Elgato Teleprompter review: The best creator gadget for streamers and YouTubers?

The teleprompter currently costs around $240 at retailers such as Amazon. However, Elgato Week starts on May 18, bringing major discounts on various products.

A teleprompter displays text on a transparent mirror positioned in front of a camera. The speaker can read the text while still looking directly into the camera. The projected text itself is invisible in the video feed.

This is especially useful because there is no need to memorize long scripts, presentations, or moderation segments. Instead, users can simply read the text while maintaining eye contact with the camera and focusing more on their on-screen presence.

The Elgato Teleprompter makes the process even more convenient for streamers and other users. The Elgato design features an integrated display that also registers as a secondary monitor, allowing users to drag virtually any application onto it.

The teleprompter itself consists of the angled transparent mirror housed inside a black plastic frame. On top are two cold shoe mounts that can hold lights or other accessories. The rear features a large opening for the camera, where the appropriate backplate is installed beforehand.

The second component is the mounting plate that holds the camera and attaches to the teleprompter with a screw. The screws sit inside adjustable rails, allowing users to vary both the height of the base plate and the distance between the camera and the teleprompter.

Some inexpensive teleprompters require a smartphone or tablet as the display, including separate software installation, mirrored content setup, and manual alignment. The Elgato Teleprompter arrives fully preconfigured and ready to use. Its integrated display automatically mirrors content.

Using Elgato Camera Hub software, users can enter text that scrolls automatically. Unfortunately, there is no remote control. Instead, Elgato includes the AI-powered “Voice Sync” feature, which automatically detects the speaker’s position within the script and adjusts the scrolling speed accordingly. However, this feature requires at least an RTX 2060 GPU.

Setting up a camera with the teleprompter is quick and straightforward because Elgato includes numerous adapters and matching backplates for different camera models. Adapter rings can be screwed onto lenses and then easily inserted into the corresponding backplate.

The package also includes a universal backplate with a black cover cloth designed to block unwanted light on devices without a dedicated backplate, such as smartphones.

Elgato also includes a dedicated backplate for the Facecam 4K. It is first attached to the rear of the teleprompter using two screws. The Facecam lens fits perfectly into the opening of the plate.

To secure the camera in place, it is mounted onto the mounting plate, which is then attached to the rear of the teleprompter using a single thumbscrew. The complete setup can then be mounted onto a tripod.

Finally, the teleprompter and its display must be connected to the PC using a USB-C-to-A cable (5 Gbit/s). No separate power cable is required. The device appears to be somewhat picky when it comes to cables: While the Facecam 4K’s USB-C-to-C cable (also rated for 5 Gbit/s) allowed the display to be recognized, Camera Hub failed to detect the teleprompter itself.

In general, the teleprompter can be used in several different ways. In practice, users will either rely on the Elgato Camera Hub app or simply use the monitor as a display extension.

Elgato’s software allows users to control the teleprompter display itself, for example by reducing brightness to prevent glare in the camera image. It also supports displaying and scrolling text. Numerous customization options are available, including font type, font size, display width, line spacing, character spacing, and scrolling speed.

However, the scrolling system does not work particularly well with the somewhat awkward chapter-based structure required for organizing entered text. The gaps between chapters do not have separate scrolling behavior, causing pauses that are often too long and disrupt the overall pacing.

It is also somewhat frustrating that there is no way to select all text across every chapter at once. Overall, though, text customization is extensive. Users who dislike the software can always switch to other applications thanks to the display extension functionality.