Comparison

productionTimer vs ViplexHandy

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

productionTimer

This app transforms your iOS device into a professional countdown clock for live events and television production. It offers fullscreen display on external monitors, customizable text and colors, and message broadcasting capabilities.

Highlights
  • Fullscreen countdown on external display
  • Message broadcasting
  • Customizable text and background colors
  • Time-Travel feature
  • AirPlay support
Features
Read full description

productionTimer was designed specifically for the live event and television production industry. Turn most models of iPad or iPhone / iPod Touch into a full-featured countdown clock - perfect for live events! Key Features: - FULLSCREEN countdown on an EXTERNAL DISPLAY via USB-C/Lightning->HDMI or AirPlay - NDI® and SRT output - send the clock over your network to a switcher, multiviewer, remote venue, or playout system - WEB VIEW & REMOTE CONTROL - open the clock in any browser and drive the timer from a separate phone, tablet, or laptop - Bitfocus Companion support - control productionTimer from a Stream Deck or any Companion surface - Send messages downstage - Change text and background colors for normal, warning, and end segments - Smaller cost and footprint than computer or hardware-based timers productionTimer turns an iOS device into a full-screen countdown clock for an external monitor. Take video directly out of the device via the Apple HDMI adapter - run it to a nearby monitor with standard HDMI, send it over Cat-5/5e/6 or fiber, or feed it into a switcher and route it anywhere. Using a switcher, you can even key out the background for a clean countdown over other graphics - perfect for getting attendees back from breaks on time. Prefer to skip the cables? An AirPlay destination like Apple TV works as the external monitor. Need the clock somewhere a cable won't reach? Broadcast it over your network instead - as an NDI source straight into your switcher, or an SRT stream for reliable delivery over longer, less predictable connections. It's also available as a web view, so anyone on the network can pull it up in a browser. Run the show from wherever you are: built-in remote control lets an operator drive the timer from a separate device, and Bitfocus Companion integration puts start, stop, reset, and messaging on your Stream Deck - right inside the control layout you already use. A "warning" changes the clock's background to a user-defined color at a set time - great for cueing talent to wrap up or move to Q&A. Once time is up, the background can change colors again. Need to send a note downstage but don't have switching in place to get it on the confidence monitor? Type a short message and display it on the clock. The countdown shifts up and a large, clear message appears below it - one touch and it's back to normal. Event professionals know the importance of running on time. Need to make up a few minutes? Use "Time-Travel" to run the clock faster than reality - just set the time of day you want it to hit "0" and productionTimer figures out the rest.

About

ViplexHandy

Manage and control Taurus series multimedia players for LED displays. Design playlists, configure screens, and manage media files directly from your iOS device. This app offers comprehensive control for asynchronous full-color LED displays.

Highlights
  • Screen management
  • Solution editing
  • System settings
  • Media library
  • Quick screen configuration
  • Real-time control
Features
Read full description

ViPlex Handy, designed for the Taurus series products, is an application for the iOS platform. Launched by NovaStar, the Taurus series products are the second generation of multimedia players for small and medium-sized asynchronous full-color LED displays. This application supports functions like screen management, solution editing, system settings, and media library. Screen management: Allows you to manage the Taurus series products in the LAN and supports quick screen configuration, real-time control, playback management, cloud server binding and so on. Solution editing: Allows you to quickly design various playlists which will be sent to the Taurus series products for playback. System settings: Includes software language settings and help documentation. Media library: Allows you to browse the multimedia files on your mobile phone.

Screenshots

productionTimer2 screens
ViplexHandy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: productionTimer at 90% against ViplexHandy's 12%. productionTimer also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.4) and update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks). ViplexHandy's advantage is price (Free vs $19.99) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ViplexHandy is free to download; productionTimer costs $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

productionTimer holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 12 and 28 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of productionTimer's written reviews are positive against 12% of ViplexHandy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

productionTimer ships an update weekly, ViplexHandy every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
productionTimer versus ViplexHandy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterproductionTimerViplexHandy
Price$19.99Free — better
Rating4.7 (12 ratings) — better2.4 (28 ratings)
Positive reviews90.0% of reviews — better11.9% of reviews
Number of ratings1228 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB212 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOn-Point Presentation Services, LLCXi'an NovaStar Tech Co.,Ltd

Customer experience

productionTimer

All ratings12 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews10 reviews
Positive90.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative0.0%

ViplexHandy

All ratings28 ratings
Positive28.6%
Neutral3.6%
Negative67.9%
Written reviews42 reviews
Positive11.9%
Neutral19.0%
Negative69.0%

In-app purchases

None

productionTimer

No in-app purchases

None

ViplexHandy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is productionTimer free?
productionTimer costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ViplexHandy free?
ViplexHandy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, productionTimer or ViplexHandy?
productionTimer is rated higher. productionTimer averages 4.7 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while ViplexHandy averages 2.4 from 28 ratings.
Do productionTimer or ViplexHandy have ads?
Neither productionTimer nor ViplexHandy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, productionTimer or ViplexHandy?
productionTimer ships an update weekly, and ViplexHandy every 6 weeks. Most recently, productionTimer was updated on October 8, 2026 and ViplexHandy on October 7, 2026.

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