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On today’s Tech, No Babel:

Live streaming: From Live-stream to online campus

A live-stream is not an online campus. You need community and life transformation for that.Click To Tweet

Having a live-stream for your church doesn’t mean that you have a new campus. It’s harder than that. I think you need four things to change your live-stream into a bona fide online campus.

A dedicated pastor.

While a pastor might have other areas of oversight, the online campus should be the area that he/she is responsible for, oversees, and prays for. Without a leader, the people on the online campus could devolve into bickering and nastiness instead of growth. They need a pastor.

Unique events.

Maybe it’s as small as a little video introduction before the service or a thank you for showing up. Maybe it’s full-on lifegroups where people meet together to discuss the message or their lives. Whatever it is, there should be something that you can only get online.

Community.

“Church” is a word that we’re so familiar with that we forget its meaning. Church is community. People need to interact to learn and grow, so without this element, the online stream is nothing more than a broadcast.

Life-transformation.

That’s really the point. If no one ever changes. If lives and eternities aren’t changed, why do it? You should see people come to Christ, addictions snapped, and lives saved…literally. If you don’t, you’re wasting resources that could be used elsewhere.

So, what have I missed? Am I wrong or did I leave something out? Let me know in the comments.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

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Live-streaming: Internet Speed requirements

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On today’s Tech, No Babel: Live-streaming: Internet Speed requirements

“Up to 20 Mbps” may not be enough to live-stream. Why? That’s the download speed. The number that really matters is upload. Depending on your service, you might only have 500kbps to 2 Mbps. While you can live-stream in SD at 500kbps, that doesn’t leave any room for network overhead or someone uploading a video just as you need to live-stream.

Notice the cheat words “up to” as well. Check to see if it’s like the store that proudly proclaims “up to 75% off” because they have one thing that’s 75% off. If you have up to 1 Mbps, but when you need it, it’s actually more like 500kbps, you’ve got a problem.

HD is worse. 720p could take up to 4x the speed of 360p. That means 2Mbps+ room for network overhead + a little more just in case and all the sudden you can’t stream as you’d like.

I’d recommend you get more than you need.

When you’re live-streaming, internet speed matters. You may not have enough speed, even if the numbers say you do.Click To Tweet

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

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Live-streaming: SD, HD, or 4K / UHD for your live-stream

On today’s Tech, No Babel: SD, HD, or 4K / UHD for your live-stream

What resolution should you live-stream at? Is SD enough or should you go HD or even 4k?Click To Tweet

This show is based on an article I wrote for Church Production Magazine.

SD has been around forever, but if you’re just getting into live-streaming, I wouldn’t buy SD equipment. SD is on it’s way out and in a few years will seem really antiquated. It’s better to start with HD.

If you have HD, should you upgrade to 4k/UHD? Maybe, but there are some cautions. First, the standard isn’t exactly set in stone. UHD is actually 3840×2160 while 4k is 4096×2160, so it’s possible you would get the wrong one. Right now, people are using the terms interchangeably, so who knows for sure which will win. I’d hate to buy one only to have the other win out.

It’s kind of like the genesis of HD. Remember 4:3 tube 720p TVs, with no HDMI ports? They were once very common. Now, HDMI ports are the clear winner as is LCD and 1080p. I’d hate for your church to get the equivalent of that old HD set and be stuck there instead of waiting a little bit and getting standardized equipment.

With that said, there is an opportunity for a few churches to be first movers, being on the short list of those producing UHD or 4K content.

So, which should you choose? Don’t buy SD now. If you have it, plan on upgrading. HD is the standard for the next few years. Few should go into 4k just yet, but some should. Only you can decide if your church needs to be bleeding edge and might need to upgrade again in only a few years or if you can wait.

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

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* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

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For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

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http://TrinityDigitalMedia.com/church-tech

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Keeping your live-stream working

1. Plan for failure. What could go wrong? How can you get past that?

2. Put redundancies in place. What do you have that you can use as a backup?

3. Make switching fast and easy. Do as much ahead of time as possible.

4. Know what you can’t overcome. If you lose all power, are you sunk? What about if your building isn’t useable for some reason?

Here are some ideas to keep your live-stream working…no matter what:Click To Tweet

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

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For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

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On today’s Tech, No Babel: Live-streaming — Keeping your congregation safe

Today’s podcast is inspired by a column I wrote for Church Production Magazine in 2014.

The idea came as a result of a discussion I had online. There was a church who had a member that was found by someone that she didn’t want to find her on the church’s live-stream. Happily, the story ended well, but the church had decided that people in the congregation would no longer show up on the live-stream.

I think this is “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” There are very good reasons to include shots of the congregation in live-stream. Sometimes, it’s hard not to show them, like when the pastor walks among them during the message.

So how can you protect them?

Have no shoot areas.

Have a no shoot list.

Have no shoot services.

Make it clear when kids will be onstage (like a children’s choir) so that parents can opt them out.

http://TrinityDigitalMedia.com/church-tech

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

If someone in your congregation shouldn’t be seen on the live-stream, how can you keep them safe? Try these ideas:Click To Tweet

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

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On today’s Tech, No Babel: Live-streaming: People you need for a live-stream

To do a good job live-streaming, how many people do you need? Probably more than you think.Click To Tweet

A lot of churches add live-streaming to what they’re already doing. It’s not good enough to be a minimum viable ministry, but a “just press this button in addition to what you’re doing already” addition.

