A Job for Anyone

When I need to expand the team’s capabilities, I issue a general call to the congregation to see if anyone wants to join the media team. Whatever they choose is fine. I pride myself in having a well-rounded corps of volunteers, so adding capacity anywhere helps us everywhere. I also make a point of appealing directly to the church’s youth. Over the years, the majority of our team has joined when they’re part of the youth congregation.

The important idea to hold onto is that anyone – anyone – can substantively contribute to the media production of a service if they have the interest and the will to learn. The age range of my current team is 9 to 76, but I have photo evidence of kindergarten-age kids running Pro Presenter and TriCaster during services. Children love to push buttons and making them part of the media team is about teaching them to push the right ones.

No Experience Required

I’m very clear with potential volunteers: They don’t need a technical background. They’ll be trained on everything they need to know, although not necessarily by me. After all, I’m just one man, but I’ve learned that I can rely on volunteers to train each other if they’re introduced to new duties and technologies at the right pace.

All our volunteers begin by shadowing those who are more experienced, taking the time to observe and learn about all the various gears that must mesh for a successful production. Once they’re ready to be put to work, we generally start our volunteers out on the simplest tasks, under the direct supervision of a more experienced volunteer. A good first task is running the Pro Presenter slide software. Next, we’ll transition the recruit to operating the audio board – specifically muting, unmuting, and riding the faders. These initial jobs teach volunteers to follow the technical cues of the service.

Once they’ve mastered these basics, our volunteers move on to tasks that require more judgment, and even some artistry. This is the point when we’ll get them involved in camera control, selecting shots, controlling zoom and position, and operating speed controls. I’ll admit, I do like having a failsafe for this aspect. Our camera control is network-based, and I can access our joystick’s web interface to adjust position or select a different camera or preset if I’m not happy with the stream. Some camera control devices also have a “basic mode” that can be very reassuring to novice users. In basic mode, the camera operator’s controls are limited to preset selection and position control, preventing novice users from making any egregious missteps.

Lastly, volunteers will spend a stint learning video switching – changing inputs, adding graphics, feeding social media comments to the ticker, etc. The whole learning process can take up to a year, but at the end, I’ve got a fully trained, well-rounded volunteer. This gives my team flexibility. If someone gets sick, goes on vacation, or I need to go help a sister congregation for a few weeks, we all have the skillset to slot in where needed.

Don’t Touch That Dial

I don’t train every volunteer to do every task. There are certain jobs reserved for the media team leaders. For example, all my volunteers are trained to always decline software upgrades; those are my domain. Ideally, all updates take place on Mondays – or for serious issues, immediately after Sunday services – so that I have a full six days to test and troubleshoot before the next broadcast. I always handle anything related to our media network myself. It’s a pretty locked-down LAN, used exclusively for media control and distribution, so it’s not particularly vulnerable to outside security threats. I can afford to take my time with upgrades and patches, making sure they’ve been adequately tested in my own lab and the field at large before deploying them in the sanctuary. I often wait six months to a year before updating an operating system, just to ensure the new release is stable and compatible with all devices.

We also don’t go into a great deal of depth on settings with most of our volunteers. For instance, we teach all volunteers to operate camera speed controls, position, zoom, and preset selection, but we don’t necessarily delve into red/blue gain, iris adjustment, white balance, etc. All of that can be configured once during initial camera and preset configuration. I have four experienced video team leads who are trained and authorized to make changes to camera presets when needed. All major video and audio settings are routed through these individuals.

Raise your Right Hand

My goal is to build a media team with highly redundant expertise, tiered so that there’s still clear leadership and oversight. I include myself in that goal. There’s a member of the media team who joined when he was 15 years old – now, 15 years later, he is my right hand. He’s the exception to the “don’t touch that” rules laid out for others. When I recognized that he was seriously called to this ministry, I had him begin shadowing everything that I do.

A few years ago, I gutted and upgraded the whole AV system, and he was by my side the entire time. He had the opportunity to see the system design from the ground up. Because he knows which solutions we had to engineer ourselves when the system was built, he knows exactly how it can and should be upgraded as technology in the marketplace improves. For example, he assisted me when I transitioned our encoder types to leverage GPU acceleration, saving bandwidth and CPU cycles. This change was invisible to the other volunteers, but essential training for the person I hope will one day succeed me. At this point, he knows the I/Os, wire routing, network, and troubleshooting procedures as well as I do—and he’s begun training his own lieutenant.

Have a Little Faith

It can be hard to let go of control, but you can learn to trust your team by starting them with small tasks and giving them the space to succeed. By all means, do all the initial configuration and preset programming to allow the system to run like a well-oiled machine—but then, let your volunteers actually run it. Resist the urge to rescue them: Let them sweat through problems and decisions and learn how to handle them on their own. Through patient observation, you’ll find people with talent, bright ideas, and an eye for detail. With time, you can build a community that will support your church’s services and operate independently as your needs evolve.

The post Good Help: Training and Trusting Media Production Volunteers appeared first on PTZOptics.

Abington Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania launched a new live streaming setup just before the holidays. Abington has been running a video ministry since the late 1980s. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic created a need to enhance their offerings. They had some experience with online video in the past though it was an outdated system. They were recording to DVD, converting to MP4, and uploading the video to YouTube. They knew that to serve their congregation, they would need to enhance the online experience. There were several pieces to their upgrade, but the project began with the purchase and installation of two PTZ cameras.

