Streaming Made Simple vol 2

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CHURCH EXECUTIVE • S T R E A M I N G M A D E S I M P L E • V O L U M E 2

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Table of Contents MAXIMIZING MINISTRY: EXAMINING ALL YOUR STREAMING APPLICATIONS 4

NEXT-LEVEL LIVESTREAMING: WITHIN REACH

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.

Right now, a large denomination is mobilizing more than 3,000 livestreaming units — one for every one of its churches across America.

They’re sharing content on their individual churches’ webpages and at local church events … but that’s not nearly where it ends.

All 3,000 churches are also s treaming content to a s ingle, nationwide “hub.” It’s then delivered to an app available on streaming devices such as Apple TV and Roku. Essentially, this denomination has created a traditional broadcast channel, but at a technologically advanced, but efficient, level.

It’s perhaps the most sophisticated streaming setup our company has ever seen in a church environment.

But, don’t worry: what we’ve described above is far from the norm. Plenty of churches — maybe yours among them — are doing a great job with their live broadcast; they just want to “take things up a notch.”

By Andrew Ng

CAPTURING COMMUNITY — EVERY MOMENT

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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. 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.

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By Andrew Ng

VOLUNTEER-FRIENDLY LIVE STREAMING 8 Streaming content is an incredibly powerful, relevant tool for outreach — one which transcends the boundaries of geography and time.

However, not every church can devote a staff member to “owning” the streaming process; instead, many rely on volunteers. So, we must make sure the streaming setup is as user-friendly and accessible as possible. Here’s how.

By Andrew Ng

By Andrew Ng

3 KEY QUALITIES: MASTERING THE ART OF EFFECTIVE CHURCH STREAMING 6

WHAT’S NEW IN STREAMING FOR THE CHRISTMAS SEASON?

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

1) An online campus 2) Interactivity & engagement 3) Reliability

If you want to extend the reach of your Christmas worship services, pageants, concerts — and even outreach efforts — then consider all the different ways video streaming can help.

Here, Andrew Ng, Director of Marketing at Irvine, CA-based Teradek, explains the ins and outs … in plain English.

By Andrew Ng

By Andrew Ng

churchexecutive.com

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Streaming Made Simple

Maximizing ministry Examining all your streaming applications

By Andrew Ng

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.

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 streaming Interaction is a unique benefit of the streaming medium — one that’s visually captivating, but also available online within a community.

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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.

Interaction 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 excellence What 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 churchexecutive.com

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.

By Andrew Ng

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

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-andshoulders 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. churchexecutive.com

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

Here’s why.

Form and function Ease 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 S T R E A M I N G M A D E S I M P L E • V O L U M E 2 • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

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Streaming Made Simple

3 key qualities Mastering the art of effective church streaming

By Andrew Ng Based on feedback from our church clients, we know three qualities are absolutely essential to a quality live stream. #1: An online campus This 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 & engagement One 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: Reliability The 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.

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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 job The 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 ]

churchexecutive.com

Streaming Made Simple

Next-level livestreaming: within reach

By Andrew Ng

Right now, a large denomination is mobilizing more than 3,000 live streaming units — one for every one of its churches across America.

They’re sharing content on their individual churches’ webpages and at local church events … but that’s not nearly where it ends.

All 3,000 churches are also streaming content to a single, nationwide “hub.” It’s then delivered to an app available on streaming devices such as Apple TV and Roku. Essentially, this denomination has created a traditional broadcast channel, but at a technologically advanced, but efficient, level.

It’s perhaps the most sophisticated streaming setup our company has ever seen in a church environment.

But, don’t worry: what we’ve described above is far from the norm.

Plenty of churches — maybe yours among them — are doing a great job with their live broadcast; they just want to “take things up a notch.”

Sound familiar? Say no more!

The first step towards advanced-level live streaming is to know what it looks like. To get started, let’s talk about the common characteristics.

