H E L P I N G L E A D E R S B E C O M E B E T T E R S T E W A R D S .

Presented by: Teradek

Streaming Made Simple

VOL.2

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Table of Contents

MAXIMIZING MINISTRY: EXAMINING ALL YOUR STREAMING APPLICATIONS 4Having worked with many churches — often to build streaming setups from the ground up — we’ve been amazed at how their reach is expanded by the addition of an online campus. This extended reach isn’t just local, either; it can be global. We’ve also been surprised that the churches with the most successful streaming components aren’t necessarily the ones that have spent the most on the “latest and greatest” equipment. Yet, while cost and investment isn’t a prerequisite for streaming greatness, effort certainly is. The most successful streaming setups in churches are the result of a concerted, dedicated effort to ensure that the streaming component of a church’s ministry comes to fruition. This takes a team.

By Andrew Ng

CAPTURING COMMUNITY — EVERY MOMENT 5Lately, our house-of-worship customers have shown a lot of interest in wireless production … and for good reason. Wireless video capabilities let churches deliver better, more intimate coverage of all the goings-on in the sanctuary. Another great use for wireless transmission tools is for events that take place outside the main worship area. Regardless of your plans for wireless video, its ability to deliver unique, intimate camera angles makes your church’s live stream stand head-and-shoulders above the rest in terms of production value — and, even more important, worshiper engagement.

By Andrew Ng

3 KEY QUALITIES: MASTERING THE ART OF EFFECTIVE CHURCH STREAMING 6Based on feedback from our church clients, we know three qualities are absolutely essential to a quality live stream.

1) An online campus2) Interactivity & engagement3) Reliability

By Andrew Ng

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Presented by:Teradek

Streaming Made Simple

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Streaming Made Simple

Maximizing ministryExamining all your streaming applications

Having worked with many churches — often to build streaming setups from the ground up — we’ve been amazed at how their reach is expanded by the addition of an online campus. This extended reach isn’t just local, either; it can be global.

We’ve also been surprised that the churches with the most successful streaming components aren’t necessarily the ones that have spent the most on the “latest and greatest” equipment.

Yet, while cost and investment isn’t a prerequisite for streaming greatness, effort certainly is. The most successful streaming setups in churches are the result of a concerted, dedicated effort to ensure that the streaming component of a church’s ministry comes to fruition. This takes a team.

First and foremost, an effective streaming production team requires a leader willing to understand the technology. He or she must know the streaming workflow from start to finish, and take the initiative to research some of the most popular workflows. Because there are many out there, it’s important that this individual chooses the one that’s most appropriate for that unique facility. This ensures the investment in technology is spent wisely on products that will work together seamlessly and meet the church’s specific needs. Doing this research takes a bit of time, but it can be as easy as calling up the manufacturer to understand what the right product looks like.

The team should also include a few volunteers who share a passion for audiovisual; a few volunteers at every worship service to operate basic functions; and, finally, support from the entire congregation. To this end, at Teradek, we especially enjoy helping teams and team leaders really understand and suggest the most appropriate streaming products, including the Teradek Cube and VidiU Pro.

Interaction: a key ingredient for maximized streamingInteraction is a unique benefit of the streaming medium — one that’s

visually captivating, but also available online within a community.

By Andrew NgInteraction can take the form of comments, a forum or even a live chat. To evoke this kind of interaction requires careful consideration of (and ongoing focus on) the content being streamed.

Consider adding some variety into a broadcast lineup. For example, although services are set and follow a more traditional schedule, it would be excellent to share some live content from a mission trip or a remote outreach location. That way, members can truly be a part of the ministry that’s happening well outside the church’s four walls.

Fortunately, technology is ready to equip this kind of variety! You might be familiar with Teradek’s live streaming appliances, such as the Cube and VidiU, which are typically in the room alongside a complete live production setup. These devices are actually designed to be camera-top, so they can easily be mounted to a camera and taken outside. Of course, this introduces an extended conversation regarding mobile internet connectivity; but, products like the VidiU Pro aim to solve this by using data you already have via your cell phone.

With regard to creating variety, we suggest empowering your church’s youth to be part of these applications. It’s hard to believe digital media has transformed so rapidly in the past 10 years. We’re at a stage where our youth has been raised alongside digital media, as opposed the generations which approach social media as a new medium. To really explore the creativity and potential of streaming, they need the right tools.

Teradek’s Live:Air and Live:Air Solo app are free programs available for iPads and iPhones that let your church broadcast live to its own channel. Because these programs are accessible via iPad and iPhone, it’s a very interactive process and has proven to have a small learning curve.

