Frequently asked questions

A professional timer studio is a dedicated timing platform for live productions, built to keep the control room, speakers, moderator and cameras on the same clock. Timers Studio pushes that further with four integrated modules: Timers for the main countdown, Agenda for the rundown, Moderator for backstage, and Gateway to interact with the audience. Everything runs in the browser, nothing to install for speakers, and end-to-end latency stays under 150 milliseconds between the control room and the displays.

Build a rundown in the Agenda module, set a target duration for each slot, share a secure link with the control room and speakers, and go live. During the show, the operator drives the timer from a laptop or a Stream Deck, speakers see their remaining time on a quiet return screen, and the moderator can push a silent message to anyone running long. Corporate conferences, live webinars and AGMs keep their pace without anyone raising their voice.

The show caller gets a single console to drive the clock, push messages to speakers, trigger transitions and follow the rundown. Cues are one click away, Stream Deck shortcuts are fully configurable, and the Moderator view lets you delegate part of the work to a backstage assistant. When things run late, add time or subtract time updates the plan without breaking the reference clock. The show caller stays focused on the show, not on the tool.

Every speaker gets a personal link to a minimal timer page they open on their phone, tablet or return screen. The rundown handles as many sessions and speakers as needed, with photos, bios, individual durations and transitions. The control room sees at a glance who is up next, who has already spoken, and who is running long. For multi-stage events, several rundowns can run in parallel from the same studio.

Timers Studio renders a web page that your video workflow captures like any other source: browser input in vMix, OBS or Wirecast, HDMI capture from a dedicated mini PC into an ATEM Mini, or direct display on a set return screen. The page is chromakey friendly, performant in Full HD and 4K, and every element (timer, logo, message) can match your brand guidelines. The Designer module ships nine theme presets plus full customization of colors, typography and logos.

Two paths coexist. For control rooms already on Bitfocus Companion, our official timersstudio-api module installs from the Module Store and makes every action bindable on a Stream Deck. For simpler setups and solo streamers, the native Stream Deck plugin talks directly to our API without going through Companion. The REST API and webhooks also let you chain Timers Studio with anything that speaks HTTP: OBS scene switch, vMix graphic overlay, automatic jingle trigger.

Yes. A Timers Studio account can host several independent studios, each with its own rundown, permissions, API keys and branding. The Enterprise plan adds SSO, audit log and unlimited devices, which fits production agencies running multiple clients and broadcasters with several control rooms. Each studio runs in isolation, a failure or an incident on one studio does not affect the others.

The rundown is the spine of your show. You declare every segment with its target duration, speaker, production notes and transitions. During the live, the Agenda module surfaces the current segment, the next one, and the cumulative time left on the whole run of show. The operator jumps to the next segment in one click, adds or trims time on the fly, and the entire Timers Studio surface updates in real time: set displays, backstage tablets and Stream Decks follow automatically.

Yes, and that is often the first use case creators discover. Add a go-live countdown, a segment timer to pace your show, or a Q&A clock for your viewers. The overlay drops into OBS or Streamlabs as a browser source, branding accepts your channel logo and colors, and the free Starter plan is enough for a solo setup.

In three steps. Create a studio, pick a timer type among the six available formats (countdown, stopwatch, clock and so on), and paste the player link into OBS. The timer shows up instantly as an overlay on your stream. To start, stop or add time during the live, a keyboard shortcut or a Stream Deck button is all you need. No complex setup, no install, no server to manage.

Yes. The interface was designed so a show caller under pressure can move fast, which also benefits a solo creator who does not want to wrestle with menus. The free Starter plan covers a solo YouTube or Twitch stream, no credit card. You only pay the day you need advanced integrations, custom branding or more devices to grow.

Timers Studio is a web-based platform for synchronized timers aimed at broadcast, corporate events, conferences, and live streaming. You build a run of show, share it with speakers, the control room, and cameras in one click, and every screen shows the same time to the millisecond. The platform covers four modules: Timers for the main countdown, Agenda for the running order, Moderator for the control-room back office, and Gateway to receive messages from the audience. Everything runs in the browser, nothing to install on the viewer side.

Timers Studio ships six display formats: classic countdown, count-up stopwatch, real-time time of day, countdown plus time, count-up plus time, and a hidden mode for transitions. Each format pairs with six digit styles: Standard, Cinema Bold, Minimal, Newsroom, Digital Red seven-segment, and Digital Green seven-segment. That gives thirty-six display combinations to fit any production, from a TV studio to a corporate conference, including streaming and worship services.

