Media Shout or Live Worship?

[patc124]

Could I get some feedback to what your preference would be between the two worship software, Media Shout and Live Worship? My church is considering an upgrade from SundayPlus to a completely different worship software. Which out of the two is more user-friendly?

[Sysmom]

Only you and the people on your worship staff and your computer operators are going to be able to answer that question.

They both come to the table with their own strengths and weaknesses, and everyone's needs are different.

Get the demo versions, work them out hard, compare them, go through all the motions as if you WERE going to use them on Sunday for several weeks for each one. Then have the other key people evaluate them the same way.

Make a list of the things which are most important to the way your worship team and pastor want things to work. Note what your existing software does do, and doesn't do to allow this.

Then give each program a rating for those areas.

Really, digging in deep in each one is the ONLY way to do this effectively.

A few years back when we did this, Media Shout came out on top, but I warn you, it was a very close call. So don't be surprised if your scores are close between your candidates, too.

deb

[[Director] Joseph B]

True, while I can give you a great price on MediaShout or MediaShout Express (pm me) I always suggest that you try out a couple of different software packages and see which actually works best in your particular circumstance.
You'll hear people on this board singing the praises of:
Media Shout, Easy Worship, Worship Hym, Song Show Plus, Open Song, etc....
They all do pretty much the same thing but they all do it a little bit differently. Try out a few and pick your personal favorite.

[Mark Finley]

as a frustrated s+ user myself, i feel your pain.

what is it that you want your new software to do, specifically?

i'm not happy with the future of S+, but the present program suits our needs well enough that I haven't jumped ship yet

[genedor]

Here at Woodland Heights Baptist Church tried MediaShout and EasyWorship and found EasyWorship to be much intuitive and easier to use.

Gene D.
Media Team Leader and WebServant

[biltmore]

Our church uses Media shout. I love it with the great capability it has to do many things. But it is not the easiest thing to teach someone - as in volunteers - unless they are good at computers. this is not for the technically deficient. So as great as the program is, it has limited us on volunteer base. Antioch Media

[Sysmom]

Biltmore:

I actually think the hardest part of training volunteers is the intuitive part of following the service correctly, not the computer. The computer stuff just never changes. I send a copy home with them so they can practice that stuff at home and build their confidence with it. But clicking on that button always does the same thing. Right clicking over there always does the same thing. The space bar always does the same thing. Etc.

But knowing the intro to each song, knowing that when the band plays one turn around during a song, they're heading into the chorus, and a different turn around to the song, they're heading back into a verse is utterly CRITICAL for a seamless flow of the media.

Our goal is to have the lyrics up there on the screen before someone in the congregation will look up to read them.

Learning the subtle signs from pastors as the service progresses is crucial, too. At least for us. Neither the band nor the pastor follows everything exactly. Sometimes the prayer will be during the greeting, sometimes before the message. Some announcements get made after the greeting, sometimes Pastor hits one again before the message.

Ultimately, there are so many variables that just making it all look like it is effortless is the _real_ challenge in training.

deb

[riafekim]

Deb you could not have said it better!

Most people don't realize that it is more just clicking a few buttons. You really have to be in tune with what is going on through out the whole service.

We use Media Shout. But like Deb said you need to have your team go through both packages and decide what works best in your situation.

[[Admin] osborn4]

Actually, it's been found that musicians make better projector operators then computer geeks (for song lyrics anyway). They can generally feel the beat and are probably more familiar with the songs.

I happen to be both.

And, yes, check out several. Each church's needs are different. We use SongShow Plus and find it very easy to teach operators, but has a depth of features that allow us to make some really nice programs.

[Sysmom]

Amen to the point about musicians, Joel!

[Sysmom]

P.S. The other thing to keep in mind is that if the person/s who operate it Sunday morning are not the same as the one who puts it together, then be sure to ask them to evaluate _just_ those things.

One of my computer operators knows a GREAT deal about what he has to do, which is push the buttons (software AND hardware) whenever needed, and deal with the audio recording (no small thing). Since he'd *never* create a script ... I wouldn't ask him to even give me feedback on the whole creation part.

deb

[[Admin] osborn4]

Originally Posted by Sysmom

Amen to the point about musicians, Joel!

I get odd looks when I say that I am playing keyboard with the worship team. The room becomes quiet, and I explain, "Computer keyboard" and the ah's go up around the room.

Originally Posted by Sysmom

P.S. The other thing to keep in mind is that if the person/s who operate it Sunday morning are not the same as the one who puts it together, then be sure to ask them to evaluate _just_ those things.

Another very good point. These are two different jobs. I happen to do both, but the other script writer is not an operator and most of the other operators know little of script preparation.