The Cameras

Abington opted for a two-camera setup, and through wise placement, they cover everything they need. First, they installed a 30X PTZ camera mounted high on the back wall of the sanctuary. With 30X optical zoom, it easily covers the 135 feet to the chancel at the front of the sanctuary enabling relatively tight shots of the service. The second camera gets in even closer. A 20X PTZ camera is mounted on the side wall close to the front of the sanctuary. This allows for close up shots of musicians and speakers and creates a great looking cross-angle. Its position also allows for some additional shots some might not think of. It provides a downward view that allows for a closeup of the baptismal font. It can also get a nice view of the front row to show families during wedding ceremonies. Being close to the front of the room, it can also show the back entrance, which is especially nice when the choir is processing. During the pandemic, while the church is practicing enhanced safety protocols, the choir sings in one of the transepts (areas off to the side of the sanctuary.) Since the congregation does not have a direct view, the side-mounted PTZ camera can easily capture them.

Both cameras are hung using standard white wall mounts allowing the white cameras to blend right into the sanctuary’s white walls. One notable part of the installation is that the cameras are both mounted upside-down. This allows the flexibility of pointing the cameras straight down to capture a shot. When cameras are mounted upside down, the image is easily flipped in the camera settings.

The Connections

The church choose to connect the cameras to the production booth computer using high-quality SDI (serial digital interface) cables. Those cables terminate into an SDI to USB capture card in the production computer. The cameras are also connected by standard serial cables connected to a HuddleCamHD PTZ joystick. The production computer is also connected to an ethernet cable connected to the church network for use with NDI, NewTek’s software for sending and receiving video over a local area network. 

Sound comes through the existing church sound system. It consists of an Allen & Heath mixer usually controlled wirelessly using an iPad. The analog audio signal is connected to a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 analog to digital converter that feeds into the production computer via USB.

The Production Booth

The production booth at the back of the sanctuary features two computers and one PTZ joystick. One PC, the production computer, runs vMix live video streaming software and is connected to the PTZ cameras. The other runs ProPresenter and links to the production computer via NDI over the church network. The HuddleCamHD PTZ joystick allows the operator to control all the PTZ functions and easily recall camera presets. These presets are listed on a printed guide posted in the production area. 

To make things easy for volunteers, each preset number represents the same basic shot on each camera. For instance, preset 0 shows a wide view of the chancel on both the back camera and the side camera. They are just at different angles due to the camera locations. Two volunteers run the entire production each week, with one running ProPresenter and the other running the cameras and vMix.

The Results

The output from a relatively simple two camera system is remarkable. The church found that some of the detail of their beautiful stained glass and woodwork couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. Once the PTZ cameras were pointed and zoomed in, the congregation was able to see the artistry in a whole new light. 

Their setup shows what can happen with the right planning and purchases. This church did their research. They started with the book Helping Your Church Live Stream. This got them up to speed on the general information and terminology and allowed them to begin the design process well informed. With their new system in place, Abington Presbyterian Church continues to serve its congregation via video ministry.

The post Abington Presbyterian Church Case Study appeared first on PTZOptics.

When the pandemic hit, many things changed for churches and pastors. When the stay-at-home orders were issued in my church’s county, we had to find a new way to do church. It was our administrative board that decided we needed to move immediately to virtual worship services.

We were fortunate to be able to get started right away. We had a crew of three plus me on Sunday morning. I ran most of the technology and was joined by a pianist, a guitar player, and a vocalist. It was just us in the building, so we were able to social distance and safely create both classic and contemporary worship experiences for the congregation.

Looking for Something More

However, we quickly realized that, while this was a great stopgap measure and response to the lockdown, this wasn’t a long-term solution. We were using just one camera pointed at the stage. It was “good enough” for now, but we quickly realized that this whole thing would be going on for a while.

The next step was to launch our “recorded live” service. I set up a studio in my basement using some outdated equipment from a recorded program my wife and I did back in 2014. Video equipment has come a long way since then, but I still had several SD cameras, SD cards, microphones, and lights. Every two weeks, I would go to the church and record two weeks’ worth of worship music with my team of three.

I would then bring it back to my home studio, where I would record the sermon. Then I would do all the post-production work and put it together in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Although it was far from perfect, it was a giant step forward. We streamed the pre-recorded service through Boxcast to YouTube, Facebook, and Roku and were pleased with the result.

The Problem

A couple of months later, we realized that virtual worship would be with us much longer than expected. Something was changing. Our congregation, which once participated in worship, had become an audience. They were sitting at home and simply watching. There was no interaction. Something had to change. We experimented with inviting members to a Zoom meeting after worship to try and bring people together. But still, we needed to do something else.

The next month, PTZOptics held The Worship Summit Live. Paul Richards of PTZOptics invited me there to speak about one of my books. While I was there, I was intrigued by all of the possibilities presented for recording and streaming worship. I was most excited about the idea of taking Zoom Video Conferencing and marrying it with worship.

Learning All I Could

After the event, I jumped onto the PTZOptics YouTube channel. I watched all the videos the team had put together. I also logged onto Udemy and took some of the courses they offer. What jumped out at me was NDI, a protocol developed by NewTek that makes it exceptionally easy to share video and control cameras over a computer network.

I asked Paul Richards at PTZOptics for equipment recommendations, and we bought what he recommended and set it up as he showed us. About a month later, we launched our first Zoom Watch Party. We used our equipment to create pre-recorded live worship, which was broadcast on Zoom, allowing people to be present and interact via the video conferencing platform. At this point, we didn’t even have an NDI camera but were using OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) on a Mac and still doing post-production in Adobe Premiere.

The PTZ 20X NDI Camera

We were able to take things even further when I finally got my hands on a PTZOptics 20X NDI camera. The camera can be mounted on a tripod, which is perfect for my home studio. It also comes with a power supply and remote control, but, thanks to NDI, I didn’t need it. Paul Richards suggested that we purchase a POE (power over ethernet) switch. I was able to plug the camera right into that with an ethernet cable, power the camera, control the PTZ functions, and capture video using NDI over my network. Setting that up required resetting the IP address on the camera to talk to our network. However, everything was clearly explained in the manual.

