How to Run an Event Timer on a Big Screen

The timer does one thing well: a big countdown on a screen everyone can see, controlled from your phone, synced to the second across as many screens as you like. This guide covers creating one, getting it onto a display, and what's free versus paid.

Create the timer

You can be ready in under a minute. Only the person creating and controlling the timer needs a free account — everyone else just opens a link.

Set the duration (anything from 30 seconds to 100 hours), give it a title so the screen explains itself, and that's the timer made.

Put it on the screen

Every timer has a display link — a plain link that shows the live countdown and nothing else. Open it on whatever's driving the screen and press full-screen (double-click the background if you're not already there).

1. In the timer's admin view, copy the Display link.
2. Open that link in a browser on the device attached to your TV or projector.
3. Go full-screen.

The most reliable setup is a laptop or mini-PC plugged into the screen over HDMI. A Chromecast or Apple TV works when the screen is mounted out of reach — cast the tab with the display link. We'd avoid the browser built into a cheap smart TV; they're old and drop out of full-screen at the worst time.

Control it from your phone

Open the same timer on your phone. As its creator, your view has the controls — start, pause, reset, and add time — while the display link stays full-screen on the big screen.

Start the clock when things actually begin, pause for an interruption, and add a minute when you need it — all from anywhere in the room. The screen follows instantly. You're never tied to the laptop that's driving the display.

Show it on more than one screen

Open the display link on as many screens as you want — the main stage, a confidence monitor, the lobby TV, an overflow room. They all show the same countdown at the same instant. There's no limit on the number of devices, and nothing to refresh.

Schedule a start or a hold screen

Count down to a wall-clock time instead of a duration — "Doors at 19:00", "Resumes at 14:00". The screen runs a tidy hold while the room fills and starts itself on cue. It's the cleanest way to set a start time a whole room can see.

Finish with a buzzer and a message

Set an end message that lands on the screen at zero — "Time!", "Next speaker", "We're live" — with an optional buzzer. Turn the buzzer off for a keynote or a ceremony and let the message do the talking.

Make it readable (and on-brand)

Pick a display format that suits the room (minutes and seconds for most events; tenths only for short, sharp segments) and a high-contrast colour pair — light digits on a dark background read from the back of a hall and won't glare in a dim venue. Choose a circular or horizontal progress bar, or none.

Custom colours, fonts, and a logo are part of the paid plans — useful when the screen carries a sponsor's brand. For a fully designed, on-brand scoreboard or countdown built for an AV pack, see custom event scoreboards.

Will it stay accurate?

Yes. The countdown is anchored to a fixed end time on our server clock, not counted frame-by-frame in the browser. It stays correct even if a device sleeps, a tab drops to the background, or a laptop reconnects to Wi-Fi partway through — the screen catches straight back up.

What's free and what's paid

Creating and displaying timers is free — up to 2 saved boards, no credit card. Paid plans (from $19/month) add custom colours, fonts, and a logo for branded screens, plus more saved timers across the year. Full details on the pricing page.

Timers for other rooms

It's the same synced timer wherever you point it. Teachers use the classroom timer for exams and station rotations. For the full event walkthrough — conferences, stages, ceremonies — see the event timer. And for sports and live streams — game clocks, gym intervals, OBS stream countdowns — the online timer at KeepTheScore is the one to use.