Your main device (best if it’s a tablet with a bigger screen) is the video controller, mixer and, if you want, recorder. But it’s attractive to me: no hardware is needed (I’ll explain further on) and you can connect up to nine devices to make as many cameras as you need (though you will need to scrape together some people in your congregation who have iOS 13.0 iPhones or iPads with the free app downloaded).
It has to be said that, at the moment at least, it only works with iOS devices or Mac computers (Windows is in beta, no Android yet). That’s why I’ve been particularly keen to test a soft solution called Switcher Studio: a subscription-based video mixing app which utilises the cameras on mobile devices connected over a WiFi network. You’ll need HDMI converters (and possibly video mixers) and some way of getting audio into your stream. A decent video camera that can record from the back is going to cost you the best part of £500-£1,000 or more (for example a Canon XH11). However, you will have to be a bit smarter when the building has people in it.įor churches without buildings, the thought of yet another thing to set up (and invest in) fills us with dread that’s certainly how I feel.
If you are recording in your church building, you’ll have dealt with some of the technological solutions already. One of the more likely outcomes of the easing of restrictions is that we will have to pursue some kind of hybrid model of meeting – where some are able to meet in person and others connect through the live streams that have maintained our services during lockdown.įor churches with buildings, there are some relatively straightforward, albeit expensive, solutions to this problem. None of us really know what the next three to four months are going to be like for churches as they meet on Sundays, but we can make some educated guesses.