Phones, tablets, and other computers

Private network only

Prest Server has no login: any device that reaches the host can control the show. Connect stage devices only to a network your band controls. See Network and security.

Connect a device

1. Connect the device to the same band-owned router or hotspot as the host computer.
2. Start the host: REAPER or Ableton Live with Prest Server installed, or Prest.
3. Open a browser on the device and go to http://prest.local/.
4. If the name does not open, use the host computer’s IP address instead, for example http://192.168.1.20/.
5. Check that the dot in the top bar reads Runtime Active (hover over it or look in Setup).

Expected result: the device shows the same songs, setlists, and current song as every other device.

The page opens on Editor. To open a device straight on the stage view, bookmark http://prest.local/performance; http://prest.local/setup opens Setup.

Which address to use

• http://prest.local/ works when the network passes local name announcements (mDNS) and the host announces itself. It is the address to use with a backup computer, because it moves to the standby when the standby takes over.
• The IP address always works while the device can reach the host. Some routers and hotspots block .local names.
• A port is needed when the host does not use port 80: when you set Server Port or PREST_PORT, or when the host fell back to a backup port from 8418 to 8422. Add it after the name: http://prest.local:8418/.
• In Prest and the next release, a rig with a Rig Name answers to that name instead: http://<name>.local/.

Setup, Network & Redundancy, Connect From Other Devices shows the addresses.

Browsers

• 0.1.1 is tested in Chrome on desktop and in Safari’s engine at iPad and iPhone sizes. No minimum browser versions are published for it: use a current Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari.
• In Prest and the next release, the stage screens run on Safari and Safari on iOS 15.4 or later, Chrome and Edge 99 or later, and Firefox 98 or later.

The top bar’s fullscreen button works where the browser supports fullscreen: on desktop browsers, and in Safari on iPad from 16.4. Safari on iPhone has no fullscreen; in Prest and the next release the button is hidden where fullscreen is missing.

Screen settings

Each device keeps its own text size, theme, and song-list settings in its browser. The theme button in the top bar switches between system, dark, and light. See Setup. Clearing the browser’s data for the site resets them; songs and setlists stay on the host.

When the network drops

• A page that is already open stays up, shows Waiting or Offline, and reconnects by itself when the host is reachable again.
• Reloading the page, or opening it on a new device, needs the host: the page itself comes from the host.
• The stage screens cannot be installed as an app and keep no offline copy.

Rehearse a router restart and a host restart with your own devices before a show.

Several devices at once

Every device controls the same host. Choosing a song or pressing Play on one device moves every device. Each device chooses which setlist it reads the current song in.

In Prest and the next release, lock a device that should only show the show: Setup, This Device, Lock This Device.