The 20X NDI camera also has an audio input jack. I have a small soundboard that plugs right into the camera to feed sound into the recording. I have the PTZOptics camera control app on my iPad. With it, I can control the camera and easily position it to any of the presets I’ve created.

Now, recording every week with OBS is a breeze. The PTZOptics 20X NDI is excellent even in low light conditions like those in my basement. I think everything looks terrific, and I still have a lot to learn. I haven’t even yet looked into the more advanced features like white balance. I am sure I will get there, but for now, everything looks great. Our next step will be to get another camera set up here in my home studio. We also want to get a camera operator who will be able to run both cameras via the iPad app and also take care of the switching in OBS.

More to Come

With the complete studio setup, we want to expand what we can offer to keep the congregation engaged. That includes virtual bible studies and bringing back a feature my wife and I did a few years ago called Church Talk TV, conversations about life, about the church, and about church life.

We are always looking for ways to take our offerings to the next level. We love our camera, and we are thrilled with our current online worship service. We get reports from our members and people worldwide who are impressed by the quality and are touched by the ministry we offer.

The post PTZOptics 20X NDI for Pre-Recorded “Live” Worship appeared first on PTZOptics.

The problem with one fixed camera is that it becomes challenging to get anything but a wide shot. With a wide shot, the camera needs to be far enough away or zoomed out far enough to capture everything happening on the stage or chancel. This means no closeup shots. With nothing but wide shots, it can be challenging for viewers to feel intimately connected to the worship service elements. Especially if they are viewing on a smaller display, they miss out on the nuances like the expression on the preacher’s face.

Single-camera setups can also make it difficult for your live stream church services to keep viewers’ attention. People have grown accustomed to watching programs shot with multiple cameras. The frequent camera angle changes and quick transitions keep viewers engaged. Multiple cameras also make it easier to get closeup shots connecting the audience and drawing them into the worship service.

You may have thought that multiple cameras for a live stream church service were reserved for massive churches with big budgets. However, with a little planning, it is possible to put together an affordable, high-quality multi-camera setup for your church.

Cameras

There seem to be endless options for cameras on the market in all price ranges. But before you start buying cameras, there are a couple of things to think about: control and connections

Camera Control

The real beauty of a multi-camera setup is the ability to zoom in and out, pan side to side, and tilt up and down to get the camera focused in on the action. With multiple cameras, one camera can be adjusted while another is live making for smooth, seamless transitions. The question is, how will you operate that camera? One option is to purchase larger format cameras and tripods and train volunteers to run them. You will usually need some kind of headset communications system so that your camera operators can be given instructions.

Another option, growing in popularity is the use of PTZ cameras. These cameras are much more compact and can be installed just about anywhere. The pan, tilt, and zoom features can then be controlled from nearly anywhere via a physical controller, app, or software. This can eliminate the need for additional volunteer camera operators and be less disruptive to the worship service. One operator from a central location can control all of the cameras. Thanks to the built-in camera presets, it is easy to train staff and volunteers. They don’t need to understand the intricacies of shot composition or the technical side of pan, tilt, or zoom. All they need to know is what button to push when.

Volunteers who have little experience as a camera operator tend to gravitate towards joystick controllers for PTZ cameras. PTZOptics for example offers an IP joystick controller that can be connected to your network with an ethernet cable. Once connected to your network it can control all of the PTZOptics cameras in your church. Another popular option is the iOS and Android applications for PTZOptics cameras. The app is very affordable and it allows you to control your cameras from anywhere including the pews since it’s wireless. Finally, a favorite control method for many is built directly into the live streaming software they are using. PTZOptics cameras support vMix, Wirecast, OBS, Livestream Studio, Mimolive, Twitch, Touchdesigner, StreamDeck, NewTek Tricaster, and Roland. 

Camera Connections

With a single camera setup, sometimes connections aren’t really an issue. Some churches use a smartphone over WiFi to stream directly to YouTube or Facebook Live. With multiple cameras for your live stream church service, you will need something to connect them with a physical or software-based switcher to switch between cameras and other multimedia features like lyrics, images, and videos. Cameras can be connected via USB, SDI, HDMI, and even ethernet. Some cameras, including those from PTZOptics, have multiple, simultaneous outputs giving you multiple connection options on one camera. Before you decide what connections you will need, you will need to consider what type of switcher you will be using.

Hardware vs. Software Switchers

When using multiple cameras for a live stream church service, you need some way to switch from camera to camera or to any other media you wish to be part of the stream. There are two main options for this: hardware switchers and software switchers. 

A hardware switcher is, basically, a console that connects to all of your cameras and other media sources. It uses physical switches, buttons, and control arms. The type of connection required depends on the device. Broadcast quality consoles usually have standard SDI connections, while some of the new “prosumer” models have connections for HDMI and even older composite or component standards. It is important to remember that a hardware switcher only handles the switching. With only a few exceptions, you will still need a computer or other device to handle the encoding of the video and to connect it to your streaming service.

Software switchers are installed on a PC or Mac computer and handle the switching and encoding in one place. Instead of connecting cameras and other media inputs to a physical switcher, you connect them to your computer. This requires a capture card installed in the computer or a capture device plugged into the computer via USB or Thunderbolt. You will need one capture card or device for each camera. The types of connections required will depend on your capture device. They are available to connect via SDI, HDMI, and even composite or component. If you wish to bypass the capture card or device, PTZOptics now offers cameras that connect directly to a computer via USB 3.0.

Putting it All Together

Once you have all of the pieces for your multi-camera live stream church service, it just becomes a matter of putting it all together and testing it out. Whether you are using a hardware switcher or software, live camera operators or remote-controlled PTZ cameras, it will take some trial and error to get everything right. You will need to experiment with camera angles and zoom levels and get a feel for the right timing on switching from one camera to another. Once you get it all together, your congregation will experience a much more intimate, engaging live stream church service.

