We are excited at this new release and hope to see features like native MOV H.264 and more.

The one thing I like about SoftTouch the maker of EasyWorship is they simply do not add any marketing fluff. They will just release it when it is ready and history has shown that their releases are stable at version 1. Keep up the great work SoftTouch and I can’t wait for this new cross-platform release!

If you want to purchase EasyWorship 2009 and receive a free upgrade to 2010 when it is ready you can purchase it from Worship Media Pro and get free backgrounds included. Nice deal!

Stay tuned….

There is one other worth mentioning. Countdown clock in included like ProPresenter 4 you have the option of creating your own custom timer and never needing to purchase another again!

Pick up your copy of MediaShout 4.5 at Worship Media Pro and get their entire collection of backgrounds free.

Get more information on choosing backgrounds here.

Motion Background Sizes
There are two common sizes used for motion loops. These sizes have become the unwritten standard in the worship community.

Widescreen 720p
This is a newer size used in Church projection today. The format is for wider 16:9 projection screens and allows for more horizontal real-estate. This is also the HD format for mini movie clip playback as well. The resolution is 1280×720. A common encoding is MOV format to maintain resolution. However, the new features in WMV allow for 2-pass VBR to deliver high quality Windows native encoding.

Standard 480p
Still popular in Churches around the world and for more years to come. This size is more of a square design 4:3 aspect ratio. The motion video resolution is 640×480. Common encoding for this format is MOV and WMV.

Formats
MOV is native to Mac OS X and H.264 encoding. You can use K-Lite codec for MOV use on Windows operating systems. Used in ProPresenter natively. EasyWorship and MediaShout with K-Lite Codec.
Installation tutorial on installing K-lite codec here.

WMV is native to Windows and with 2-Pass VBR maintains high quality HD video. Used in EasyWorship and MediaShout.

MPEG-1 is an older interoperable encoding but lacks quality and is slowly phasing out.

Great work Renewed Vision! I’m excited and looking forward to the production release.

If you want to get the beta you can sign-up for it here:
http://forums.renewedvision.com

If you purchase a site license for ProPresenter 4 (Mac version) today you can use it on your favorite Mac Apple OS X and when the Windows version is released you can use the same site license. I like this license model because it allows for cross platform assurance.

To get your copy today go here:
Purchase your site license here

To get more information on ProPresenter you can visit this link:
http://www.worshipmediapro.com/products/propresenter/

The Windows version will have the same features the Mac version has today.

The minimum system requirements are:

Processor: 2.0GHz Core Duo or above
OS: Windows XP, Vista and Win7
RAM: 2 GB RAM
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or higher that supports dual display (Min. 512MB VRAM & PCI Express or 8X AGP that supports DirectX Version: 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c) or higher)
Stage Display: Additional output required for stage display function (third video out – PCI or USB)
NOTE: For heavy or advanced use of video (i.e. multiple video clips per slide, HD content, etc.), a faster system is advised.

Now before I touch on the new features keep in mind that ProPresenter has been around for 10 years. This is a very mature worship presentation software and highly admired in the large worship center communities around the world.

You can get a bundle deal from various worship resource sites including Worship Media Pro. They are offering all of their backgrounds (Motion, still etc) with your purchase for free. Here is the bundle offer link.

Here is a glimpse at ProPresenter’s new features.

1. Enhanced Interface – Movie controls and audio bins help keep your media organized.

2. Multiple Libraries – Create libraries for sermons, songs, video, music etc.

3. Web View – Queue web sites for presentation

4. Library Sync – Sync libraries over a network

5. Countdowns and Alerts

6. Custom Templates

7. Presentation Layers – Overlay live feed, text and motion video to a projector.

8. Import PowerPoint – Directly into the application verses the old manual process.

9. Stage Display – Use a simple USB video adapter

10. Presentation Views – See all slides in your schedule to know what is coming up next.

MUCH MORE!

Don’t forget about all the core features that has made ProPresenter so popular for over 10 years. Text over motion (now HD), Video Jockey (Mini-movie playback), Bible Engine, and more.

Since it is built on a very reliable platform the software is flawless in operation and plays stunning HD mini-movies and motion loop backgrounds.

The interface is like other presentation software with a smooth flow of scheduling, queuing and ‘go live’.

If you want to get more details of the features and take advantage of bundled backgrounds check out Worship Media Pro’s website for a ProPresenter bundle here.

Please let know your personal experience with ProPresenter and how you use it.

Blessings,

Tony

View EasyWorship 2009 Tutorials

There are some new features in EasyWorship 2009 that I discussed in a previous article. Make sure to check it out.

Let me know your thoughts on EasyWorship as well.

In September 2009 SoftTouch releases EasyWorship 2009 version of the worship software with some amazing key features. From listening to their community of EasyWorship users they have assembled the ultimate worship software tool kit for our new multimedia venues and audience. 

Some new features in EasyWorship 2009

• Full 1080p video background playback
• Foldback (Stage Display)
• Video Jockey Live Background Switching
• Audio Integration
• Web Display
• Integrated Media Store
• Updated User Interface
• Back End Retooling

To get more information on what’s to come you can view the official EasyWorship 2009 announcement blog.

If you are looking to purchase EasyWorship 2009 I recommend getting it through Worship Media Pro. They have a worship software bundle that includes their entire collection of worship resources when you order EasyWorship 2009 from them. Worship Media Pro is also launching a training series on EasyWorship 2009. Should be some good stuff. You can get details and ordering information here.

Caution: Stay away from the NVIDIA Quadra chipset because of known support issues with worship software like EasyWorship.

Here is a list of good NVIDIA GeForce cards that work on all Window’s based worship software:

• 7600, 7800, 8400, 8600, 9400, 9500
• HD Support 8800, 9600, 9800

You could also use some basic NVIDIA cards like 5500 or 6200 but I would check your worship software website to ensure these basic video cards work.

Capture Cards

Capture cards are used to get live camera feed from stage cameras to project through your worship software. The biggest challenge is delay of capture to presentation on the projection screen. As an example in EasyWorship you should set the capture setting to 640×480. This is great for projection quality. You would not want to record at this setting due to quality.

Some recommended capture cards for Window’s machines:

• KWORL X-Pert VS-L883D (5 volt PCI)
• ViewCast Osprey 100 (5 volt PCI)
• AverMedia EZMaker (5 volt PCI)
• ViewCast Osprey 230 (Universal PCI)
• KWORLD PlusTV PVRTV-PE360-A (PCIe x1)

One draw back is text over moving backgrounds. There has been no support for this feature and no roadmap from Microsoft regarding text over moving backgrounds. This is the focus of my blog today. What can we do about this setback using PowerPoint. There is some good news. Third party companies have developed plugins for PowerPoint which allow for moving backgrounds (video backgrounds) to play in a PowerPoint presentation with text overlay. The last problem is the price. I’m convinced they have no idea who their customers are or who their customers can be. If they priced this right it would ’sell out’. Maybe one of the companies just might read this blog.

Where to get your moving background plugin

• Crystal Graphics PowerPlug
• 123PPT Video Background Player

The best price is from 123PPt but it is not very user friendly. The best all around plugin is from Crystal Graphics but it is a little more expensive.

The moving background file codec is WMV used in Windows Media Player. PowerPoint is very stable playing 4:3 640×480 size video.

To sum it up you can play moving backgrounds in PowerPoint but you need a plugin to get it done. If you have not started using worship software in your Church I highly recommend you check out software specifically designed for worship (EasyWorship, MediaShout etc.).