Whether your church has been streaming for years or is just getting ready to start, here is some advice to help nearly every church do its best with their particular situation.
Live streaming isn't just about plugging a camera into a computer. This is one of the greatest misconceptions about streaming. Pastors often think of live streaming as an add-on to an existing tech ministry. To do it well, it takes a lot of planning, training, and almost always more equipment and a better Internet connection. Technically, you can plug a camera into a computer (or even use a smart phone), but will you get the results you want? Not likely. If you want a low-resolution signal with dropped frames, that solution may work fine. But remember, better quality will translate into a larger, more consistent audience.
BASIC DO'S AND DON'TS
Don't buy new standard definition (SD) equipment today. It's just not good stewardship. If that's what you have already, sending SD video letter-boxed to 16:9 is a step you can take until you can upgrade. Bandwidth is always improving and electronics continually drop in price, so it could be that you'll be able to upgrade to HD sooner than you imagine.
If you don't have the budget or bandwidth to do HD, fake it with wide screen. Most people don't know what HD is, but they will recognize the difference between a 4-by-3 aspect ration from a 16:9. Get the appropriate hosting for your skill level. YouTube is easy to use because it does most of the heavy lifting for you. If no one on your team has experience streaming live, perhaps a higher-end solution that requires you to find and implement your own player, for example, isn't for you. Look for a compromise, but realize when you just can't go with the most flexible solution.
CRITICAL QUALITY ISSUES
Lighting and sound trump video quality. Show me both a poorly lit video with bad sound, shot with a great camera and a wonderfully lit video with great sound, shot on a consumer camcorder and I'll pick the second every time. Why? Even expensive cameras need proper lighting for video—even more so if you are using consumer-grade cameras. Bad sound is just unacceptable.
There are cheap cameras and then there are cheap cameras. There are reasons that professional videographers will spend thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on a good camera. Not all churches can do the same. With that said, some cameras lack even the most basic functions you need. Avoid webcams and security cameras because they lack any sort of real zoom. Camcorders (preferably prosumer and better camcorders) will give you much better results.
Great teams produce something greater than the sum of their individual abilities. Don’t be a "one-man band." Be an orchestra.
Paul Clifford
Reviewer.
Don't skimp on camera support.
A good tripod will improve the stability of a cheap camera and improve its perceived quality.
Learn the pros and cons.
Every decision has a series of trade-offs. If a live streaming service is free, you're paying somehow (ads, lack of control, frustration, etc.). But if you have no budget, you might be willing to pay in this manner. If you do, you won't regret getting a dedicated service.
Learn to troubleshoot it.
Know what each piece in the signal path does—what it does or what problems it causes when it fails—and ways around problems. For example, if your switcher fails, can you bypass it and get video onto the live stream without it?
Find a mentor. It could be someone at the big church across town, or it could be someone you never get to know personally. Your mentor doesn't even need to still be alive. Knowledge of the experts is recorded as audio, video, and in books. Be a self-teacher. Learn from the best, not necessarily the best in the church. You don't have to agree with the subject of the videos and live streams created by the greats in the industry to learn their techniques and redeem them for Christ.
NEVER STOP GROWING (AND LEARNING)
Always strive to improve. Don't settle. Just because things aren't how you envisioned them doesn't mean it has to stay that way. Move forward a little each week, either in skill or resources, and after a few years your live stream will be much better than it is now. The image magnification (IMAG) feed is not meant for the online audience. Sure, it shows what's going on in your worship space, but it doesn't provide context that the online congregation needs.
Don't underspend.
It's better to spend a little more to get what you actually need than to make do with less. It's not good stewardship to buy today what must be replaced tomorrow when you could buy something today for a little more that wouldn't need to be replaced for years.
Consider life expectancy when you make equipment purchasing decisions.
Don't overspend.
While it's okay to have a system that you and the others on your team need to stretch a little to use, if your team has never used manual mode on a video camera, high-end professional equipment may be too much for you. If you never use capabilities that you paid extra for, that's not good stewardship either.
Know the why.
Keep the vision for the church first and foremost. Who are you trying to help? Why do they need the live-stream? Collect stories of people who have been reached by your ministry to remind yourself “why” when it gets tough.
Live-stream to connect, not to separate.
Technology can separate us, if we're not careful. Always do your best to connect people with the live-stream. Use it to bring people into your church (if only virtually), not separate them.
Build a team.
The only way we can do things that require us to be multiple places at once is to be a part of a team. A great team doesn't create something that each could have created alone. Great teams produce something greater than the sum of their individual abilities. Don't be a “one-man band.” Be an orchestra.
Know when live streaming just isn't the ministry for your church.
No Internet. No ability. No demand. If God calls your church to live stream, He'll equip you to do it. If hurdle after hurdle keeps arising and no matter what you do, you just can't defeat them all, perhaps it isn't time for a streaming ministry at your church. The point is, don't give up too easily, but don't be stubborn either.
