Downstage monitor management for live presentations

The right view
for every presenter.

Build and control each downstage monitor with slides, speech-following notes, teleprompter scripts, clocks, messages, TRT, and confidence feeds. Keep every Keynote, PowerPoint, and PDF presentation organized and ready in the same technician workspace.

DSM presets · Speech-following notes · Native playback · Director multiview
The actual Downstage Controller view showing presentation queue, timer, script, show-machine status, and output controls
Actual Downstage Controller view · presentation queue, timer, script, show-machine status, and output controls

Build each presenter’s DSM

Control the view downstage first. The queue, production tools, and show-machine network support that job.

A different view for every presenter

Move and resize slides, notes, teleprompter, clocks, messages, and NDI confidence feeds on a free-form canvas. Save layouts as presets, assign a look at the start of a deck, or let the deck change individual DSMs at specific slides.

Text that follows the speaker

Presenter notes and imported teleprompter scripts scroll with the speaker on-device, recover after skips and asides, and reduce the need for a dedicated prompter operator.

Native presentation underneath

Keynote and PowerPoint keep running the presentation. With Native Presenter fallback configured on separate displays, Downstage aligns its enhancement above the familiar native presenter view.

The files presenters bring

Queue Keynote, PowerPoint, and PDF together without re-authoring. Keynote and PowerPoint retain native playback; PDFs play directly through Downstage.

Distribute decks to show machines

Send each deck, script, notes, and presenter setup to Main, Backup, and auxiliary Macs. See which machines are ready, then load or launch the presentation from Control.

Director multiview, TRT & messaging

Give the director Program, Presenter, and Light Table in one view, with builds, deck elapsed time, time remaining on embedded video, show timing, and acknowledged messages sent directly to the presenter’s DSM.

System Check before showtime

Verify permissions, presentation apps, displays, speech input, and optional NDI before rehearsal. Downstage runs locally and does not require internet to operate at showtime.

From incoming deck to the view downstage

1

Organize the presentations

Queue Keynote, PowerPoint, and PDF files, choose destinations, and attach notes or teleprompter scripts.

2

Configure each DSM

Arrange presenter-facing sources, save the layout, and assign any deck-aware preset changes.

3

Rehearse the real path

Route the DSMs, confirm speech following and native fallback, distribute to Backup, and give production the visibility it needs.

A beta for operators, not download counts.

The founding cohort is intentionally small so each operator can rehearse, run a show, and get a useful response when the room exposes an edge.

Founding Beta
Free
the full app · no feature gates
  • Every feature, real rehearsals and shows included
  • Evaluation watermark on the presenter-facing windows and PDF decks — projected Keynote & PowerPoint stays clean
  • One operator key for the main show Mac and its backup
  • Offline license validation — showtime-safe
  • Direct line to the person who builds it
Request beta access

Questions operators ask

Does it need internet at showtime?

No — and that's deliberate. Licensing is verified on the machine itself with a cryptographic signature. Venue networks are locked down, flaky, or absent; Downstage never phones home to let you run a show.

How many machines can I install on?

A founding-beta key covers your working rig: the main show Mac plus its backup, because if you run shows the way we do, the backup isn't optional.

What platforms does it run on?

Downstage is a macOS app for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It drives Keynote natively and plays PowerPoint decks as delivered.

How do I get a beta key?

Email support@downstage.technology with the kind of shows you run, your Mac and macOS version, display count, and your next rehearsal. Accepted operators receive the app and a beta key directly.

What happens when the beta ends?

Downstage 1.0 becomes a one-time perpetual license — no subscription. Beta operators hear first when that happens, and your show files carry forward as-is.

Get Downstage

The founding beta is invite-based so the first wave stays supportable. Accepted operators review the terms, create their license, and receive the current compatible build through one private enrollment page.

Request beta access
Current builds · Apple Silicon 1.0.38 · Intel 1.0.37 · founding beta · macOS
See how Downstage fits into a show →