I've used both at different churches, and heard countless arguments for one or the other. So could you weigh the positives and negatives of each and add the Geeks' opinion to the mix?
I've used both at different churches, and heard countless arguments for one or the other. So could you weigh the positives and negatives of each and add the Geeks' opinion to the mix?
Please review your worship projection software, HERE!
Hey!
We were wondering when this question might arise :)
When we first started the podcast, this was an issue we wanted to devote an episode to, but we found we didn't know enough about it to comment. MF and I were both Mac users when we worked in ministry and we used a combination of Pro Presenter and Keynote....so we don't know much about Mediashout or EZ Worship (other than the fact that Mediashout tends to be the popular one).
So, I've contacted a couple guys I know that have more experience in this and we're going to try and get them on the show to do reviews of some worship projection products.
Sorry I don't have a good answer now, hopefully you'll be hearing about this on an episode soon...
Anyone have experience with either of these? Please throw in your review of any worship projection software here...
-Rob Feature
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.bobchristenson.com
MS v. EZW
Hey guys!
I'll be totally honest, I'm VERY biased here, but my vote goes to MediaShout. The reason for my bias? I am a MediaShout retailer. Now before anyone starts throwing stones, I'm not here to bash EZ Worship. (Quick backgound) I stumbled across MS, at that time v2.5, a few years ago at "Created to Praise" (google it) At the time V3 was just about to be launched, and we were given a link to give it a test run. WOW! I was blown away at its ease of use, capabilities for video, and live feed possibilities! My Pastor (a good Lutheran Mac freak) was also blown away, but bummed out that there was no Mac version. I don't know if any of you know the whole Mac version story, but I can tell you its a sad story of the Apple folks not wanting to work with the MediaComplete folks in terms of information sharing. So a Mac version propably won't be around anytime soon. sad. Now, you'll hear stories about MS crashing. What Windows proggy doesn't crash? I've never had it crash, it's done everything I've asked it to do, and with great ease! (OK, now I'm sounding like a sales pitch, sorry) I guess I've avoided crashes by restarting just before each time I use it for a presentation/Worship, and close all the un-needed proggies in my tray. Give that a shot folks :-) I didn't want to go into specs here, just my opinions, you can find all the specs you want, and a nice demo (with a great tutorial)download at their site www.mediacomplete.com , and I sure welcome any questions, from you fine hosts, or my fellow listeners!
Bryan
Bryan, You stated, "Apple
Bryan,
You stated, "Apple folks not wanting to work with the MediaComplete folks in terms of information sharing". I would like to challange you on this statement. The reason for the death of the Mac Version of MS3 was simply an issue of cost vs. return. Complicated by the misunderstanding of Apple and what MediaComplete was trying to do. The function of rendering/displaying video and effects on the fly is a foreign concept to the Mac world where these two functions are done by 2 different applications and not at the same time. But there was no evidence of Apple not being forthcoming, in fact Apple provided some of their best people in an effort to make MS3 on Mac a possibility.
To the rest of your comments, I have had a couple of MS3 crashes and I am running on a custom built high end machine that is dedicated to MS3, no other apps running/installed and no network connectivity. The biggest challange facing MS/MC is that they are creating a very complex application that their user base tries to run on very diverse, and often low-end hardware and often their fixes have to be written for bottom feeders. That being said, I have had a number of audio quality issues that MC has been unable to resolve and rather than trying to make the PC work I have begun to make the transition to more Mac based applications, currently any video w/ audio is played from a Mac using QT and a VGA switch. I still think MS3 is a great app, and is my number one PC solution but I guess after using it for 3.5 years I am ready to Kick It Up A Notch.
I have some knowledge with
I have some knowledge with MediaShout, and I find it to be an awesome program. But for those churches that need some sort of worship presentation software(instead of PowerPoint) and can not afford MS, their is an alternative. OpenSong is a full featured, worship presentation software that is open source(free which is very affordable!). You can find it at opensong.org. And it is for Mac or Windows.
opensong.org drupal site
Yet another site using drupal... though I am not a fan of the theme.
Thanks for the info.
Matt Farina
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.mattfarina.com
What computer do you recommend?
We are just getting our Praise & Worship Service started. What PC do you recommend for best performance of the Media Shout software? Do we need high end graphics found on a Dell XPS or will a Precision do?
A Precision will certainly
A Precision will certainly do. I would recommend at 265MB video card and as much RAM as you can shovel in..
Shrop
dell & projection
Be very attentive to the video card when you purchase a computer for worship media projection. I ordered a dell last november for our new sanctuary gear after having explained in fine detail what I needed. It was only after everything was installed and the tech guys gone that I realized the dell video card DID NOT support multiple monitors. It took me till Holy Week to get the right card from Dell. They were asking me for product codes -- I'm only the pastor!
MediaShout
Hi Geeks and others!
At my local church (www.parkerville.net.au)we began using MediaShout at the beginning of this year. We have been really impressed with it's capabilities and once we got our database of songs etc into it, it has been great. The bonus is that for a service I can train an operator really quickly. Setting up a cue takes a little more training, but if a person is a reasonably competant PC user, they can manage it pretty well. Basically we have had a good experience. On the downside is the cost and that it has no retailer in Australia, so I had to import it from the US. We still have the odd problem with video and DVD's but as it is a computer that I built it may just be an odd Graphics card/motherboard combination or something like that. But overall we have been really impressed. We have been bloggin the journey over at www.digitalchurch.com.au if you want any more info.
cheers,
Darren
new thread
I would love to start a new thread. Can I only post on existing threads?
Our Boards Suck....
Hey Havoc...
Sorry, man, our board situation currently sucks. You can post a new thread, but it's a hidden link as of now. Either post here for now, or wait a day or two and we'll fix it....
sorry about that!
-Rob Feature
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.bobchristenson.com