Today we will be taking a quick look at the compact and portable Desview T3 teleprompter and what it can do.
After reviewing the larger and more expensive Prompt it Flex teleprompter last year we turn to Desview to try a really compact unit that is very simple to assemble to see how well it works.
About Desview
Today, we are looking at the T3 teleprompter by Desview, a Chinese manufacturer that provides monitoring solutions for video productions. Their line of products includes different size monitors and teleprompters.
The kit
In the kit, Desview ships the teleprompter hood with the reflective glass, a protective cover, an adjustable base, a set of step-down rings, phone camera base and adapters, and a Bluetooth controller.
Features and setup
The T3 is compact and easy to set up. It’s a hard plastic construction with metal 1/4’’ mounting holes on the bottom. It features an adjustable backplate for positioning the text source. The glass cover feels pretty durable and is a must for storing and transporting the unit. It simply slides onto the front of the hood and clicks into place.
On the top of the hood, there are two plastic cold shoe mounts for accessories, like a small light or a microphone. Plastic cold shoe mounts aren’t very reliable and tend to break, but then again, you wouldn’t put any heavy accessories on this hood, since that would put pressure on the lens’ front thread.
The base attaches to the backplate with the included 1/4’’ screw with a D-ring. This base is made of plastic and has a retractable spring-action metal chassis that extends to fit smartphones and tablets up to 19cm (7.5’’). We tried it with our Samsung S7 tablet, and it worked fine.
The glass on the T3 is a highly-reflective surface that allows for clear text visibility with minimal color tone shift.
The mounting points on the bottom of the teleprompter allow for additional support of the unit when used with accessories on top or when recording to a phone camera. In this case, you’ll need to attach the phone to the back of the hood with the provided phone clamp.
The backplate of the teleprompter comes with left and right-side mounts to position the phone camera. This whole setup is made of plastic, so we have our reservations about the durability after prolonged use. But at the same time, these are replaceable parts, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Setup
The step-down rings provided in the kit attach the unit to the camera lens. There are 9 options to choose from. Screw the ring onto the lens, and simply slide the teleprompter into position.
It’s a really simple design that works also for vertical camera placement. The only thing we could suggest here is adding a way to lock the hood in place.
In use
Using the T3 is very simple. We had no problems with the setup or with clearly seeing the text on the reflective screen even from 4 meters (13’) away.
The most useful part of working with this Desview teleprompter is the Bluetooth remote. It’s a simple unit in a plastic enclosure with a few buttons to easily control the scrolling of the text. The remote is powered by 2 AAA batteries.
Pair the remote with your device, and it will allow you to start and pause the scrolling, move a page up and down, and control the scroll speed.
App
Desview provides their own teleprompter app. It’s a simple interface that allows you to save the text and set up the presentation. The app works seamlessly with the remote.
We’ve tried a number of different teleprompter apps in the past. They’re mostly very similar in the interface and setup options. The remote might work differently in apps other than the Desview app, and not every app has a way to adjust controller button actions.
The only thing we would love to see added to the app is a way to control the text remotely through live integration with Dropbox of Google drive.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Desview T3 is a pretty solid unit. It’s compact and portable and adjusts to any size phone and most tablets. The setup and use are very simple, and it certainly does the job and is a very useful tool for on-camera presentations.
Pricing
As for pricing, the T3 is usually sold for $120, but sometimes you can find it on sale for as low as $80 (see the current pricing on Amazon).
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