Production quality. It’s something viewers of advanced-level streamed content expect; not quite TV-quality production, but with some of those elements. This means multiple cameras and nicely placed images — maybe one camera delivering a wide shot, another capturing a close-up, and another providing a detail shot of the choir. This usually requires a switcher or some kind of video mixer.

Organization and consistency are also key in advanced streaming setups. Content is prepared and planned. (And it’s painfully evident to viewers when it’s not both these things.)

Really good audio. Audio is a huge deal in broadcasting and streaming, in general. When audio is good, the audience won’t notice anything in the background. Clean audio is good audio.

Effective scheduling and communication. It’s really important that viewers know when the next stream is scheduled. At what time? What might it cover?

Widely accessible content. Many churches stream to one central location — often an online campus or a Facebook Live group or page. In more advanced setups, the broadcast might be streamed to various places, from the cry room to a church plant across the country.

Video-on-demand. Where does content “go” after the live stream? It’s a question the most advanced-level streaming churches ask themselves.

Many maintain video archives where viewers can look up past services and events. While this can be accomplished using YouTube or other hosting platforms, these above-and-beyond churches often have their own unique workflows. churchexecutive.com

All this sounds within reach for a forward-thinking, outreach-oriented church, right? So, let’s talk about what needs to be in your “toolkit” for stepping up your church’s streaming game.

Truly advanced streaming requires …

A champion. In many churches with advanced-level streaming setups, at least one individual “owns” the process. By this, I mean he or she is aware of the different technologies available, vets them, and specs them.

Usually, this person has an interest in and knowledge of “what’s next” in technology. What do we need to update first? Do we need to upgrade our switcher, or do we need to update our audio board? What tools will get us that next level of streaming?

A realistic budget. In most churches, budget is a key consideration for live streaming. They might want to “step it up,” but they can only afford to do so incrementally. In other churches — where a healthy fund is set aside for upgrades — the question isn’t so much, Where do we start? Rather, it’s: How, exactly, should we spend those funds?

Here again, the importance of a live streaming champion in the church is evident. He or she can not only determine which new technologies to invest in, but also what equipment fits in the budget — and fits for the desired production outcome. (After all, what’s appropriate for one church might not be appropriate for every church.)

Solid supplier support and communication — before and after a purchase. Part of getting to the advanced level of streaming is enlisting professional expertise when necessary.

You want to purchase technology from a company that will back you.

They should provide support and constant communication so, when you’re ready to take the next step, you’re not left with a device you don’t completely know how to use … and can’t ask anybody about.

In our own company’s case, the ability to offer this level of support is the reason all our operations are centralized in Irvine, Calif. We manufacture, support — do everything, really — from one location so we can maintain a high level of customer service.

It comes down to a very human level; you can approach us on Facebook, send us an email, give us a call, or hop onto the website and chat with us. We believe this accessibility is really important. It’s a consultative approach.

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

S T R E A M I N G M A D E S I M P L E • V O L U M E 2 • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

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Streaming Made Simple

By Andrew Ng Streaming content is an incredibly powerful, relevant tool for outreach — one which transcends the boundaries of geography and time.

However, not every church can devote a staff member to “owning” the streaming process; instead, many rely on volunteers. So, we must make sure the streaming setup is as user-friendly and accessible as possible. Here’s how.

It starts with training It makes sense that volunteers who are dedicated to your church will want to contribute however they can. Some people can sing. Some can be greeters at the door. Some can operate a video switcher or a camera. If technology and video streaming is their interest, then all the better; it’s a real gift for any church.

When a streaming operation is comprised mostly of volunteers, they tend to face some common training challenges. The first is consistency — incredibly important, especially when it comes to live productions.

Camera operators need to know which shots to capture, and when.

Then, synchronization is required between the producer, director and all the people working the gear.

But, consistency can be tricky in a church. Although some volunteers show up every week, others simply can’t. This creates a sort of “rotating door” of volunteers, based on availability and — realistically — their passion for that particular ministry.