Timers Studio runs in the browser and needs a connection to sync devices together. On site, a 4G hotspot is usually enough since we only transmit time events, not video. If the link drops mid-event, each device keeps counting locally from its last known state and resyncs automatically as soon as the network returns.

Limits depend on the plan. Starter allows up to 3 concurrent devices and suits small events or tests. Professional goes up to 25 devices, which covers the vast majority of broadcast and corporate productions. Enterprise is unlimited and adds SLA guarantees, SSO authentication, and dedicated hosting. Devices are counted as active connections: a phone that closes the tab frees its slot.

Yes on all three. The viewer UI is responsive and tested on iOS Safari, Android Chrome, and the Android control-room tablets we have seen in the wild. The control UI is comfortable from an iPad in landscape mode. For the Elgato Stream Deck, we publish two integration paths: the official Bitfocus Companion module for broadcast control rooms, and a native Stream Deck plugin for simpler setups. Both paths are documented with their use cases.

The public site and the app are translated into six languages: English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese. Arabic is native RTL, not a mirrored translation. Legal documents and billing stay in English and French. If you need another language for a specific event, write to [email protected], we can add a language within 48 hours.

The Moderator module is a dedicated console your moderator uses backstage during an event, from a laptop or tablet, at timers.studio/moderator/SXXXXX protected by a password. It bundles eight widgets configured from the studio: Timer, broadcast Wharton clock, Agenda Focus, full Agenda view, Q&A Radar with seat map, Q&A Push to send a message to the speaker on stage, Visual Pager for a discreet flash, and Live Polls. An encrypted bidirectional Private Intercom keeps the control room and the moderator in permanent contact. It is a console designed for backstage work, distinct from the main control-room interface.

Yes, the three are bundled in the Gateway module. Spectators scan a QR code, pick their seat on the seat map, submit a question from their phone, and vote on polls, with nothing to install. On the control-room side, you see questions arrive in real time with their position in the venue, you open or close polls, and you broadcast results to the player in one click. The built-in raffle ships an animated casino wheel, CSV import or auto-connect to connected spectators, and the draw is broadcast full screen on the player so the whole audience sees it.

Yes, that is what the Designer module is for. You can apply one of nine theme presets | Default dark, Light, Dark Pro, Matrix, Candy, Corporate, Neon, Ocean, Sunset | or define your own colors across five distinct zones (header, timer, message, progress, background). Branding accepts a PNG, JPG, or SVG logo up to three megabytes, resizable from ten to one hundred percent and placeable in five zones of the player. Typography offers five fonts (Inter, Roboto, Oswald, Montserrat, Poppins) and five weights. The Stage Architect module also simulates timer readability at a distance against the AVIXA DISCAS standard, based on screen size, speaker distance, and ambient light.

We maintain an official timersstudio-api module published on the Companion Module Store. Once installed, you paste the API key generated from the Timers Studio dashboard, and the common actions become bindable on your Stream Deck buttons: start, stop, reset, add time, subtract time, next, previous, jump to item, send message. The module also exposes dynamic feedbacks to color buttons based on the timer state.

Yes. For setups without a Companion control room, we ship a native Stream Deck plugin that connects directly to the Timers Studio API. Install the plugin from the Elgato Store, paste your API key, and the main actions are available right away. This path is recommended for content creators, streamers, and small control rooms. For multi-camera broadcast with Companion already in place, the Companion module is still preferable.

Yes. The REST API covers timer creation, agenda management, real-time control, moderation of public questions, and generation of viewer links. Authentication uses an API key scoped to the studio, so a compromise on one event does not affect the others. Webhooks are available for key events: timer started, timer stopped, item finished, message received. The full reference lives at /docs/api/reference.

Timers Studio is not a video mixer. We render a web page that you capture inside your existing video workflow: browser source in vMix, OBS, Wirecast, ATEM Mini, or HDMI capture from a dedicated mini PC. That choice is deliberate: it lets Timers Studio plug into any video ecosystem without us reinventing tools that already exist. The viewer page is designed to be chromakey friendly and fast at full HD and 4K.

