Set up your TV
Do this once, a day or two before Sunday. It takes about ten minutes. Next week the TV will remember everything.
1. Open the web browser on the TV
Menu names change from year to year, so yours may look a little different.
Samsung smart TV
- Press Home on the remote.
- Find Internet (a blue globe). If you don't see it, look under Apps.
- Select the address bar, type sayimpromptu.com/tv and press Enter.
LG smart TV
- Press Home on the remote.
- Open Web Browser (a globe icon).
- Select the address bar, type sayimpromptu.com/tv and press OK.
Amazon Fire TV stick
- Fire TV doesn't come with a browser. From the home screen, search for Silk and install Amazon Silk (free).
- Open Silk, select the address bar, and type sayimpromptu.com/tv.
A laptop plugged into the TV
- Plug the laptop into the TV with an HDMI cable and choose that input on the TV.
- Open Chrome, Edge or Safari and go to sayimpromptu.com/tv.
- Make the browser full screen (F11 on Windows, Ctrl+Cmd+F on a Mac).
Typing on a TV is slow. Once it's open, add it as a bookmark or favourite in the TV's browser so next week it's two clicks.
2. Connect your phone
- Open your phone's camera and point it at the QR code on the TV.
- Tap the link that pops up. Your phone is now the remote.
- No luck with the camera? On your phone go to sayimpromptu.com/r and type the 6-character code shown on the TV.
3. Stop the TV from going to sleep
SayImpromptu asks the TV to stay awake, but many TVs have their own screen saver or energy saver that ignores websites. Turn these off before you rely on it. Look for these settings in the TV's menu (exact names vary by model and year):
| TV | Look for | Set it to |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung | Auto Protection Time or Screen Saver (often under General → System Manager), and Auto Power Off / Power Saving (often under General → Eco Solution) | Off, or the longest time |
| LG | Screen Saver, and Energy Saving / Auto Power Off / Auto Off (often under General or Support) | Off |
| Fire TV | Settings → Display & Sounds → Screen Saver → Start Time | Never |
| Laptop | Power / Energy settings: turn off the display and sleep | Never, while plugged in |
Can't find it? Search the web for your TV model plus "turn off screen saver". If you work it out for your model, we'd love to hear the menu path so we can add it here.
4. Edges cut off?
Some TVs zoom the picture a little and crop the edges (called "overscan"). If the edges of the text or the small badges look cut off, look in the TV's picture settings for Picture Size / Aspect Ratio and choose Screen Fit, Just Scan or Original. You can also make the side margins bigger on your phone, under Display.
5. Vertical TV or glass prompter?
On your phone, open Display. You can rotate the screen (for a TV mounted sideways) and mirror the text (for a teleprompter with a glass reflector). The TV remembers this for next time.
Good to know
- Reloading the TV page starts over. It gets a new code, and your phone will need to scan again. That's on purpose: it's how you hand the TV to someone else.
- If the Wi-Fi drops, the words keep scrolling. The TV keeps going on its own and reconnects when it can.
- Keep your phone awake while you use it as the remote. If it locks, the TV keeps going. Unlock it and the controls come back in a second or two.
- Seeing "network may be blocking live connections"? Some church guest Wi-Fi blocks this kind of connection. Try your phone's mobile data, or a phone hotspot for the TV.