STREAMING SOLUTIONS
AV WISDOM FROM CCI SOLUTIONS’ VAN METSCHKE
CCI Solutions was founded in 1976 by Denny
smaller churches?
Bradley (1939-2017) who had a vision to
provide top quality audio, video, and recording [Van] There are several reasons to go with
solutions to help churches more effectively a dedicated service instead of just Facebook
present the gospel. From a small office with Live or YouTube Live. One reason is that most
5 employees to their current operation with paid services offer tech support during the
more than 50 people, CCI Solutions has one streaming. That can be invaluable especially for
of the longest tenures and best reputations in a church that doesn’t have a tech staff. These
the audio, video, and lighting industry. CCI’s services will almost always recommend or
Van Metschke is a friend to the Worship provide specific encoding equipment that their
Musician family and has presented at several system works best with and they are willing
Christian Musician Summits over the years. We to support if need be. Another big reason to
always value his experience-born wisdom and go with a dedicated streaming service is the
appreciate his making time for this Q&A. content strike issue. Although we know that
every church streaming and recording their live
[WM] Van, thanks for sharing your time and having a camera or converter fail is always a worship makes sure to do their due diligence
insights - much appreciated. Noting that possibility. Not to mention the streaming service on all the copyright fees and reporting,
streaming is the buzzword at the moment, may have issues that can’t be controlled by the YouTube and Facebook are notorious for
can you define the common terminology and church in the moment. having automated bots that look for music and
technology to help level the playing field for
those who might be new to all of this?
can take down a stream without notice. That is
[WM] We’ve also interviewed Pastor Tim never good during the service, not to mention
Bayer and Matt Kees from Our Savior Lutheran the chance of getting the churches channel
Metschke] When we talk about Church, who are a client of yours. One tool banned because of it. There is also the issue
‘streaming’ church services we are talking they’ve used is to stream each service live of not being able to control the advertising
about getting a video version of a church service on the Church Online Platform, and then that happens before and after the church
either live or recorded on one or more platforms repurposed their messages on Vimeo. What service feed.
on the internet that is accessible to everyone are the advantages of a dual pronged approach outside the walls of the church building on a like that?
[Van
[WM] When we spoke the other day you
PC, device, or smart TV. The content can be
pointed out that it wasn’t just churches who
“Live” meaning it is broadcast in real time, pre- [Van] Our Savior’s scenario is very common. made a run on streaming gear, schools and
recorded and played on demand or both. I think the biggest advantage to doing both is businesses were also part of the buying frenzy.
that viewers can chose the experience they You also pointed out finding a temporary
[WM] On the technical front, what are the pros would like to have, which means that more solution while investing in a smart longer-term
and cons of streaming vs. shooting and then people will potentially watch. By offering it later solution would be judicious. Specifically, for
posting a service. on Vimeo or some other platform you also have churches who are new to streaming, what are
the ability to edit the final product that will be some of the easy ways to start streaming that
posted in perpetuity, should any issues arise. require little or no cash outlay?
services have a DVR function that records [WM] There are a number of differences [Van] Streaming a service live can be as simple
the stream for you. That way you can also between streaming live to Facebook and as getting an inexpensive app for your PC or
post it for viewing anytime. The downside of YouTube, compared to streaming to something Mac live OBS or eCAMM Live. Both of these will
live streaming is that anything can happen. like the Church Online Platform. Can you detail let you set up and control a stream to YouTube,
Technical issues from live mistakes such as the most obvious ones as well as some of Facebook, Twitch and various other streaming
having the wrong words up on the screen to the tech implications they have, especially for platforms. OBS is free and eCAMM Live starts
[Van] Streaming a service “Live” can give you
the best of both worlds as many streaming
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May 2020
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