on the Apple Watch paired with your iPhone. The big button starts and stops; minus and plus, or the Digital Crown, change the speed; the two buttons underneath go to the previous and next cue. EST. LEFT is the large figure and EST. ELAPSED sits under it, so the presenter knows how long is left without looking away.
The Watch talks only to its own iPhone, which passes each press on. So it works when the iPhone is prompting alone, hosting a session, or joined to one as a remote; not while the iPhone is a monitor. To drive an iPad or a Mac, have the iPhone join that session. The Watch needs watchOS 10 and the iPhone app, and it follows the iPhone's purchase. Use your Watch as a remote.
Keyboards, pedals and clickers
Bluetooth page turners and presenter clickers show up as keyboards, so they work the moment they are paired. They send the arrows, or Page Up and Page Down, or Return and Space, depending on the model and its mode.
| Default key | Command |
|---|---|
| Space | Start or stop |
| Up and Down arrows | Faster and slower |
| Right and Left arrows | Next and previous cue |
| Page Down and Page Up | Next and previous cue (they turn the page in Paging mode) |
| Home and End | Jump to the start or the end |
| Period and comma | A bigger jump in speed, up or down |
| E | Edit the script |
Want the pedal to do something else? In Settings, Controls, open Presentation remote or Foot pedal. Press a button and its row lights up, so you see what it sends, then choose a command for it. The same table drives the Keys page, where any key can be changed. Esc always leaves the prompter. Every default key ยท Set up a pedal or clicker.
Media remotes: headphones and shutter remotes
A camera shutter release, a cheap Bluetooth media clicker or the button on a pair of headphones sends media commands instead of keys. Turn on Use a media remote in Settings, Media remotes, and five buttons drive the script: play or pause starts and stops, next and previous track jump cues, and holding forward or back jumps the speed. You can change what each does.
It is off by default for a reason. To hear those buttons, the app has to become what the device thinks is playing, so audio playing on that device pauses while a prompter is open. Turn it on when the room's music can stop. Media remotes.
Game controllers
A paired game controller drives the prompter on a fixed map, which cannot be changed:
| Button | Command |
|---|---|
| A | Start or stop |
| Right trigger | Scroll while held |
| Right and left shoulder | Speed jump up and down |
| D-pad up and down | Faster and slower |
| D-pad right and left | Next and previous cue |
| Either thumbstick, up or down | Faster or slower, repeating while held |
A controller is a good choice for an operator who wants a hold-to-scroll trigger and big buttons in the dark. Game controllers.
A jog wheel on the Mac
A Contour ShuttlePro v2 or ShuttleXpress on USB drives the Mac app the way an edit controller drives a deck. The outer ring is speed while you hold it, forward or back for a pickup, and the scroll returns to how it was when you let go. The inner dial nudges the reading line. The buttons are yours to remap. macOS asks for Input Monitoring the first time. Contour Shuttle.
A browser, from any computer
Any laptop, tablet or phone on the same network can be a remote, Windows and Android included, with nothing to install. On the device holding the script, host a session, open Session and turn on Browser remote. The host shows an address and a QR code; open it in the browser, type a name and the four-digit pairing code, and you get start and stop, slower and faster, previous and next cue, jump to start, and the clocks.
The page carries controls and clocks, never the script, and it loads nothing from the internet. It is also a plain web page on your local network, and the app says so on the screen: anyone on that network could watch the button presses. Use it on a network you trust. A browser counts toward the session's device limit. Turn a browser into a remote.
Another device as a remote
The strongest remote is a second Apple device running the app. Join a session as a Remote and you drive the prompter and see what it sees; as a Monitor you see what it sees and touch nothing; as an Editor you drive it and can fix the words live. Roles switch without reconnecting, and Make Host moves the script and the scroll to another device without stopping the take. Session roles.
Two remotes at once
You can mix them. A presenter can hold a clicker for start and stop while an operator rides the speed from a keyboard, and the Watch on the presenter's wrist shows the time left. In a session every device's presses go to the host, which owns the script and the clock, so the answer moves every screen at once. Agree beforehand who drives: two people fighting over the speed is the one thing a remote cannot fix.
Which remote for which job
| Job | Remote |
|---|---|
| Presenting alone to a phone or iPad | The Watch, or a clicker in your hand |
| An actor's self-tape with a reader | The reader's iPhone or iPad as a remote |
| A rig with an operator | A pedal or a keyboard, or the operator's iPhone or Mac in a session |
| A studio with a producer at the back | A Mac as an editor |
| A crew member on Windows | The browser remote |
| Editing suite habits | The Contour ShuttlePro on a Mac |
| A cheap remote you already own | Headphones or a shutter remote, with media remotes on |
Related
- Teleprompter for the Mac
- Teleprompter for video calls
- Teleprompter rig setup
- Best teleprompter apps, compared
- Help center
Questions people ask
Can I use an Apple Watch as a teleprompter remote?
Yes. Cutvey Teleprompter's Watch app starts and stops the scroll, changes speed with its buttons or the Digital Crown, and jumps cues, with the time left on your wrist. It works through the paired iPhone.
Does a foot pedal work with Cutvey Teleprompter?
Yes. Bluetooth page-turner pedals work as keyboards straight away, and the Foot pedal learn page lets you put any command on any pedal.
Can I remap a game controller?
No. Game controllers work on a fixed map. Keys, pedals, clickers, media remotes and the Contour Shuttle's buttons can all be changed.