Whenever most of us speak to camera, whether that's for a livestream or recording a video, we want to have a script to follow, or at least some notes; no one wants to hear our ums, ahs and ers.
But if you're constantly glancing down at your notepad, or off to the side at your laptop, you'll come across as distracted and unprofessional. More to the point, you won't be able to create that instant engagement with an audience that comes with looking them straight in the eye.
A teleprompter squares that circle, by allowing you to read a script naturally while maintaining eye contact with the camera. It's pretty simple really: it reflects your script onto glass, which you can shoot through without your camera picking up any of the text.
The Glide Gear TMP100 is a mid-range teleprompter designed for just those purposes, and it's priced for vloggers, YouTubers, and other content creators on a limited budget. As Glide Gear is a well-regarded brand in the video gear space, we had high hopes for this model, particularly as it has excellent buzz online: an average of 4.5/5 on Amazon based on 2,449 reviews.
There's no substitute, however, for actually using a teleprompter in practice. So I got hold of a review model, and put it through its paces on a series of recordings and an actual live stream.
Glide Gear TMP100 review: Specifications
Glide Gear TMP100 review: Price and availability
At the time of writing, the Glide Gear TMP100 was available via Amazon.com for its RRP of $199/£129. That puts it right in the mid-range of teleprompters on the market today.
Glide Gear TMP100 review: Design and build
Out of the box, the first thing I noticed about the TMP100 was its all-metal chassis. It feels nice and solid, and there was no flex or creaking even when fully loaded with a camera and tablet. This incorporates an adjustable tray that can accommodate various tablets and smartphones up to around 10.5 inches in size. Even 11 and 12 inches tablet models seemed to fit okay on the tray, to be honest. Note, though, that Glide Gear specifically warn it won't fit an iPad Pro.
The beamsplitter glass also seems like pretty good quality. It's nice and thick and apparently scratch-resistant; I certainly haven't had any scratches over my months of use.
The frame and glass are surrounded by a hood that attaches via velcro and can be zipped up for full blackout, more or less hiding your camera lens from view. Well, you can sort of see it there in the background, but it certainly isn't distracting while you focus on your script.
Setup, meanwhile, is very straightforward. The teleprompter comes fully assembled right out of the box, with no building required. It comes with 1/4" and 3/8" threaded mounting points to integrate seamlessly with most tripods and video rigs. Glide Gear has also thoughtfully provided spare screws and a phone mount adapter in the package.
The TMP100 does come with a nice carrying case, although if I had to pick holes, I'd say that while this is broadly protective, I'd have preferred a more rigid shell for peace of mind (as I am personally quite clumsy).
Finally, do note that when it comes to providing and projecting the script itself, that's all down to you. In other words, not only do you have to provide your own tablet but your own teleprompter app as well. There are some good free ones on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, though, so this needn't cost you any money, only a bit of time faffing around.
Glide Gear TMP100 review: Performance
When it came to the task at hand, the TMP100 performed admirably in all my tests. The large tablet display provided ample room for scripts to be displayed, and there was plenty of space to make the font for my script large enough to read, easily and comfortably.
The high-quality glass delivers a clear, artifact-free reflection. The blackout hood effectively minimized my view of my camera; so while I could see its lens pointing at me, it wasn't in the least bit distracting. Overall, then, I had no problem maintaining natural eye contact while speaking.
In short, I had very little to quibble about. It all took just a few minutes to set up, the glass was easy to move if I needed to channel, and basically performed the task it was supposed to.
Okay, it would have been nice to have had a dedicated cleaning cloth; again that was something else I had to source, to keep the glass free of smudges and fingerprints. But otherwise, the TMP100 looks and feels professional, works well in practice, and is nicely pick-up-and-put-downable.
Glide Gear TMP100 review: Verdict
If you're a content creator, looking for a well-built, mid-range teleprompter then I'd highly recommend investing in the Glide Gear TMP100. Its robust build quality and capable functionality means that it really feels like a professional choice. The large size of the glass means it's a particularly good choice if you want to use a larger tablet and/or project larger fonts for reading.
That said, it's not for everyone. Firstly, it won't fit an iPad Pro. Secondly, it's not the cheapest on the market, so if you have a very limited budget, you may prefer something cheaper that still does the same basic job. And thirdly, bear in mind that you'll have to separately source a teleprompter app and a cleaning cloth, so if you're primarily interested in minimizing effort, you may want to purchase an alternative.
