Teleprompter mirror mode for glass rigs
Show your script reversed so it reads correctly in teleprompter glass. Use it with a store-bought rig or a DIY build. Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
110 words · about 47 sec at 140 wpm
Opens full screen. Space pauses, arrow keys change speed, Esc closes. Nothing is uploaded — your script stays in this browser.
Keyboard shortcuts
| Space · K · B | Play / pause |
|---|---|
| ↑ / ↓ | Faster / slower (10 wpm) |
| ← / → | Nudge back / forward one line |
| Page Up / Page Down | Nudge three lines (clickers, foot pedals) |
| + / − | Bigger / smaller text |
| M | Mirror |
| F | Full screen |
| R · Home | Back to start |
| Esc | Close |
Wheel or drag to move the text by hand. Tap the text to pause.
How a teleprompter rig works
A real teleprompter has three parts. A screen lies flat or tilted under the camera, facing up. A sheet of beam-splitter glass sits above it at 45 degrees, in front of the lens. The camera sits behind the glass and films straight through it.
Beam-splitter glass has a partly reflective coating. A common type lets about 70 percent of light through and reflects about 30 percent. From the front you see the reflection of the screen. From behind, the camera sees through the glass and barely notices it.
Because you read a reflection, the text has to be reversed left to right. That is what mirror mode does. Turn it off and on with the M key.
The result is that you look straight into the lens while reading. That is why rigs give better eye contact than placing a phone or laptop next to the camera, as on the YouTube teleprompter page.
How to use mirror mode with your rig
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Open this page on the screen in the rig
That can be a phone, a tablet or a monitor connected to a laptop. Paste your script into the editor.
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Start the mirrored teleprompter
The text is reversed left to right, white on black, at 56 px. Dark backgrounds reflect less, so the glass shows mostly the words.
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Check it in the glass
Stand where you will stand while recording. The reflection should read normally. If it is upside down, turn on the vertical flip too.
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Set size and speed
Use + and − for size, ↑ and ↓ for speed. You read from farther away than with a phone in your hand, so bigger text usually helps.
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Control it hands-free
A Bluetooth foot pedal or presentation clicker sends PageUp and PageDown to move three lines. On a laptop-driven monitor, the keyboard works too.
Teleprompter rig parts and what to look for
| Part | What it does | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Beam-splitter glass | Reflects the script to you, lets the camera see through | Labeled 70/30 or 60/40. Coated on one side, with the coated side facing you. |
| Screen | Shows the mirrored script | A phone or tablet for small rigs, a monitor for large ones. Bright screens read better. |
| Hood or shroud | Blocks light behind the glass | Black fabric around the lens and the back of the glass. |
| Frame | Holds the glass at 45 degrees | Rigid enough that the glass does not wobble or sag. |
| Controller | Moves the script | Keyboard, clicker or foot pedal. Or voice scroll. |
How to make a DIY teleprompter
You can build a working rig in an afternoon. Here is a simple version for a phone or tablet.
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Get the glass
Real beam-splitter glass gives the cleanest result and is sold in small sizes for DIY rigs. Picture-frame glass or clear acrylic works for testing but gives a fainter, doubled image.
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Build a box or frame
Make an open box from cardboard, foam board or wood. Cut a hole in the back for the lens. Mount the glass inside at 45 degrees, angled from the top of the lens hole down toward you.
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Lay the screen flat under the glass
Place the phone or tablet face up below the glass, with the top of the screen toward the camera and the bottom toward you. Adjust until the reflection lines up in the middle of the glass.
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Add a black hood
Drape black cloth over the box behind the glass so no light reaches the lens from behind. Line the inside with black paper or felt if you can.
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Mirror the text and test
Start this page in mirror mode. Look through the glass from where you will stand, and adjust text size, brightness and the angle of the glass.
Notes on DIY glass and flipping
Ghosting: ordinary glass reflects from both its front and back surfaces, so you see two slightly offset copies of the text. Thin glass reduces it. A real beam splitter, with its coating facing you, mostly fixes it.
Dim reflection: plain glass reflects only a small share of the light, so the text looks faint in a bright room. Turn the screen brightness up, darken the room, and keep the white-on-black theme. Black-on-white would light up the whole glass and wash out your view.
Text size and distance: with a rig you usually stand or sit one to three meters from the glass, much farther than from a phone in your hand. Start at 56 px on a tablet and go up until you can read comfortably from your recording spot. Fewer, bigger words per line are easier to follow than a wide column of small text.
Lens glare: if the camera sees a gray haze or the screen glow, the hood is leaking light. Close gaps around the lens.
When to flip upside down: most rigs need only the left-right mirror. Some rigs and monitor mounts end up with the screen rotated, so the reflection reads upside down. In that case turn on the vertical flip in settings as well. Try it in the glass before you record.
No rig at all? You can still keep your eyes near the lens by reading from a narrow column under your camera. The laptop teleprompter and video teleprompter pages show how.
Recorded a long video? Get the Shorts out of it.
Short.now finds the best moments in your video, reframes them to 9:16 and adds captions, so one recording becomes a week of Shorts, Reels and TikToks.
Questions
You read the script as a reflection in glass, and a reflection reverses left and right. Mirroring the text on the screen makes the reflection read normally.
Beam-splitter glass, which has a partly reflective coating. A common type reflects about 30 percent of light and lets about 70 percent through to the camera.
Yes, for testing. Regular glass shows a fainter, doubled image because both surfaces reflect, so beam-splitter glass gives a much cleaner result.
Turn on mirror mode in this teleprompter, or press M while it is running. The text flips left to right and still scrolls normally.
Some rigs and monitor mounts rotate the screen. Turn on the vertical flip in settings along with the mirror until the reflection reads correctly.
Not if the rig is set up well. The camera films through the glass, and a black hood behind it stops reflections and glare from reaching the lens.
