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The ability to stream video has offered church communities the kind of reach that was inconceivable just a few years ago. With the ability to live stream services, share interviews and lessons, and post volumes of past sermons and programs, streaming has actually added a new dimension to church. Today, for most of us, it’s difficult to imagine church without it. It can be equally challenging to envision where this valuable technology will take us next.
For a window on what’s in store for houses of worship that want to take the next step with streaming technology, CP reached out to some industry leaders about what they see as the future of streaming. We asked, “What will streaming technology look like for churches as we move into and through 2023?”
“Looking at the many options for streaming, [churches just stepping into streaming] may have been told by an integrator that they will have to make a major investment to get to the next level, and that’s generally not true.”
—Will Chapman, Online Pastor, Cottonwood Creek Church, Allen, TX
Quality and value
A veteran of church technology upgrades, Will Chapman, online pastor at Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas, has become a resource for other churches looking to improve their streaming presence and skills.
“Many churches were forced into moving online because of COVID,” Chapman recalls, “so they had to react quickly with whatever equipment was available or affordable at the time.” According to Chapman, many of these church teams have gained experience streaming and are ready to take the next step, but aren’t sure what that entails.
“Churches who stepped into streaming technology—maybe just with an iPhone or iPad—have some useful feedback to work with,” Chapman explains. He says that many churches coming for advice know that their viewers need to hear and see the pastor better.
"PTZOptics cameras are among other affordable video production tools that offer quality and are easy to use for churches who are “just trying to do better tomorrow than they are doing today.”
—Will Chapman, Online Pastor, Cottonwood Creek Church, Allen, TX
“Looking at the many options for streaming, they may have been told by an integrator that they will have to make a major investment to get to the next level,” he says, “and that’s generally not true.” One of the reasons for this, Chapman notes, is the evolution in the quality of affordable streaming devices.
“There are options out there for smaller churches and the number of options for solid technology at doable price points will continue to grow,” says Chapman. He advises church teams to research YouTube channels to see what people are doing with smaller setups and points to products like Blackmagic Design’s Pocket Cinema cameras and the company’s very affordable four-channel ATEM Mini Pro HDMI Live Stream Switcher, as examples.
PTZOptics cameras, he adds, are among other affordable video production tools that offer quality and are easy to use for churches who are “just trying to do better tomorrow than they are doing today.”
Better integration and workflows
Quality and price points are factors that every manufacturer has to consider, but Bryce Button, director of product marketing for AJA, sees two other important and ongoing industry trends with streaming gear: more power and better integration that make for simplified workflows.
“More devices will do a better job of marrying technologies, doing whatever transcoding is necessary, and be able to deliver content to multiple destinations, sending different formats across WiFi, to web-based social media sites and content delivery systems.”
—Bryce Button, Director of Product Marketing, AJA, Grass Valley, CA
“Houses of worship have–and will continue to have–more choices for streaming equipment,” he says. “COVID acted as an accelerator for innovation, allowing worship communities to dial into their favorite pastor, and moving church past the historical sense of community.”
For churches large and small, Button sees more technology that will serve to bring together disparate technologies. “More devices will do a better job of marrying technologies, doing whatever transcoding is necessary, and be able to deliver content to multiple destinations, sending different formats across WiFi, to web-based social media sites and content delivery systems.”
Button calls out the added features to the company’s versatile HELO Plus, an advanced H.264 streaming recorder, including the device’s ability to simultaneously stream to two destinations at once and picture-in-picture streaming and recording. “Features like this reduce the need for switchers and put more control in the hands of the creator,” he says. “More choices, support more choices of platform–each has requirements–so, the more options for content a device can deliver, the better.”
One of the biggest trends Button sees continuing in coming years is what he calls “facilitating camera-to-cloud.”
“In recent years, a major trend has been about leveraging more sophisticated connectivity, while making it [simpler],” he says. “Reducing the technology barriers helps in a number of ways, including helping talent to find one another and making collaboration–even across great distances–easier. Especially for churches, creativity is paramount.”
Finally, Button believes that the future of streaming will take into consideration more financial efficiencies. “Users will be looking closer,” he suggests. “What is the cloud costing? What should the budget consider for subscription and production costs?”
More engaging content
Another company keenly aware of church video needs is Magewell. Its CEO and CTO, Nick Ma, sees a key trend with content. “Amongst house of worship customers, particularly in smaller churches, there is a movement to make their streams more engaging with additional content sources,” he says, “while minimizing equipment and volunteer requirements.”
Ma confirms what many smaller churches have experienced: That, with streaming so ubiquitous, it takes more than a single camera angle to keep viewers engaged. And, while live worship services and events that incorporate multiple video sources and other media are more compelling and hold audiences’ attention longer, it comes at a cost. “Adding an external video mixer or switcher to the workflow not only adds to equipment costs,” he says, “but may also [require] an additional volunteer to operate it.”
“ … particularly in smaller churches, there is a movement to make their streams more engaging with additional content sources, while minimizing equipment and volunteer requirements.”
—Nick Ma, CEO and CTO, Magewell, Nanjing, China
To address the growing need for more sources, Magewell’s newest video capture and encoding solutions include the ability to combine multiple sources without additional external hardware.
The company’s latest, USB Fusion multi-input capture and mixing device, lets users easily combine live camera and wired screenshare inputs into streaming productions without the need for additional switching or mixing tools. With the companion tablet app, users can incorporate pre-recorded video clips, images, music, handwritten notes, and web pages into the output ready to be streamed.
“It is ideal for houses of worship who want to improve their streaming by combining a camera signal with supporting visuals, such as lyrics displayed from a laptop,” Ma adds of the USB Fusion.
Higher resolution
Church video teams have watched the evolution of video resolution and the gear that supports it for some time. “We are seeing churches on the verge of going to full 4K workflows across their venues,” observes Tyler Riddle, product manager, live streaming, for Creative Solutions/Teradek. He notes that while cameras have been 4K for some time, other components, like projector/LED wall systems, routing systems, and processors, have been the blocker for full workflow upgrades. “Basically, every new component today is 4K-ready,” he says, “but the whole chain can't be 4K until the last non-4K piece is replaced.”
“With all your local TVs and monitors being 4K, it only seems natural to shoot for the same quality for the remote viewer.”
—Tyler Riddle, Product Manager, Live Streaming, Creative Solutions/Teradek, Irvine, CA
Riddle sees the benefits of higher resolution for houses of worship. “Personally, I think it would be interesting to see a high-quality, interactive experience that only encoder solutions can provide,” he says. “With all your local TVs and monitors being 4K, it only seems natural to shoot for the same quality for the remote viewer.” He continues, “Teradek is invested in achieving 4K workflows with their Spark and Ranger transmitters, the world's only Zero Delay 4K transmitters for local capture.”
The company also offers the Prism line of 4K encoders with social-ready recording that integrates with Core, a cloud-based streaming platform with channel management and scheduling. “Teradek is ready for full 4K workflows,” he says, “so churches can push their messages of hope to their congregations, to the other campuses, and the world.”
Conclusion
Streaming experts seem aligned on their vision for 2023: Church video teams can look forward to the arrival of devices with greater functionality and more options at lower price points, making it easier for video teams to improve their streaming productions. Interest in 4K workflows and cloud services for worship will continue to grow with better and easier integration. Finally, more and varied inputs will increase the options for adding content, saving less sophisticated streamers from having to invest in more hardware.
