Live translated subtitles at events: a setup guide

Published October 14, 2026

At a conference, a launch or a training day, part of the room often doesn't speak the speaker's language. Interpreters and headsets cost a lot and take weeks of planning. Live translated subtitles are a lighter way: the speaker talks, and the room reads every word on a screen, already translated.

This guide shows how to set that up with Tapy Live, which runs in the browser of the laptop you already bring.

What you need

• A laptop with Chrome, Edge or Safari, and an internet connection.
• A screen the audience can see: the projector, a TV beside the stage, or a strip under your slides.
• The speaker's voice reaching the laptop clearly (step 1).

1. Get the sound right

Subtitles are only as good as the sound they hear. A laptop's own microphone at the back of a hall hears the room: echo, applause, chairs. These work better, best first:

1. A feed from the sound desk. Ask the venue for a line out of their mixer and plug it into the laptop through a small USB audio interface. Tapy Live then hears exactly what the room hears through the speakers.
2. A wireless microphone receiver plugged into the laptop, with the speaker wearing a lapel microphone.
3. A USB microphone on the lectern, close to the speaker.

Pick it under Microphone, next to the languages in Tapy Live. If the browser asks, allow the microphone.

2. Pick the languages

Set I speak to the speaker's language, or leave it on Any language when speakers switch languages, even within a sentence. Set Translate to to the language most of the audience reads.

Tapy Live translates into one language at a time. Turn on Show what I say to add the speaker's own words above the translation, which helps a mixed room.

3. Set up the screen

Three layouts cover most events:

• A screen for subtitles only. Connect a second display or a TV, drag the Tapy Live window onto it and choose Full screen. The slides stay on the main projector.
• A strip under the slides. Present your slides in a window (in PowerPoint: Slide Show › Set Up Slide Show › Browsed by an individual (window); Keynote can play in a window too), and put Tapy Live in a short, wide window below them. The text keeps its size in a short, wide window.
• The projector itself, for talks without slides: Tapy Live in full screen.

Then choose Subtitles only to hide the controls. Press Esc or double-tap to bring them back.

4. Make it readable from the back row

• Size: walk to the back of the room and look. Bigger is almost always better.
• Lines: two lines suit most rooms. More lines give more context, but the text climbs higher up the screen.
• Screen and color: white text on a dark or black screen is easiest to read. A white screen suits a bright room.
• Position: bottom for a strip, middle for a screen that shows only subtitles.
• Hide when quiet clears the screen during long pauses, so old lines don't linger.

5. Test before the doors open

1. Speak through the real microphone, at the real distance, with the room's sound on.
2. Check the venue's Wi-Fi, and keep a phone hotspot ready.
3. Make sure the account has enough hours for the whole event.

Good to know

Machine translation is fast but not perfect: names and jargon can come out wrong. For legal, medical or safety matters, use a professional interpreter. For talks, launches, classes and meetups, live subtitles let everyone follow along, for far less.