DC Monitor for Teleprompter?

gco

gco

Veteran
I've been kicking around a DIY project for a teleprompter that I want to be able to use in the field--that means DC power. Ideally, I would like to have at least a 15" monitor. Does anyone know if such an animal exists?
Been searching around and not finding anything. Any suggestions appreciated.
 
The car monitors are too small. Many desk top monitors have internal transformers, but if look around you'll see several older models that external transformers. (Several Princeton model lcd's and others) Get one of those and get a Tekkeon battery pack that handles several different voltages.

http://www.google.com/products/cata...log_result&ct=image&resnum=4&ved=0CB8Q8gIwAw#

You don't need HD for a teleprompter, so another idea is a DVD player, already battery powered, and has composite input. I prefer teleprompters to be 15-17" though.

http://cgi.ebay.com/9-SONY-DVP-FX93...QptZDVD_Players_Recorders?hash=item3efb6dda0d

Building a teleprompter is actually easy. The software is a little more diffcult due to the flip, but there is a shareware program out there thats fully functional and has the flip.
 
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Thanks Duke.
I'll check out the Princeton brand. And yes, I'm with you on 15" screen size. Just can't see anything smaller being easy to read. Once I get the the monitor in hand, everything else will fall together. As far as prompter software goes, I'm pretty much sold on PromptDog from DvCreators.
Thanks again for the feedback.
g

Edit: ok, i did find This so far which is dc powered but the $530 price tag is a deal breaker.
 
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i use a 150$ from ebay 10" lcd and it is ok.
12V powered so battery or adapter is your choice.
portable means for me really portable (on camera while on shoulder), so 15"
seems a bit big.
a nice stuff to add is the wireless usb VGA adapter.
you connect a very small receiver on the screen and a usb stick on the PC.
then you can mirror the laptop screen to the remote screen.
 
Ok, just to report back, I am finding Acer, Samsung, NEC and Viewsonic on Ebay. I inadvertently stumbled across an AC/DC adapter that listed the brands of monitors it was compatible with. As usual, Ebay is the place. Thanks for getting me headed in the right direction guys. :thumbsup:
 
nosys70 said:
i use a 150$ from ebay 10" lcd and it is ok.
12V powered so battery or adapter is your choice.
portable means for me really portable (on camera while on shoulder), so 15"
seems a bit big.
a nice stuff to add is the wireless usb VGA adapter.
you connect a very small receiver on the screen and a usb stick on the PC.
then you can mirror the laptop screen to the remote screen.
Click to expand...

I've never considered a shoulder mount monitor before. Only tripod mounted with the camera.

If you use a wireless USB to transmit the script to the monitor, where do you put the computer and how do you control the scroll speed? What about jiggle when the person is reading?
 
it is a 2 men operation if you need that setup, unless the speaker operates himself the computer (remote mouse) to launch and control speed.
For reading it is easy, if you are not steady for reading, you are not steady for shooting anyway, so shoulder mount is usually very easy.
again it could be steady cam mounted, tripod, shoulder for me it is the same.
need easy operation , lightweight, cheap and lots of feature.
The computer can be a very small eee PC a stay running into your back pack if you got a wireless mouse.

you can build everything for less than $250, while such setup cost usually well over a thousand.
 
How about a netbook? ive seen some as cheap as $189 or so, should work fine and you can use for other things.
 
yes netbook and eee PC are the same, just make sure there is a VGA output
you can even upgrade them to SSD disk , so there is no risk that something bad happens to the disk on the field.
i would not use the screen of a netbook, because they are too small, 10 inches is the bare minimum and in a 4:3 format.
for the half mirror, i found a company who make glass and acrylic glass for prompter and it is cheap.
http://telepromptermirrors.com/telepromptersglass.htm

you need to take glass slightly larger than screen (about 1 inch) and about 1.7 height of screen .
 
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I've been using an older HP laptop with a 15inch monitor. I simply cut and paste the script from Word into a Power Point template that has a black background with white letters. I make the type face 60 point. You can either change the slides with the up and down arrows (manually) or automate it to play back at any speed that you want.
I made a simple table with a light stand adapter and put it just below the lens.
One upside is you can edit the copy right in Power Point and simply hit F5 to continue.
 
I know this post is old, however, I purchased an HD, AC/DC 11 inch LCD monitor from a Pilot truck stop. 199 bucks. It is DC powered natively,.. 12 volts to be exact. The brand name is NAXA.

It has Composite, Component, HDMI, SVHS, 15 pin VGA inputs. It also sports a DVD player and a digital ATSC tuner. 16x10 aspect ratio. It has handles on it for quick carry around. I mounted an old Anton Bauer Gold mount on the back of mine and can use Standard Camera Bricks to power it. It works well for us, we now own two. This would be perfect for your project.

http://www.overstock.com/Electronic...d=123620&fp=F&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=11901425

Oh, I also use it for focusing with my letus/HVX setup. Color is not perfect, but it is very clear for focusing. Lastly, the on-board speakers are insanely loud and cuts through like the piercing voice of an angry mother. Perfect for usage at a trade show booth ETC ETC.
 
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