Paul Clifford

In the worship software hall of fame, a few names have stood the test of time.  MediaShout stands as software that has continued to grow for the last 20+ years in functionality and use. With the creation of MediaShout 7 (MS7), they've added more features to make your job easier as a church techie.

Live streaming is one of those areas where it's easy to become overwhelmed with where to begin. In this article, I've provided live streaming basics to help you get started.

In the twenty-first century, we’re part of a new revolution. The internet enables communication on a global scale. It does this not only to larger geographic areas but also to smaller groups. This is the era of the niche. Instead of speaking to larger and larger groups, you can now speak to more select groups and individuals from across the globe, who though separate physically, may form in aggregate, a large group, in and of themselves.

The great thing about technology is that while prices start high, they tend to go down quickly. It used to be that churches would...

Now that COVID-19 has dramatically limited in-person meetings for some churches and eliminated them altogether for others, live streaming has become the norm, even in more traditional denominations. Worship software, which used to display merely lyrics and scripture to people attending in-person on a screen, is now the backbone of the online or video church service.

While it's possible to live-stream with a single camera and a software encoder, or even with multiple smartphones, using a video switcher is the way many churches should do it. First, what's a video switcher? A video switcher is NOT a selector switch that you'd pick up from a big online or electronics retailer. While it does the same thing, select video sources, it does so without the visual glitch on the screen that a selector produces.

How do you get better production with limited resources when people will be sitting in seats that you used to be able to shoot from? That's where a multi-camera production comes in. In the past, multi-camera live streaming production has been very expensive. SwitcherStudio for iOS changes all that.

Live streaming isn't right for every church. In an ideal world, equipment would be cheap and every church would have the infrastructure to host their own service via live stream. Now, many churches are struggling to make something work in a short amount of time because of COVID-19. This isn't a perfect world and while God isn't surprised, many churches have been. So, with that thought in mind, what are some things you can do today to maintain community and meet other than live streaming?