this hack is a prime example of how to make something useful out of something useless.
the $1 teleprompter:
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1 clear cd case cover
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6 cd cases
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scotch tape
just set this contraption on top of a laptop screen and the clear cd cover reflects the laptop screen in your direction. your webcam is positioned just behind the cd cover, so your line of sight is aimed directly at the camera.
several of you sent this in, but kris was the first. thanks!
What’s with all the DIY telepromters lately??
I can’t think of a good use for a teleprompter for a non-newscaster though except for video blogs or something (which I don’t think sound very nifty)… and it certainly doesn’t *LOOK* cool. So, unless I could think of something else to do with it that was really cool, I don’t think my friends would be impressed. :P Still, saving $999 is always good.
herhaps they should rename it the “$1+IBM laptop teleprompter”
cool concept though. you can propably get away with a pocketpc or LCD instead of using a laptop.
yah for the DIY stuff, but couldn’t you just use the laptop and set the webcam on top of hit while running powerpoint or soemthing?
That’s the point, unless you’re pretty far away, you can tell you’re not looking at the camera. This lets you look almost right at the camera while reading.
Could this also be used as a cheap HUD?
Using a pair of polarized filters might make it work even better.
pretty cool for those who would need it and dirt cheap too. too bad the guy acts like a robot when he uses the thing though.
Y’know, a similar setup with a PDA could make for a cheap HUD in the car…
this could be used for other things such as a airplane style HUD, or overlaying.. something… holograms anyone?
here is another homebuilt prompter, much nicer looking, a bit more expensive.
http://www.creativepro.com/story/feature/22302.html
Actually, this solves a problem I’ve been bothered by for years now, one that has nothing to do with teleprompting.
In video conferencing, especially with a friend, it’s incredibly annoying that you can’t look into each other’s eyes. Talking to someone who is constantly looking at the ground ruins much of the fun for me. But with something like this, you can watch the image and have the camera right behind it–problem solved. Maybe I’ll go rig something up with my iSight and see…I can already a foresee a few geometry issues, but I think it should be pretty doable.
I’ve built a text reverserator for your DIY teleprompting needs. Check it out and download the source so you can run it on your own box and not have to wait for my slow server at home to render your text.
http://somejunkwelike.com/backwards/
Here’s free “software” for teleprompter: http://www.cueprompter.com
Here’s another free online prompting program: http://www.freeprompter.com. You can also order an actual webcam teleprompter on the page as well for $59.95.
can’t find the server at http://www.wallstreetfreethinker.com
can you give me explicit instructions how to construct this? thanks.
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I wrote a cheap teleprompting software solution for $25 at http://www.directprompt.com I think it scrolls pretty smooth. Its good for DIY teleprompting.