Church Online

We hear from lots of people who’ve chosen a software encoder for their church live streaming solution.  They tell us it's complicated and unreliable. Unanticipated problems can quickly change your joyful noise into frustration with a stream that’s dropping frames and frozen software. In the end, a dedicated hardware encoder can solve many of the problems encountered with software encoders and simplify church live streaming for volunteers. Here's how to avoid the software encoder blues.

Live streaming is becoming less of a technical novelty and more a requirement for many churches--something that makes a lot of sense. Sure, online live streaming technology allows you to broadcast and distribute your message around the world, but it also allows you to reach local community members that may not be able to make it to church every week (or at all). Sure, online live streaming technology allows you to broadcast and distribute your message around the world, but it also allows you to reach local community members that may not be able to make it to church every week (or at all). The question is, can they hear you? You know that audio is the most important part of any live stream, right?

One of the most common live-streaming questions people have when they're first getting started is "what do I need?" Often the chorus of "just use your phone" drowns out the advice from people who know the limitations of that advice. In most circumstances, a single phone in the back of the sanctuary isn't going to do as good a job as a camcorder connected to an encoder. Normally, the steps from a single phone to a multi-camera live-stream, with graphics, are like a maze. You can go a long way down a single path only to find that you've hit a dead-end and have to turn around and start over again. Not so with the SlingStudio Multi-Camera Live Streaming Platform from the folks at Dish Network. Its major strength is that it eliminates the dead ends.

Facebook's free live streaming services have opened up a world of opportunity for churches to reach out to their audience through live video content. Churches love the number of people who are able to watch their Facebook live videos, however, there are problems with accurately tracking the number of attendees. Often these numbers are even inflated and may rarely include new people which can be bad news for churches. So what is this service actually providing and is it worth it? 

While live streaming was once a novelty for churches, today, it has become something many churches consider a viable part of their ministry. While...

Last year we posted the best solution for streaming your church services live to Facebook. How has this changed in the year since that post?

Live streaming events is a great way to expand your church’s ministry. There can be lots of decisions to make once you have decided to start live streaming. One of the most important questions to ask yourself is what type of quality you want to offer and what type of quality your equipment can produce. You want the live stream to be as clear as possible but you also need to know what your equipment's limitations are and who your audience is.

Live streaming events is a great way to expand your church's ministry. There are lots of steps and a few different ways to approach this ministry of your church. If you've been charged with your church's vision to begin, once you get started, there is often concern or even panic that can set it. You want to make sure you give a great first impression but are a little overwhelmed by the different obstacles that live streaming presents.