One way to overcome this challenge is by posting an internal Wiki that contains all the documentation — that provides, in writing, all the processes they need to be familiar with.

In our previous “Streaming Made Simple” installment, we talked about a major denomination that bought 3,000 of our streaming products to enable every church to contribute content to a dedicated, Hulu-like channel. To ensure consistency of training, the denomination created a database on its internal network. It walked users through the setup process and tackled some troubleshooting items. In some regards, the tutorial the denomination put together was superior to the materials we produced as the manufacturer, because it was specific to their group and the desired outcomes.

Pick volunteer-friendly technology This one might sound obvious — but what does “volunteer-friendly” look like?

First, it’s important to note that not every piece of equipment in a streaming setup can be volunteer-friendly. Certain aspects of production (and the associated equipment) are just plain complicated; these should probably be handled only by your AV or tech minister, or IT minister, or at the very least, by one person. Not just because it’s difficult, but because this lends consistency to your streaming operations.

Camera operation, on the other hand, is pretty simple. You don’t want big, giant cameras that don’t have auto-focus and automatic settings.

Instead, you can pick up a relatively good-quality camcorder with automatic zoom and automatic focus for a great price. After that, it’s really just a matter of making sure it’s pointed in the right direction.

The Canon Vixia series is an excellent option, and so is the Canon XA30 Professional Camcorder. They’re very easy to use, and just about anybody can get familiar with them, very quickly.

Generally, I’d recommend a name-brand camera — Canon, Sony, Panasonic — even though, price-wise, they might represent a higher barrier to entry. You’re looking for reliability; choose a camera you know will last.

Alternately, you can use an iPad camera or an iPhone camera to stream!

Some of our solutions, like the LIVE:AIR app, let you get creative on a budget while still achieving a professional stream. It’s fun, too.

The Pokémon GO™ craze is a good example of how an app like this can make streaming super engaging. We have friends in the video gaming “e-sports” community who are using our LIVE:AIR Solo app on their iPhones and iPads while they’re chasing Pokémon. Basically, you can stream from anywhere you have cell reception. So, people are streaming their Pokémon GO adventures.

I was curious about it myself, so I snagged an iPad and ran our LIVE:AIR app on it while we went looking for Pokémon. There were a lot of ups and downs in the content, which is good. Oh, the Pokémon ‘s over there! Then it simmers down for a bit, interview other people on the hunt … and then, There’s another Pokémon!

With the right tools, streaming can be very engaging. And, in this case, low-cost, too. Just choose wisely … and don’t be afraid to get a little creative.

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

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Streaming Made Simple

What’s new in streaming for the Christmas season?

By Andrew Ng If you want to extend the reach of your Christmas worship services, pageants, concerts — and even outreach efforts — then consider all the different ways video streaming can help.

Here, Andrew Ng, Director of Marketing at Irvine, CA-based Teradek, explains the ins and outs … in plain English.

The Cube 655 is Teradek’s latest innovation for professional encoding, whether it be for live streaming or point to point applications.

Tip #1: Think outside the church walls — stream to multiple online platforms. “Something a lot of churches are really interested in doing (and seeing a lot of better engagement with) is streaming to Facebook Live, online campuses, YouTube Live, Periscope — all kinds of social media,” Ng says. “Church tech ministers want to go to multiple platforms at the same time so the congregation can see the live stream, or whatever is going on in the service, wherever they might be.”

Facebook Live is, of course, viewable on smartphones and desktop. It promotes interactivity with a “live” comments feature, which basically acts as a chat function.

YouTube Live is another popular live streaming destination that is not only viewable on smartphones and desktop, but also can be accessed via your Roku or Apple TV devices at home. Periscope — a live streaming app specializing in mass reach via smartphone — is now able to receive camera signals from third-party streaming devices rather than limited to an iPhone or Android device. “This goes to show the variety of ways people are consuming content and how important it is for an organization to be able to reach all these destinations,” Ng points out. Fortunately, products like Teradek’s VidiU Pro, Cube and Core have now made that content much more accessible.