CSV import is available to seed an agenda from Excel, Google Sheets, or an export from a production software. For teams who want to automate ingestion, the REST API can create a full agenda in one call. We deliberately removed AI-based imports: a run of show does not tolerate guesswork, and five minutes of manual mapping avoid a disaster during a live event.

Starter is free for small events and tests, with up to 3 connected devices. Professional is 24 dollars per month and covers 25 devices, Companion and Stream Deck integrations, API and webhooks, and priority email support. Enterprise is 80 dollars per month and unlocks unlimited devices, dedicated hosting, SSO, a signed SLA, and a direct Slack channel with the team. The /pricing page breaks down every line.

Yes. The Starter plan is free forever, no credit card required, and already covers a small complete event. To test Professional in real conditions, you can activate monthly billing and stop at the end of the month with no penalty. For Enterprise, we offer a guided demo with an engineer from the team and a two-week pilot on a real event.

Yes, that is our default billing mode. Many event teams work by seasons, tours, or one-off shows, and there is no reason to force them into twelve-month contracts. You only pay for the months you actually use Timers Studio. Cancellation is one click from the dashboard and takes effect at the end of the current period.

Starter is sized for tests, rehearsals, and very small events. Professional is what most pro users pick: it adds 25 devices, Companion and Stream Deck integrations, API, webhooks, multi-session agendas, and custom branding. Enterprise targets broadcasters, multi-client agencies, and organizations with SSO, signed SLA, audit log, and region-specific dedicated hosting requirements.

We never cut off a live event. If you hit the device limit of your plan during a show, new connections are queued and we notify you in the dashboard. You can upgrade in one click, the change is immediate, and billing is prorated for the remaining days of the month. No data is lost, no speaker gets disconnected.

Yes. Paying yearly gives roughly two months free on Professional and a negotiated discount on Enterprise. We also have specific terms for agencies managing multiple studios, nonprofits, educational institutions, and NGOs. For a tailored quote, write to [email protected] with a rough idea of devices, events, and contract length.

For Professional plans, we accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and debit cards, processed by Stripe with 3D Secure. Billing is monthly or yearly depending on your choice, with a PDF invoice issued automatically each period and available from the dashboard. For Enterprise and agencies managing multiple studios, we also support SEPA bank transfer, purchase orders, and centralized multi-account invoicing. If you need another payment method such as PayPal or an international wire outside SEPA, write to [email protected].

During an event, the fastest path is email [email protected] with URGENT LIVE in the subject and your studio identifier in the body. Tickets tagged this way jump to the front of the queue and are picked up in under ten minutes during business hours, and in under an hour outside. Enterprise customers also get a dedicated Slack channel with an on-call engineer during planned events.

Data is hosted on a Supabase Postgres infrastructure encrypted at rest, with TLS-only connections, and application servers run on Hetzner in Europe. API keys are scoped per studio, permissions are checked on every request at the database layer, and real-time events flow through an encrypted channel. Enterprise plans can request dedicated hosting in a specific region and a custom retention policy. Full details are on the /privacy page.

Under nominal conditions, end-to-end latency stays below 150 milliseconds between a show caller action and the visible change on the viewer screen, as long as devices sit on a decent broadband connection. The protocol syncs a server-side reference tick and compensates local drift, which gives the feel of a single shared clock. In practice, broadcast callers do not perceive any lag for manual cues.

Each device keeps its last known timer state and continues to count locally even without network. When the connection is back, the device resyncs with the server and realigns on the reference tick, transparently for the user. In practice, a thirty-second outage goes unnoticed on the viewer side. For mission-critical contexts, we recommend a second network link as failover, and we document this topology on the developers page.

On the control studio side, we recommend a recent Chrome or Edge (within the last two major versions) to benefit from native WebHID support, which lets you plug an Elgato Stream Deck directly, with no driver or third-party software. Firefox and Safari work for standard control without WebHID. On the player and spectator side, all modern browsers are supported on desktop, mobile, and tablet: iOS Safari, Android Chrome, Samsung Internet, mobile Edge. Android control-room tablets are tested continuously. Spectators do not need to install any native app | they open a link or scan a QR code.

The /contact form is the standard path and replies arrive within 24 hours. For commercial questions, [email protected]. For product support, [email protected]. For press and partnerships, [email protected]. We are also on X, Reddit, and Discord for community discussions, the links are on the /community page.