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The post How to Live Stream Your Church Service With Multiple Cameras appeared first on PTZOptics.

By Pastor Will Rice

I tend to spend more time these days writing about church technology than installing it. However, when my friends at First UMC, Boerne, Texas, asked for some help, I decided to lend a hand. Like many churches, when the pandemic forced them to move services online, they were looking to upgrade their live streaming capabilities. Previously, they were streaming to Facebook Live from an iPod. It worked, but it wasn’t enough when suddenly everyone would be joining worship online. They moved to pre-recording services with a camcorder but wanted a long-term, scalable solution that would allow for live streaming and recording.

Making the Shift – Online Worship + In Person Worship https://t.co/TzxlqOvAeF pic.twitter.com/gpEIxktXsY

— Will Rice (@pastorwill) July 2, 2020

Assessing the Need

They didn’t really know where to start, so I asked a number of questions about what they were trying to achieve, what they had in mind for the budget, and what concerns they had. They shared some examples of what other churches were doing and explained what they liked and didn’t like. 

I could tell that they wanted something broadcast quality with multiple cameras. They had a reasonable budget in mind, but like with most churches, they needed to keep costs down. 

Their main concern was about volunteers. We still have no idea how long it will be before people are in the building on Sunday morning, so they need something that can be run with as few people as possible. They also needed me to know that most of their volunteers weren’t technologically savvy, so simplicity was key.

Another concern was aesthetics. They have a beautiful sanctuary and have done an excellent job over the years of installing projectors, screens, and speakers in ways that don’t detract from the aesthetics of the room. 

The Obvious Choice

I have worked with many different setups for church live streaming, from single-camera rigs to three-camera installations with live operators and wireless headsets for communicating with the director. Their vision, budget, and concerns actually made the camera decision pretty clear. They wanted it to look great, be affordable, be easy to operate with as little as one operator, and not detract from the beauty of the space. 

PTZ cameras seemed like an obvious choice. They are small enough to be easily kept out of view and can be operated remotely, eliminating the need for multiple camera operators.

Once I had settled on a form factor, my next thought was choosing the right PTZ cameras. There were three issues at play in my decision, zoom level, connections, and price.

Zoom Level

This church has a balcony that is 60 feet away from most of the worship activities on their chancel. I did the math to determine that it would take 20X zoom to get head and shoulders shots from cameras mounted at the front of the balcony. Fully zoomed out, these cameras would still be able to get a nice wide shot of the entire sanctuary.

Connections

In traditional church buildings, cabling can be the trickiest part of a live stream setup. With any camera, you need to think about getting power to the camera, and video from the camera. With PTZ cameras, you also need a connection for controlling the pan, tilt, zoom, and focus. For this installation, I chose PTZOptics SDI cameras due to the flexibility they offer in terms of connections. 

My original plan was to use SDI cables for video, and ethernet for power and camera control. The PTZOptics SDI cameras offer three simultaneous video outputs, SDI, HDMI, and RTSP/RTMP over ethernet. I felt a lot better with cameras with that type of flexibility since things at church are always changing. Once I received and set up the cameras, I decided to go with a single cable installation to handle video, control, and power over ethernet. But still, if things change, I can power these cameras from the included power adapter and control them using the included remote or app. I can also still connect them to my streaming computer via SDI or HDMI.

Price

It is a strange time for many churches. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused so many churches to move to online only. For a lot of them, this has negatively impacted giving at the same time that they need to invest in new resources for online worship. I am really thankful for the PTZOptics cameras. You really can’t find the broadcast quality and versatility anywhere else in this price range.

Next Steps

Once the two PTZOptics SDI 20X cameras were in place, it was time to set up the rest of the system. I will talk about some of the next steps, including the choice of OBS and the integration of RSTP and camera control in the next post.

Testing a new live stream setup with two @ptzoptics cameras and @OBSProject pic.twitter.com/fz6nQLIhyy

— Will Rice (@pastorwill) July 9, 2020

The post How I Choose Cameras for Live Streaming at my Church [Guest Post – by Will Rice] appeared first on PTZOptics.

Due, in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, more churches than ever are using video to share worship. However, with the fact that it will be some time before we are able to gather like in the past, many churches are also finding other ways to use video to stay connected. One of the most essential parts of the Christian life is prayer. 

While prayer is often done privately or with our families, prayer is also something church members do together. Sometimes it is one-on-one prayer time with a pastor or other leader of the church. Other times, it might be a group gathering for intercession – where the faithful join their hearts and voices in praying for members of the congregation, community, and world. So, during this time, when churches’ ability to gather is limited, how can video help people pray together? And, how might these innovations continue to enrich the church experience into the future?

Why Video?

Spiritually and theologically, video is not a necessary component of prayer. People could pray together by merely agreeing to pray at a specific time. They could also connect via phone with as many people as can dial into a conference call line. But many of us have already discovered that video adds another layer to our connection when we cannot be physically present. Whether that is seeing a pastor preach on Sunday morning or talking to our grandkids, video adds so much depth. So here again, video has the potential to enhance our life of prayer.

The PrayerCam

PrayerCam is simply a catch-all description of cameras we might use to stay connected for one-on-one or group prayer. It doesn’t have to be any specific type of camera or use any one piece of software. It is just about using video in another way to stay connected when we can’t be physically present. Here are a few ways a PrayerCam might be used in your church.

One on One Prayer Time

Sometimes church members desire an opportunity to have a pastor or other leader in the church pray for them and with them. There many options for this, including using a smartphone with Facetime, Skype, Google Meet, or Zoom. However, many of our pastors are not technically savvy or may need some additional help making the experience as natural and high-quality as possible. Through the use of PTZOptics cameras, the entire system can be set up, tuned, and automated for the pastor. 