If streaming to multiple destinations and platforms seems like the way to go for your church, Teradek [ www.teradek.com ] offers a wide range of products to make it happen. As Ng explains, an encoder will be necessary.

If your church doesn’t already have one, he says, the company’s Cube and VidiU Pro encoders are popular options.

There’s also the Live:Air app, which a church can easily mobilize.

Whether you’re using Live:Air with an iPad or transmitting a camera or switcher feed using a Teradek encoder, a product called Core [ http:// teradek.com/pages/core-home ], a subscription-supported, cloud-based encoder management and routing platform allows organizations to take their streaming game to the next level. “The thing about Core is, even though a lot of big, professional broadcasts use it, it’s really simple to use,” Ng points out. “And that’s the whole point, really: it’s drag-and-drop.” churchexecutive.com

With this configuration in place, a church can stream content once and, using Teradek’s cloud service, distribute it everywhere it wants to.

Tip #2: Gather people together, wherever: FIFA World Cup soccer fans are familiar with the power of being able to pipe the event into large gathering spaces — to giant screens in town squares across Europe.

It builds fellowship.

This same technology can be mobilized for a church’s big holiday events. For his part, Ng recalls a yearly Mass piped into the town center while he was attending UC Irvine. “It felt very special and created a unique communal experience.”

In this vein, another idea came to Ng recently, after working with Jason Lee, Online Campus Pastor and IT Director of Northwoods Community Church in Peoria, IL. The church was conducting baptisms at a nearby lake, but it was able to send the live feed from the lake to the worship service, as well as to the online campus. A unique angle like this is great for a live audience as it has great potential for generating engagement and entertainment.

Outreach efforts at Christmastime are another great opportunity. If a group is working at a community kitchen, or any other local outreach, streaming that experience to the rest of the church — whether they’re in the worship center, online or gathered elsewhere — is only an Internet connection away.

International relief efforts (in Haiti, for instance) can also be shared from across the world, as long as the church group abroad has Web-enabled cellular service.

“As long as you have internet and destinations for delivery, whether it be mobile, TV sets, on the web, or all of the above, our products have a way to make it happen,” Ng says.

Tip #3: Consider new “perspectives” on streaming. One emerging trend Ng is seeing in the streaming market — and would be great for churches — is the 360-degree broadcast. It allows you to capture a 360-degree view of an event, creating an extremely immersive experience.

Ng explains: “For example, the most popular streaming destination is YouTube 360.

When you stream to YouTube Live, you can actually access it on your phone. And, if you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, with a Gear VR [virtual reality] wireless headset, you can put it on and just look around. It feels like you’re in the space.”

This requires a 360-degree live-streaming device, which Teradek offers in its Sphere family of products. [http://teradek.com/collections/ sphere-family].

As an example of how this technology could be applied, Ng pictures a choir assembled around the camera. With this approach, viewers — using their phones — could feel like the choir is surrounding them, and they’re in the middle of the performance.

“It’s a new, experiential way of engaging the audience,” he adds. “A different kind of medium.”

Tip #4: Don’t forget to tell the church! Of course, the most innovative live-streaming efforts in the world won’t mean much if church members don’t know they’re happening. To this point, consider developing the equivalent of a broadcast schedule for the holiday season. (“Like a TV Guide, essentially.”)

Even better, Ng encourages churches with apps to mobilize these masscommunication tools to spread the word. “Imagine if you were able to ping your audience and say, ‘Hey this event is going on right now!’” he says.

“That’s super convenient, because it shows up on your phone.

“Your email is one thing,” he adds. “But, you’ve got to go to your computer, open your email, and then click the link. With an app, you’re just once click away to your live stream.”

Andrew Ng is Director of Marketing at Teradek in Irvine, CA. [ www.teradek.com ] S T R E A M I N G M A D E S I M P L E • V O L U M E 2 • CHURCH EXECUTIVE

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