Presenter Software

A number of churches I have contacted lately run Presenter as their worship software. Having downloaded the trial I have found it fairly easy to use but lacking in some areas like features such as PPT compatability ect... Has anyone else had much to do with this program?

[Rod Luhrs]

I used this program some years ago before moving accross to SSP..
Think it was Version 4 then.. I found it very unstable..

It is an Australian program written by a guy in melbourne.. so I doubt many here would have heard of it..

Its not really a complete package... more just like "one" part of a program like SSP or EW.. etc..

Rod

[[Director] Joseph B]

The key to getting the right presentation software is to download the trial copies and see which works best for you. I personally prefer MediaShout but also have several dozen Easy Worship Demo disks which I give out as needed.
Most do the same thing but the interfaces are different - what I find very easy and intuitive may confuse someone else.
Try a few out and see which is the best fit. They all have demos available.

[gwalker]

I am an authorised reseller of both Presenter 3 (the latest version) and EasyWorship 2006 so I can give you a somewhat unbiased comparison. Both are user friendly and simple to operate and learn.

Price:
Presenter Version 3: AUD$297.00 incl GST
EasyWorship 2006: AUD$583.00 incl GST

With EasyWorship 2006 at almost twice the price of Presenter 3, what do you get for the cost of a BigMac meal every Sunday for a year?

Presenter 3 is song display software. Songs are stored in a database and then dragged to compile the current week's play list.

I used Presenter 3 from the pulpit for over a year and it was completely stable. With it I led worship, hot keyed into PowerPoint for announcements, then back to presenter for more worship songs and back to PowerPoint to preach the sermon, and then back again to close with Presenter handling the songs.
If you are a 'one-man-band' and only need the software to compile the song play list and then use it to control the random display of verses & choruses, Presenter 3 is worth checking out. A 30 day free trial version is available.
Presenter 3 can also send a static graphic to the screen for a song background or as an announcement 'slide'.
Presenter 3 can work with only one screen, with the congregation seeing thumbnails of the verses on the bottom of the projection screen, but it works more normally with a computer operater using a control screen and the congregation only seeing the output. (My website has screen shots)
Presenter 4* is set for release at the end of this year to address its shortcomings.

What Presenter 3 cannot do:
It cannot yet* run motion bachgrounds behind text from within the software. eg water lapping on a beach, sun going down, grass gently moving in a light breeze. You need to see this done effectively to really appreciate the emotive power of motion graphics to stir the soul. It is like having your quiet time on a mountain top, (with the mist in the valley and the sun rising on the horizon), instead of having your devotions at your office desk.

Presenter 3 cannot run PowerPoint from within it.
It cannot cue and run a DVD. It cannot play a mpg video. It doesn't have instant access to Bible verses in multiple translations and languages. It cannot accept a camera video feed and use it as a background.

In general, it can't compile a playlist consisting of worship songs, scripture, announcement slides, videos, DVD clips, PowerPoint (sermon), graphics, audio tracks and live video feeds. That is what you get for the extra cost of a BigMac meal each week! ...and in year 2, your BigMac has free vouchers.
(My website has screen shots of EasyWorship)

[CJAP1980]

Hello,

Just wanted to bump this thread as I'm new to using Presenter (we're using Version 4 now) but am finding PPT support really very awkward.

There seems to be some support for PPT since Version 3 as mentioned by Posters above but I've been unable to find a User Manual or sufficient 'help' guide via Discovery Systems URL.

Anyone able to shed any light on how PPT is meant to run from within Presenter4, or any other tips or tricks for someone like me, who is new to the software?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Craig.

[iank]

Hi Craig

FYI Version 4.1 is coming out soon (June 2009) which includes enhancements in PPT support. Needless to say, it should be working in 4.0.

Feel free to contact us directly if you would like some help.

cheers

--
Ian Krigsman

[CMAassist]

I am new to this forum, so I hope this reply is acceptable
I am looking for a 2nd hand (cheap) copy of Presenter for use at our house-church. Do you still have your old copy? Are you willing to part with it?
Blessings, Paula.

Originally Posted by Rod Luhrs

I used this program some years ago before moving accross to SSP..
Think it was Version 4 then.. I found it very unstable..

It is an Australian program written by a guy in melbourne.. so I doubt many here would have heard of it..

Its not really a complete package... more just like "one" part of a program like SSP or EW.. etc..

Rod

[iank]

Hi Paula

Registrations are linked to a church name, so this may be difficult. Please contact us off list and I'll see what we can do.

Contact details on web site listed in my profile, or google "presenter software".

Kind regards

--
Ian

[cpedley]

Originally Posted by Joseph B

The key to getting the right presentation software is to download the trial copies and see which works best for you. I personally prefer MediaShout but also have several dozen Easy Worship Demo disks which I give out as needed.
Most do the same thing but the interfaces are different - what I find very easy and intuitive may confuse someone else.
Try a few out and see which is the best fit. They all have demos available.

hey Joseph - old link but Photomax link not working

I am very curious now. Can you tell me more about it?

[grant.palmer]

Hi all,
We use at our church a free open source program called openlp.org at our church, we have found it ideal, and easy to use, we even have 11 year olds running it during our services!
visit openlp.org and download it, I recommend it.