With a proper configuration, the pastor or other leader could simply initiate or answer the video call and stream picture-perfect video and audio to the person on the other end. This way, the PrayerCam setup takes care of the technical side, and everyone can focus on prayer.

Intercessory Sessions

Before gathering in groups became an issue, some church groups would gather, often weekly, for a time of prayer for others. Often led by a pastor or other church leader, the group would lift up prayer requests submitted by members as well as prayers for the world in general. In our current setting, this is the perfect place for a PrayerCam. The experience can be streamed using PTZOptics cameras and software like vMix, eCamm Live, OBS, or Wirecast. People can join in prayer for anywhere.

For a more personal experience, video conferencing software like Zoom could be used, allowing the participants to interact and be present to one another. With Zoom, there is even an option for attendees to move into smaller breakout rooms for a more personal experience.

How Else Will the PrayerCam Become Part of Church Life?

Long after the COVID-19 crisis has passed, video will continue to be an essential part of the life of the church. Many of the things we have discovered and implemented during this time will continue to hold value for churches, especially as congregation members continue to get older, and others continue to be more mobile. Once people are back in the pews, live video streaming of services will continue for those who are still unable to come. Gatherings like Sunday school or small groups will also always likely find it useful to have video options for those who may have trouble getting to the church or other gathering space. And once churches see what video can add to the experience of prayer, the PrayerCam may become a permanent fixture.

[xyz-ihs snippet=”Church-Blog”]

The post Does Your Church Need a PrayerCam? appeared first on PTZOptics.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on every aspect of our lives and work. In terms of the church, this is a seismic-level event that will change aspects of church life, possibly for generations. Church historians may one day study the church’s response and how this crisis reshaped church as we know it. But, for now, we are still in the middle of it.

When churches began to realize just how serious this version of the coronavirus was and as cities and states began to issue shelter-in-place orders, church leaders scrambled to find ways to connect with congregations. Some churches were fortunate enough to have live-streaming capabilities already in place. Others struggled to find solutions to either stream or pre-record full worship services or at least sermons. Some of the most creative video solutions were created in the weeks following the initial cancellation of Sunday services. Smartphones, iPads, and webcams were put into service to get the message out and give people a chance to worship.

Over the following weeks, churches have been slowly working to improve their broadcasts. Some have upgraded equipment, others have rearranged their worship spaces to create a more intimate setting. Still others have just found improvements through practice and experimentation. Overall, churches have done a remarkable job broadcasting sermons and worship services, often with little to no experience or equipment. However, no matter how good the quality and execution, these one-way broadcasts are good, but not enough to get us through.

This Won’t Be Over for a While

Just a few weeks ago, most of us were working under the assumption that our live stream broadcasts would be a stopgap measure to get us through a few weeks. They worked very well for that. But, even as some churches reopen with capacity limits, we realize that this is going to be going on for a long time. When we get the all-clear to resume worship and other activities as usual, some will wait much longer to return. Those who are especially vulnerable due to age, immune system compromise, or other health issues, may be avoiding large gatherings until a vaccine or effective treatment is ready. And they may not be the only people staying home. Some church members have found worshipping at home to be a much more practical, enjoyable, and fruitful experience. We can debate at another time the pros and cons of people choosing to remain home, but some people will likely keep worshipping at home.

Many churches are also discovering something else during this time. Churches that had pre-existing live stream ministry are realizing that they have regular worshippers who have never once walked into their churches. Live streaming is, but nature, global. That means that any church has the potential to have “members” from other cities, states, and countries. So, no matter what we do, unless we just shut down our broadcasts, we are going to have people worshipping. This will become the new normal for some, and for others, it already is.

So What is Missing?

Every church has people who come in, sit down, “watch” worship, and then leave. While we would never discourage anyone from worshipping with us, as the church, we want more for people. Worship is just one piece of the community life of the church. We also encourage our people to dive into more in-depth bible study, fellowship and community, and service within the church and community. While these are things that people can do on their own, the church has long been called to facilitate these things. The church has done this by offering interactive bible study, fellowship events, and hands-on service opportunities. Even the worship service itself is meant to be more than a spectator activity. When people sing and pray aloud, they do these things together and can see and hear their fellow worshippers. Given all of this, a one-way broadcast will only ever address one piece of the church experience. The longer people are only invited to watch, the more disconnected they will likely become.

The Old Approach Won’t Work

If you spoke to church leaders about this issue just a few weeks ago, many would have given you the same response. Most saw the live stream as an alternative for the occasional Sunday morning or as a way for newcomers to “try out” the service. But so many pastors always saw this as a temporary state. When people were able to come back, they would. When virtual guests became convinced that the congregation was a good fit, they would come in person. There was always a fundamental flaw in that thinking, but now it is clear to see. For those who won’t be able to safely return to church for months, for those who opt to primarily worship from home, for those people who never worshipped in person in the first place, this approach will leave them without a chance for depth or interaction. That is unless we change our thinking.

What Can We Do?

Responding to our new reality is going to take some creative thinking. Fortunately, there are two ways in which we already have a head start. First of all, this is an exciting time for technology that connects us like never before. Second, many people in education and business are already experimenting and offering possible solutions. Unless you were born into this digital era, you could have never imagined anyone could talk with anyone else anywhere in the world for free via video. We certainly couldn’t have imagined we could invite a virtually unlimited number of friends and family members to join us. We likely never would have guessed that we could participate from a computer, phone, or tablet. Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, and Facebook Messenger are more popular than ever. More options for two-way interactive communications seem to hit the market every day.