To do it right, though, you need to have more than one camera and a director. Each camera should be controlled by an operator dedicated to that camera.

The director needs to call shots and shape the final product.

It’s nice to have a producer to talk to church leaders during church and help the director. It’s also nice to have someone who is dedicated to making the sound the best in can be.

So, all-tolled, you need between 3 and 5 people at a minimum, unless you’re already doing IMAG or video for DVD/BluRay. You can add a little to those and get a decent stream. The problem is when you have one person doing sound, lyric projection, and now a live-stream. That’s too much. All three areas suffer as a result of that.

To get more people, look for still photographers that can be easily trained to run a video camera, teens, and retired folk.

http://TrinityDigitalMedia.com/church-tech

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

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More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

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On today’s Tech, No Babel: Live-stream troubleshooting

If someone has a problem with your church’s live-stream, try these tips to troubleshoot it:Click To Tweet

1. Clarify the problem.

2. Check their configuration.

3. Confirm someone outside the church network can see it.

4. Consider the simplest solutions first.

5. Create a common problem checklist.

http://TrinityDigitalMedia.com/church-tech

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

This show is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

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More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

Live-streaming: Why your church shouldn’t do it

Why would a guy who writes about live-streaming for churches say your church shouldn’t do it?Click To Tweet

There are some issues that you should look out for before you start live-streaming because they could mean that you’ll have to stop or that the ministry will become unwieldy. Look out for these:

Attendance: Blaming the live-stream for an attendance drop

Not making it a priority: Not being willing to pay the cost to keep things up let alone growing.

Buying too much gear: Buying stuff you won’t use immediately and letting it sit unused for years.

Thinking it will solve all your problems: A live stream won’t necessarily fix your attendance, raise your budget, etc. Don’t expect that it will.

Not having clear goals: Know what success looks like.

Mission Creep: Does it start small and get bigger to the point where it’s gets unmanageable?

Fear of experimentation: Can you grow in your production or will you stay the way you are?

http://TrinityDigitalMedia.com/church-tech

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

This show is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate: http://patreon.com/paulalanclif

Listen to the audio:

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page

Live-streaming encoding: What is it and how do you do it?

It’s not as simple as connecting a camera to an old computer. There are tons of choices, whether software, hardware, other, etc.Click To Tweet

Live encoding is the processes of taking video and making it appropriate for live-streaming, using the right codec, wrapper format, and splitting it so that the streaming server can send it to your viewers.

Most people think about using software running on a computer to do this and programs like Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder, Wirecast, and VmixHD all do it, but there are other options as well.

Some cameras and smartphone apps can encode and send to a streaming host.

There’s also hardware, like the hardware from Digidesigns or Teredek’s Vidiu.

One thing to look out for is proprietary hardware and software which aren’t free, but lock you into a streaming host. Avoid making that mistake.

http://TrinityDigitalMedia.com/church-tech

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

This show is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

Listen to the audio:

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate: http://patreon.com/paulalanclif

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

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More video can be found on YouTube.com

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Listen to the audio:

Live streaming : Why YouTube LIve streaming may not be the best choice for your live streaming host

Join the conversation; call 1-877-763-3246, leave a comment below the video, or hit me up on Twitter (@PaulAlanClif)

This show is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

On today’s Tech, No Babel: Live streaming : Why YouTube Live streaming may not be the best choice for your live streaming host

Live-streaming on YouTube may be the best live-streaming host for your church. Here’s why:Click To Tweet

If you’re using YouTube live-streaming in your church tech ministry, you might have some problems. It’s not designed for the needs of churches, so it’s worth noting these problems.

First, there’s no main embed code. So each week you have to embed your video in your site. Update: Either use the “IX Show Latest YouTube” plugin in WordPress or embed a YouTube playlist containing the live-stream to get it to work. Thanks to Daniel J. Lewis for the plug-in tip (see below) and ahhyeah on YouTube for those tips.

Even if you have a streaming license, YouTube doesn’t currently (as I’m writing in December 2014) have a way to white list your account. I’ve heard of at least two churches that had their stream pulled mid-service because they had copyrighted music.

When they fix these problems, it will be a great service.

If you’d like to chip in a few bucks, anything you do is appreciated. Just click this link to donate.

About this show:

Tech, No Babel is a weekly podcast premiering every Thursday at 11a eastern (-5 UTC), 8a pacific on http://churchtechcast.com. Watch it and join the chat then.

But, if you miss the live show, I’ll put up the edited show later (usually on the same day) right here.

If you do video or graphic design to advance your church’s mission, this show is for you.

How to Subscribe to the show (for free):

* Subscribe on YouTube

* RSS feed

* iTunes one-click subscription and don’t forget to rate the show there as well.

*

For more questions, comments, or snide remarks, comment below or contact me at:

Facebook or Twitter

More video can be found on YouTube.com

Also check out my Google+ page