Hardware guide
NEEWER X11 — the app to run on it.
A compact rig built around a phone-sized display, for people who want glass without carrying a tablet setup around.
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In short
The NEEWER X11 is a compact beam-splitter rig built around a phone-sized display. Any teleprompter with mirror mode will drive it, including ScrollCue, which runs in the browser, is free, and needs no app download.
The compact trade-off
The X11 is the small one. It takes a phone rather than a tablet, which makes it genuinely portable and means you can throw it in a bag with a tripod and not think about it. The cost is a smaller reading surface, and that is a real cost, not a marketing quibble.
Which means your font settings matter more here than on any tablet rig. You have less screen, you are reading through glass that costs you a little contrast, and there is nowhere to hide.
Settings for a phone-sized rig
Mirror mode on
Non-negotiable on any beam-splitter. The glass flips the text and without this you are reading backwards.
Font 48 to 56 px
Smaller than a tablet rig would take, because you have less room, but do not go below this hoping to fit more on screen. Fewer words you can actually read beats more words you cannot.
Column at 100%
Counter-intuitive, and the opposite of the advice for a big screen. On a phone the column is already narrow. Squeezing it further just wastes the only screen you have.
Turn the brightness up
The glass eats some of it. A phone at 60% brightness that looked fine on your desk will look grey through a beam-splitter.
Pair a phone as a remote
Once the phone is under the shroud you cannot reach it. This is the thing nobody mentions when they sell you a compact rig. Pair a second device and you can drive speed, pause, and section jumps without dismantling anything mid-shoot.
Or, if you only have the one phone, use a laptop as the prompter behind a bigger rig and let the phone be the remote. Which is usually the better setup if you have the choice.
Why not the bundled software
NEEWER's business is manufacturing aluminium and glass, and they are good at it. The bundled app is an afterthought and it shows, which is true across this entire category and is not a NEEWER-specific complaint. Open a browser instead. It costs nothing, there is nothing to install, and it does not care which brand of rig it is sitting under.
Frequently asked questions
What app works with the NEEWER X11?
Anything with mirror mode. ScrollCue runs in the browser, is free, needs no install, and works with any brand of rig.
What font size for a phone-sized rig?
Around 48 to 56 px, with the column at full width. On a small screen, narrowing the column just wastes the space you have.
How do I control it once the phone is in the shroud?
Pair a second device as a remote. You cannot reach the phone once it is mounted, so this is what makes the rig usable on your own.
Do I need mirror mode?
Yes, on any beam-splitter rig. The glass flips the text, so the display has to show it pre-flipped.