The church won’t need to reinvent the wheel to make these things work. Some people have been doing this for a while. Businesses, schools, and even some churches have been experimenting with interactive distance classes and meetings. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, some churches have been able to begin offering virtual Sunday school for adults and children via video. Others are arranging small group meetings and fellowship gatherings via video conferencing. We will likely see new, innovative approaches spring up every day.

We Can Do Better

Even with some churches taking the lead, we have a long way to go to provide the presence of the church in the life of those still stuck at home. How can we use technology to allow worship to become more interactive and participatory? Once more people can return to church, how will we bridge the physical and digital? How will we help those at home connect to those in the building? How will care for those people that we don’t physically see? How will we be the body when the body is dispersed? That is what we are about to find out.

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The post The Church and COVID-19: When one-way broadcasts are good, but not enough appeared first on PTZOptics.

The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in a new era for churches. Even churches that were slow to adopt new technology have found themselves embracing tech tools to keep their congregations connected. While this may have eventually been a shift that occurred over several years, many churches were forced to enter into a new reality in weeks or even days. Fortunately, there are many easy to use tools that were already available and made getting started faster and easier than was possible even a few years ago. Churches flocked to services like Facebook Live, Skype, and Zoom to connect with congregation members forced to stay away by fears of spreading the virus and state and local “shelter in place” ordinances. 

Going to church from home is now the new normal. A small percentage of churchgoers have done this for years. This was thanks to televangelists and churches that broadcast services on television. Others were early adopters of live stream options. Churches have been adopting broadcasting and streaming technologies at different rates. Some are still experimenting while others have robust streaming church ministries. But, all of a sudden, church at home is all we have.

While we have reached a point where restrictions on gathering are beginning to lessen, it is going to be some time before everyone comes back. Those who are at a higher risk from the effects of COVID-19 may wait much longer before they feel safe returning. So, even as things begin to return to some form of normal, we are faced with a question. How are we going to include everyone in our worship and learning experiences?

Live streaming was a significant first step, but eventually, the church will need to think about ways to make experiences more interactive. How can we use the tools we have to offer more than just a one-way broadcast? How can we offer something that does more to replicate the interactive experience of the gathered body of the church? One option to begin to rebuild this sense of community in the online world is through the use of tools that allow for two-way video communication. One very popular example is Zoom.

Zoom: Meeting vs. Webinar

An important distinction to understand when working with Zoom is the difference between Zoom meetings and Zoom webinars. Most users of Zoom or other video conferencing software are likely familiar with the meeting format. In most cases, everyone shows up on the screen, and anyone can talk whenever they want. These are perfect for when the interaction is an essential element of the meeting. 

The meeting format is what comes standard with Zoom. The webinar feature, on the other hand, is an available upgrade. The webinar is designed to be more of a one-way experience. The host can add several panelists but, by default, the rest of the participants are not connected to audio and video. They can see and hear but not be heard or seen. The host can elevate any participant to become part of the panel and share their audio, video, and screen. Still, the webinar is designed for one or more people speaking to an audience.

In the picture above you can see this church is using Zoom video conferencing on one laptop and OBS on a second laptop. The laptop running Zoom video conferencing is using a PTZOptics 20X-USB camera in order to bring in video and audio from their audio mixer. The OBS laptop is connected over the LAN (local area network). This laptop is used to capture the video from the PTZOptics camera over the network using RTSP. Using RTSP the OBS laptop can capture 1080p video with embedded audio. The church has noticed that the recordings are much higher quality then zoom when they are recorded with OBS (Open Broadcaster Software). It is possible to run OBS and Zoom on the same computer but for this scenario, the church decided to have to volunteers helping and using two computers really helped.

Part of the discussion for churches trying to create a more interactive environment in this new normal is deciding how much interaction is desired for different types of activities. For example, a worship service may be a situation where it is best to limit interaction. This is especially true with large congregations where the endless rows of small video thumbnails may be distracting. And there won’t likely be an opportunity for most people to speak anyway. The webinar format may be the best choice in this situation. It still does allow for the possibility of elevating a participant to share audio and video for such things as scripture reading or prayer.

Most churches have actives that, in a live format, are more interactive, like small group meetings and Sunday school classes. Inviting people to be seen and heard online may be the key to recreating the gathering experience. This is where the Zoom meeting may be a better option. Everyone can see and hear and be seen and heard. 

Limiting Distraction and Keeping Things Secure

Quite a few churches have run into the issue of having their meetings disrupted through a process that has become known as Zoom bombing. This is where a nefarious actor gets ahold of the meeting information and purposely disrupts the meeting often through inappropriate screen sharing. But even well-intentioned church members can disrupt a meeting without the use of good meeting security and moderation. 

Here are some Zoom best practices to keep your meetings safe and distraction-free:

1. If there is no reason to have all the participants on screen or able to speak, consider using a webinar. Webinars can be publicly listed, and there is no risk of anyone disturbing the meeting. Only the host and select panelists have the login information that enables them to share audio, video, and their screen.
2. When using the meeting format, when possible, consider using the password and waiting room feature. This limits who can enter the meeting.
3. Set your meeting settings to mute participants on entry and don’t allow people to unmute themselves. This way, the moderator can control who is speaking when.
4. Use the “raise hand” feature so that the moderator will know when someone wishes to speak.
5. In the meeting settings, disable participants ability to share their screen.
6. Consider using a meeting moderator in addition to the host to help with these tasks such as granting access, watching for raised hands, and unmuting participants who wish to speak.

Once you get comfortable with Zoom, there are even more features to explore. These include built-in chat and break out rooms that allow smaller groups to meet within the same larger meeting.

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The post Using Zoom to Create Interactive Church Experiences appeared first on PTZOptics.

Very few churches can dive right into live streaming worship services. In the best possible scenario, a church would start with an assessment of long-term needs for live streaming and in-house audiovisual. The church would then build an integrated system that would last for years and be easily upgraded or expanded as needed.