These tools enable your organization to capture a variety of content, whether it’s at your church or out in the field. Ultimately, however, it comes down to telling a complete story about your community and sharing a variety of activities and outreach — all of which can promote interaction within online campuses.

Achieving the next level of streaming excellenceWhat if your church is already at the top of its streaming game?

Truth is, there’s no such thing; but, if you’re close, consider VidiU Pro, including ShareLink™ technology — a tool which, until recently, was only available to professional broadcasters. Today, it’s accessible to (and affordable for) all streamers. Consider the times you’ve arrived at a venue and your cellular connection isn’t good enough for a high-quality stream. Or, even the idea that WiFi and Ethernet can be unstable in certain environments.

ShareLink combines the power of multiple Internet connections to create a robust, reliable Internet connection. Whether it be four iPhones, WiFi, Ethernet and USB Modem, ShareLink enables you to “go live” from virtually anywhere.

For expert-level church streaming setups, Live:Air is also a great option. In the field, this app can be deployed as its own, self-contained mobile production unit. It lets you take a professional workflow on the road — a great benefit for streaming offsite.

Andrew Ng is Director of Marketing at Teradek in Irvine, CA. www.teradek.com

Teradek’s VidiU Pro is bringing broadcast technology to the masses — at an affordable price point. As an all-in-one streaming solution, VidiU featues enhanced WiFi, built-in recording, several new streaming options and simplified workflows.

The Cube is the multi-tool of encoders allowing you to stream to the web for online campus, point-to-point locally to additionally rooms, or offsite to satellite locations.

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Streaming Made Simple

Capturing community — every moment Lately, our house-of-worship customers have shown a lot of interest in wireless production … and for good reason.

Wireless video capabilities let churches deliver better, more intimate coverage of all the goings-on in the sanctuary, whether it’s capturing what’s happening onstage, hovering over the congregation for action / reaction shots, or even heading backstage for an “all-access” perspective.

Another great use for wireless transmission tools is for events that take place outside the main worship area. For example, wireless video can broadcast scenes to a worship annex or overflow room, or from an outdoor service or baptism.

Regardless of your plans for wireless video, its ability to deliver unique, intimate camera angles makes your church’s live stream stand head-and-shoulders above the rest in terms of production value — and, even more important, worshiper engagement. As long as an event is taking place within 300 to 2,000 feet of the production switcher, wireless cameras can be equipped to transmitting content with zero delay to anyone, anywhere on the church campus.

By Andrew Ng

To bring all these functions within reach, we often refer customers to the Bolt suite of wireless technologies. Here’s why.

Form and functionEase of use — and “familiarity” with

a church’s existing wireless camera inventory — makes the Teradek Bolt the ideal turn-key solution for most live productions. Its offerings are designed to take in pretty much any kind of camera, whether it has an SDI or HDMI connection.

The camera can be handheld, of course, or mounted in unique locations, like near the ceiling for a bird’s-eye view. Generally speaking, wireless video products are ideal for deploying camera angles which are typically cumbersome or dangerous to run cables. Without wireless connectivity, the church team would need to figure out how to run a very long cable, which could be limiting, intrusive, and even a trip hazard.

You just pop a small box on to the top of your wireless camera, turn on your transmitter and receiver (which is usually your switcher), and the setup is ready to go. This ease of use is especially helpful for churches that rely on a team of volunteers for their video production. (Read: most of them)

Even so, we recommend that a pastor asks his or her best video volunteer to use these products first and get them set up. This volunteer should consider how the system will be powered, adjust it in the ways the church will want it to be deployed, and so on — basic first steps. Once it’s set up, you don’t really need to touch it again. At that point, it’s turnkey.

Let’s talk about price“Traditionally zero-delay wireless video systems have been out of reach,

budget-wise, for many churches. However, media teams who have been able to afford these systems are able engage the audience and set their streams apart from the rest.

Although the price point of Teradek’s Bolt system is still geared towards more advanced church productions (those who already have switchers, multiple cameras and streaming encoders), it’s still extremely competitively priced compared to other available devices in a similar category.

For your basic Bolt system — the Bolt 300, which offers HDMI Input/output (common to most A/V workflows) and a 300-foot wireless transmission range — your entry point is $1,600. If your church is looking for more advanced systems that deliver more range or more professional connections, such as 3G-SDI, Teradek offers these varieties at the appropriate upgrade price.

