Pulling Sermon Audio From a Folder

[LeAnn B]

Right now my former church's website uses a Joomla MP3 player and it pulls the audio from a folder on our server. All the webmaster has to do is upload the sermon to the right folder and it appears on the site. Problem is I don't like the look of the player, is there another way to get sermons to the site just by pulling the audio from a folder? Even a simple list of links would suffice but it needs to be created automatically so that all they have to do is upload the sermon to the right folder. Any suggestions?

LeAnn

[Don Rice]

This solution may not address your needs, but our church site has a button on the frontpage for our church newsletter. Clicking that tab will instigate a download of the newsletter in a PDF format. This same method could be used to trigger an audio file. If you click on the link (button), the file will begin to download and play or you can right-click(PC) and select "Save target as" to store the file on your computer. I have a folder on the server labeled "Newsletter" and each month, the file is uploaded using the same name. The FTP access points to that folder and the earlier version is over-written. Once again, this method could be used for various file types. The downside to this approach is the lack of archiving. If you wish to make multiple services available, I suggest you create a simple HTML document to link to different audio files. You can check out our site by searching for First United Methodist Church - Dallas, NC. I edit the "Sermon" page using Word Perfect. Any software capable of rendering an HTML file will work. It's not that elegant, but it works. You could have create a folder on the server for dumping/uploading the files to and leave it to someone that is web-saavy to edit the links as necessary.

Hope this helps!

[LeAnn B]

See that's the problem, there is no one web-saavy there. I'm 2 hours away and I still have to put the sermon on the website because no one will take the time to learn how to do it. Even though I've showed them how!

[NdEd]

I'd put my foot down and tell them you arent' going to do this for them again. When they find somebody ready to learn, then help them. Stopping now will get them to make it a priority. It sounds like they are taking advantage of your generosity and they will continue to do so as long as you enable them.

[Don Rice]

It occured to me that I may have misread your post. I was thinking you were referring to the client side instead of the hosting side of the equation. If you don't mind me asking, how are they uploading the files to the server? I have been using Filezilla because it is free and works for my needs. Once it is pointed in the right direction, loading files is a simple drag operation from my computer to the server. I'm not sure how it can be any easier. It does require some organization - placing the audio in the correct folder on my computer, but that should not be a hurdle that could not be overcome by someone that is motivated. I suppose that is your real dilemma. No one ever showed me how to do it directly. As you well know, there is ample information available for those who wish to learn.

[LeAnn B]

The woman who took my place manages to upload the sermon but getting it to the website is where she struggles. I had it set up with a Joomla module that when she uploaded the sermon it appeared automatically in the module on the website. For one reason or another I didn't like the module and now I'm looking for another option that is similarly 'automatic'

LeAn

[Don Rice]

I am reluctant to answer further because I fear that I am over-simplifying the issue at hand. I am not familiar with Joomla and tend to fall back on HTML because that's what I learned a long time ago; lacking the tools necessary to take it further at the time. When you say the file is uploaded, I'm assuming that you mean to a folder or directory on the hosting server. Is a player(embedded in the site) necessary to accomplish the desired goals of the site? If not, as I mentioned earlier, the audio file can easily be assigned the same filename each week and accessed through any item on the page that can have a hyperlink assigned to it. Too simple or limited in application? All of my files are collected on the server in a folder entitled "Recordings." Original, I know. I post three files a week - the Sermon, the Scripture reading, and the Children's Moment. The filenames are assigned by type and date - Ex. "Sermon020109.mp3." I add links to a table and retrieving the files is as easy as clicking the link. If Quicktime is present on the client's computer, it begins to play seconds after selection. The file can be easily downloaded and is playable on any mp3 player at a later time. As a sidenote, although our sermons are rather short in length (15-18 mins.), I encode our files in mono at 32 kbps-16kbps effectively(The results are acceptable) resulting in file sizes of 3.5 to 4.5 megabytes. I live in a lower income area and wanted to be sensitive to dial-up users. I did have one that lasted almost 40 mins. and halved the rate; yielding a similar filesize and acceptable results for speech. No worse than a mediocre phone connection.

I wish I had a better solution. Maybe the activity on this thread will inspire others with greater experience to jump in.

[LeAnn B]

I really can't have it named the same because I would like to have an archive of sermons available to the listener. The player is not necessary and I wasn't happy with the way it looked. I switched to SermonCentral's sermon player which looks better and is a bit easier to use so I may be able to teach someone how to use it. We'll see! Thanks for your help.

[Mark0514]

Here's just an idea. We have been using sermon.net, which is totally free. They maintain an archive of your audio and will give you an embed code for their player on your site, and they also handle the podcast. All the user does is upload the file and add the info (sermon title, etc),. There is a little add window running (for sermon.net or other ministries), but it's really not a bother. Big upside is that someone can do all the sermon uploads and never touch the website.

We're going to be using Joomla in the very near future, and figuring out how to embed was one of my questions, so let me know if you go that route. Can you post a link to your site with the Joomla player so I can see it?

[blonborg]

We're using JosDewplayer on our Joomla site.

There's a demo for the player in the link I provided. Our "new" website is still in development.

[LeAnn B]

That's actually what I've been using, not sure why I thought it was from SermonCentral but I guess it's not. I'm paying the $10 a month to have it ad-free. Here is where we have it implemented

Originally Posted by Mark0514

Here's just an idea. We have been using sermon.net, which is totally free. They maintain an archive of your audio and will give you an embed code for their player on your site, and they also handle the podcast. All the user does is upload the file and add the info (sermon title, etc),. There is a little add window running (for sermon.net or other ministries), but it's really not a bother. Big upside is that someone can do all the sermon uploads and never touch the website.

We're going to be using Joomla in the very near future, and figuring out how to embed was one of my questions, so let me know if you go that route. Can you post a link to your site with the Joomla player so I can see it?

[Mark0514]

LeAnn,

Love the website. I so long for my Church's site to be a functioning part of the ministry I can't stand it. I am not, however looking forward to the learning curve with Joomla. I am curious about so many things I'm gunna burst. I have to wait for the domain transfer before I can do anything.