Unfortunately, that is not often how things work. Most churches have to start small and slowly build excitement and momentum behind a live streaming ministry. Initial setups usually begin with things that are already available at the church supplemented by the least expensive components available. 

Starting small and with a low budget is not a bad thing. It is often just the reality of introducing new technology to the church. However, even when the budget is tight, it is worth spending some time thinking long-term. Some of the decisions you make now will impact your ability to scale the system down the road.

What Makes a Worship Streaming System Scalable?

Scalability refers to a system’s ability to be expanded or upgraded. When we fail to think in terms of scale, we can end up wasting money on equipment that can no longer be used when we decide to expand. Upgrading and expansion can come in many forms. In the future, you may want to add more cameras for a more immersive online worship experience. You may decide to add more or bigger screens in the worship space or equip an overflow room with audio and video feeds. Choosing the right options upfront can make these enhancements less expensive and less of a hassle.

Cameras

The first thing we tend to think of when preparing to stream live is the camera. The options for cameras are overwhelming. You can get started with something as inexpensive as a webcam or spend thousands for a professional-grade studio camera. Before you invest in that first camera, think ahead to where you might want to be in a couple of years. One of the early upgrades churches tend to make is the addition of more cameras. Multiple cameras make it easy to show different angles throughout the service, quickly switching between wide shots and closeups or moving seamlessly from one musician to another.

The most important thing to consider about cameras is the fact that most on the market require a camera operator. That may seem fine at first. Maybe the single camera will be right next to the soundboard or some other dedicated spot with room for an operator. But what happens when you want to add a second or a third? You may be better of investing a little more upfront and starting with a PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) camera. The best thing about these cameras is that they can be controlled remotely and can even be automated to run themselves. PTZ cameras also have a compact form factor making them easy to mount in inconspicuous spaces.

Sound System

While a good camera is essential for live streaming, the sound is just as important. If people can’t hear and hear well, it will be impossible for them to have a quality online worship experience. Unless you worship in a very small space with excellent acoustics, your church likely already has a soundboard. That console will become the hub of your live stream audio. If you already have a soundboard, it will probably do for now. If it is an analog board, you can connect an output from it to an audio interface like the Behringer UM2.

If setting up your system involves adding or upgrading a sound system, for ultimately scalability, go digital. Modern digital boards can seem overwhelming at first. However, with a little setup, they are easy to use and offer many scalable options for enhancing your live stream.

One of the first things that you will learn about when dealing with live stream audio is that the mix in the worship space will be different from the mix on the stream. In the worship space, people usually hear some combination of amplified sound and acoustic room sound. At home, people will only hear what is going through the soundboard. And, instead of hearing it through the large speakers in the worship space, they may be listening through headphones. 

Modern digital boards make it easier to create separate mixes for the in-house sound system and the stream. Digital consoles equipped with Dante technology offer even more options for routing audio to several locations for different purposes. 

Capture & Stream

We now move on to the core of the worship streaming system. Some of the decisions you make here will impact your expansion abilities across all aspects of your system. You may be starting with a single camera and just enough technology to get your service online. But that doesn’t mean you can’t plan ahead and be ready when it is time to expand.

Once you have your cameras, sound system, and any worship presentation software ready to go, you need some way to mix it all together, encode the signal and send it out to the world. There are physical video switchers that are available for part of this work. However, when scalability is essential, software-based solutions can offer nearly limitless expansion possibilities.

You will want to start with choosing your software. There are many options for both Mac and PC and in many price ranges. Some of the more popular options include vMix, eCam Live, OBS, and Wirecast. Any of these can capture and mix all your audio and video signals. The software will encode your signal and send it to YouTube, Facebook, or your CDN (content delivery network.) Also, many of these programs offer the option of assisting you in routing the right video to your in-house video screens.

Once you have chosen the software to run your system, you will need to be sure you have a computer that will support the minimum specifications provided. Then, you can start hooking things up. Depending on the cameras you have chosen, you may be connecting using a capture device like the Blackmagic Design UltraStudio Mini Recorder. Devices like this can connect to an HDMI or SDI connection and then plug into your computer using a Thunderbolt or USB connection.

You may decide to skip that step by using a camera that connects directly to your computer. Options like the PTZOptics 20x Zoom USB Camera simplify setup and operation by attaching via a standard USB connection.

Projection and Display

Once you have everything set to stream, don’t forget about the people who will be experiencing worship in person. Even if you are starting small, it is best to integrate these systems. This integration will make expanding or upgrading much simpler. 

Whether you are using in-house displays to give worshippers a closeup view of the preacher, displaying lyrics, or graphically supporting worship in other ways, you will likely be using some of the same video resources as the live stream. Consider how your software and connections will help support both your live stream setup and your in house video. You will save money and hassle down the road.

Overflow Displays

One of the best parts about creating a scalable worship streaming system is that it can help you scale your in-person worship as well. While you are streaming to people at home, you can also stream to people right down the hall. 

Churches that face overflow crowds on Easter, Christmas, or funerals can quickly turn any room into an overflow room. Even if you are not ready for an overflow room or don’t have the budget right now, creating your streaming system for scalability will make this an easy option when you are ready.

Conclusion [Slideshare]

Here is a simple conversation that many worship leaders end up having regarding their worship streaming systems.

What do you want to accomplish?

1. We want to increase the production value of our services by sending live video and graphics to multiple screens.
2. We want to live stream our church services, to increase our audience and spread the good word!
3. We want to record our sermons, and upload them to Vimeo or YouTube, so that our house-bound parishioners can watch them at home.

How many cameras do you want? Will you have camera operators?

