Tally Arbiter Cloud — And the Easier Alternative
Tally Arbiter is the most powerful free tally system available. But when people search for "Tally Arbiter cloud," they're usually looking for one thing: a way to make their tally light work over the internet — for a remote guest, a second location, or a team member not on the same WiFi.
The Tally Arbiter cloud setup does exist. It's just significantly more complex than most people expect.
What Tally Arbiter cloud actually involves
- Install Node.js and Tally Arbiter on your local production machine
- Configure your video switcher integration (ATEM, vMix, OBS, etc.)
- Set up a second Tally Arbiter instance on a cloud server (VPS required)
- Configure the two instances to talk to each other via WebSocket relay
- Handle port forwarding or VPN tunneling between local and cloud instances
- Ensure the cloud server stays running and accessible during your production
- Test that remote devices can connect to the cloud instance reliably
This is documented in the Tally Arbiter GitHub repository and it works — for technically experienced users who've done it before. For everyone else, it's a 3–5 hour project before a single tally light turns on.
The Tally Arbiter forums and Reddit threads on this topic tell the same story: people start the cloud setup, hit a configuration wall, and give up. The most common failure points are the WebSocket relay configuration and port accessibility on the VPS.
Cue Light: cloud-native from the start
- Open cuelight.io/app in a browser
- Tap "Copy Display Link"
- Send it to your remote team member
Cue Light runs on Cloudflare's edge network. The signal travels over the same internet infrastructure as a WhatsApp message. There's no server to configure, no ports to forward, no second instance to spin up. It's cloud-native because it was built to be — not retrofitted after the fact.
Direct comparison
| Capability | Tally Arbiter (local) | Tally Arbiter (cloud) | Cue Light |
|---|---|---|---|
| Works over internet | ✗ No | ✓ Yes (after setup) | ✓ Built-in |
| Setup time | 1–2 hours | 3–5 hours | 30 seconds |
| Requires server | Local machine only | Local + VPS | No server |
| Automatic switcher tally | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Manual (director taps) |
| Remote guest link | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | ✓ One URL |
| Cost | Free | Free + VPS cost (~$5/mo) | Free |
| Ongoing maintenance | Low | Medium (server upkeep) | Zero |
When Tally Arbiter cloud is worth the effort
Tally Arbiter with cloud relay makes sense when all of these are true:
- You have automatic switcher integration set up already (ATEM, vMix, OBS)
- You need the tally to fire without human input — fast multi-camera cutting where manual taps are too slow
- You have the technical background to maintain a VPS and troubleshoot WebSocket issues
- You're running regular productions that justify the setup investment
When Cue Light is the better fit
- You need internet-native tally for a remote guest on Zoom or Teams — today
- Your production doesn't have fast automatic switching (church, wedding, podcast, corporate)
- You don't want to maintain a VPS or troubleshoot server config
- You want tally to just work when you open a browser tab
Using Cue Light alongside Tally Arbiter
These tools aren't mutually exclusive. A common production setup: Tally Arbiter handles automatic tally for the camera operators on the local network, while Cue Light handles the tally for remote guests and talent via internet link. You get the best of both — automatic switching accuracy on-site, and zero-config internet tally for everyone off-site.
Cloud tally in 30 seconds
No server. No Node.js. No VPS. Open the app, share the link, tap Live.
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