Andrew Ng is Director of Marketing at Teradek in Irvine, CA. www.teradek.com

Crown Design Group partnered with Bayside Community Church in Sarasota, FL, to design a fully wireless, HD Micro Camera body pack for its Easter Services. Nik Wallenda — of the world-renowned Flying Wallendas — wore this custom video rig live, as he tightrope-walked across the congregation while having a conversation with the lead pastor, who was safely on the stage. The rig consisted of a Marshall CV-150, Fujinon fish-eye lens, and Teradek Bolt 300 system.” Photo provided by Crown Design Group

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Streaming Made Simple

3 key qualitiesMastering the art of effective church streamingBy Andrew Ng

Based on feedback from our church clients, we know three qualities are absolutely essential to a quality live stream.

#1: An online campusThis is one of the best things a ministry can have — somewhere social

media followers, members and prospective members alike can go to find all the church’s news, content and media (including the live stream).

Generally, this online campus “lives” on the church website; however, a Facebook page is a great place to house it if your website isn’t up to the task.

When streaming to Facebook, you can stream content to your own timeline or to someone else’s — if, for example, a new member wants to share his or her baptism with their network of friends. You can also stream that content to a Facebook group or page. This is particularly effective because:• Most people and organizations already have a Facebook page and

following — including your church. • Facebook just opened itself up to live streaming with its Facebook

Live platform. • All our company’s streaming solutions are equipped to broadcast to

Facebook. So, it’s really easy to do.• Facebook offers immediate, built-in interactivity. By design, viewers can

chat with each other — and ask questions about what’s being presented — in real time.

So, there are a few different, compelling options for streaming to Facebook. And all this brings us to the next key quality of effective live streaming …

#2: Interactivity & engagementOne thing every quality live stream has in

common is audience engagement, whether it’s in real-time or post-broadcast. If you build engagement, people will come back. They’ll want to “talk.”

In fact, some churches have found the online campus experience is even more interactive than the live event. When people physically attend a worship service, they don’t necessarily feel free to talk with each other until afterward. Online, no such stigma applies.

Take, for example, online gaming — another space in which our products offer solutions. More often than not, the “Comments” box is overflowing. That’s why a company such as Twitch — a major online platform for video game broadcasting — continues to thrive: community.

To me, this kind of engagement has resonated within houses of worship, as well. It really makes the stream worthwhile.

#3: ReliabilityThe concept of being engaged is kind of like going to a movie. You go to a

theater. It’s big — big enough to occupy your whole field of vision. It’s dark.

You feel like you’re in the movie. But, any distraction (even a piece of dust on the projector) reminds you where you are. It takes you out of the moment.

Engagement in a live streaming event works the same way. If viewers experience a drop-out, or if the image quality is poor, it’s disengaging.

Because reliability matters — a lot — we’ve designed our products with professional TV broadcast requirements. By its nature, this keeps reliability at the forefront.

Get the right tools for the jobThe first decision to make is what kind of content you want

to live stream. Then, you’ll need to decide how to capture the live video / content. Typically, this is done a few different ways.First, there’s the traditional camcorder. If this is your chosen method, we offer devices — the Teradek VidiU product family, for example — that attach to the camcorder and stream the content to the internet. (As a more advanced approach, you could use a multiple-camera setup.)If you prefer something more mobile, our Live:Air app lets you use your iPad to capture the video and stream it online.

Once content is online, you must decide how you will present it. If you want to offer a chat feature, quite a few content delivery networks / platforms can deliver. A few popular platforms are Wowza and Ustream; another is Churchstreaming.tv. Ultimately, however, you can use platforms that are available at no charge, including YouTube Live and Facebook Live.

Finally, a few words of advice before you go too far down the live streaming path: get a moderator.

This individual is the most important element in driving effective interaction between the online community and itself, and between that virtual community and the church. Here’s why.

A good moderator keeps the pace going. This person can review questions as they’re asked during the live stream, and pose them to the speaker — or to another person at the church who can intelligently respond to the queries — at the appropriate time.

If you’ve run a live event in the past, you know that expecting one person to respond to questions — as well as moderate the conversation — is a tall, potentially chaotic order. Such multitaskers do exist, however; so, if your church is blessed enough to have such a person on hand, definitely enlist his or her gifts for your live stream.

For church members, the ability to actually talk to someone from the ministry when they can’t attend in person is huge. It lets these important individuals continue to be active in the church.

And that’s what ministries are always hoping to cultivate: active members.

Andrew Ng is Director of Marketing at Teradek in Irvine, CA. [ www.teradek.com ]