A church just starting out may only need a single camera. Others may want three to five, or more… If they don’t have employees or volunteers to operate these cameras, the conversation turns to PTZ cameras (Pan, Tilt and Zoom).  You may want to consider the scalability of your system. Can you easily add cameras in the future? Can you easily add additional video inputs or outputs later on?

How is your Audio?

You can have the greatest video in the world and bad audio will make the entire stream a wasted effort.  It could be that a simple microphone upgrade could significantly improve your audio results. You may need a more powerful transmitter to counteract signal loss.

How is your lighting? 

Any camera can benefit from good lighting.  A common problem is not enough light. Without enough light the cameras will compensate with larger aperture and additional gain which will increase the image noise.  Another frequent issue is that of mixed color temperatures. If you have tungsten lighting in your chapel, plus natural light from windows you have a clash of kelvins! You can either invest in drapes/shades to block out daylight or replace interior lights with daylight fixtures to color match each. 

The post Building a Worship Streaming System appeared first on PTZOptics.

Churches across the country are scrambling to find ways to stay connected with their congregations and share the opportunity to worship together. Live streaming worship services is one way to stay connected. While the experience isn’t the same as having everyone together in the same place, it can still be a worshipful experience. While some churches have been streaming for years and have professional-grade equipment, others are just wondering where to start. For many, the fastest and easiest way to get online is by using Facebook Live.

The Smartphone Method: The Easiest Way to Get Started

If you want the absolute most straightforward and fastest way to get started with a live stream of your church’s worship service, you can share some pretty impressive videos via Facebook Live with just a smartphone. Here is what you will need:

A Smartphone – Anything from the last couple of years will do. It just needs to have a built-in video camera and the ability to run the Facebook app.

A Tripod – Having someone hold the camera will likely make the video unstable and hard to watch. Tripod mounts for smartphones are easy to find, and you can use an inexpensive tripod. If you can’t get a tripod and mount, get creative. You may be able to prop the phone up on a table or music stand.

Lights – Many churches already have decent lighting so people can see the pastor preaching. However, if you have a dimly lit sanctuary or are recording in an alternate location, be sure there is plenty of light. This is always important, but with the often small sensors on phones, you will need to be sure your subject is well lit. There are many inexpensive video lights available online, and big-box hardware stores often have options that will work in a pinch.

Sound – If you are in a small room and your pastor is close to the camera, you may be able to get away with capturing audio with the internal microphone. To improve sound, there are external microphones available for iPhones and Android devices. Depending on your setup, you may also be able to capture sound right from the church soundboard and feed it into the phone.

The Advanced Method: Higher Quality and More Options

If you want to improve quality and have more options, you may want to look into some more advanced setups. Don’t worry, while these options are more advanced, they don’t require any specialized training and can often be quite affordable. Here is what you will need:

A Camera – This can either be a camera that plugs directly into your computer using a USB connection or one that has an HDMI or SDI output. Unless you choose the USB option, you will also need a video capture device.

A Tripod – You can skip this if you purchase a PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) camera which can be mounted on the ceiling or wall. If you do need a tripod, you might want to spend a little more and get a video tripod with a fluid head. This will allow for smoother panning and tilting.

A Computer – Be sure you have something relatively new and powerful. Older computers or machines with little memory can cause problems.

Sound – If your church has a sound console, you will want to get an audio interface. This will allow you to capture high-quality sound and feed it into your computer.

Software – If you want, you can go live right from the Facebook website. However, if you’re going to use multiple cameras, capture a signal from your presentation software, or include transitions, you will want to use software like vMix, eCam Live, OBS, or Wirecast.

Get Ready to Stream

Starting your actual stream on Facebook is as easy as posting a status update. From a smartphone, log into the app, click where it says, “What’s on your mind?” And scroll down to “Go Live.” On a computer, go to Facebook.com, login and click on “What’s on your mind?” Then click on the three dots to see all of the options and click on “Live Video.” If it’s your first time, you may be asked to give permission to Facebook to access your camera.

Seeing what other churches are doing

There are two great videos that will give you an idea about what other churches are doing to live stream to Facbeook. The first vidoe shows you what the Olivet United Methodist Church is doing in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. There is a complete write up about this worship streaming system available here. After just two months of live streaming, the Olivet United Methodist Church in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, has been able to connect with church members from all around the world, including some who have moved away, some who were temporarily home-bound, and others who were on vacation. The new live streaming system was in place just before Christmas in 2018. In that time, the church media team has been able to live stream a candlelight service, the 2018 Christmas service, and a special baptism. The live streaming system has connected housebound parishioners like Tori Parker who commented “Glad I can be here, even from my couch as I recover from surgery.”

Always improving your system

Our team went back out to the Olivet Church about six months after the system was installed. This was a great way to check-in and make sure everything was running smoothly for their Facebook live streams. We went out and test the streaming system. Our team labled some of the devices and tuned the streaming system to help them display lyrics on their live production software. Here is the video walk through below.

Test, Test, Test

Too many churches set everything up for Sunday and forget an essential thing: testing. Even professionals who stream regularly know the importance of testing. One wrong setting, disconnected cable, or bad luck can put an end to your streaming debut. Set up, get everything ready and then give it a try. There is nothing wrong with going live on Facebook with a test. Done correctly, it will raise interest in your Sunday service. You might want to make your test interesting. Have your pastor offer words of encouragement or have one of your musicians give a preview of some of the music they are preparing for Sunday. If it works, you will know you are ready. If not, you still have some time to work out the kinks before Sunday.

Get the free book!

Paul Richards is actually the author of Helping Your Church Live Stream. For a limited time our company will mail you a copy of Helping Your Church Live stream 100% for free! Isn’t that awesome? So you can request a free copy here – http://143.198.120.149/church-book/ . You can also download a PDF copy to start reading right away.

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