ChurchPresentationSoftware
Background:
Our church used EasyWorship for many years. In moving from PowerPoint to church presentation software capabilities, I was excited about the possibilities of having motion backgrounds and using a database for song searching and "set list" creation capabilities. I'm a web-based computer programmer/musician/techie so the possibilities seemed wonderful.
Soon after I started using EasyWorship, I wanted more content. Having dabbled in videography, I decided to try to make some of my own loops. After creating my own loops, I deleted all of the samples that came with the package. I then became a content provider with EasyWorship. The company made purchasing content easier for non-EasyWorship customers in the mid 2010's. You can find my content on their site.
The big downside to EasyWorship is that it is Windows only. I'm a Mac guy. I ran EasyWorship via BootCamp successfully for many years. Running it on a VM was sketchy. Softouch Development, inc., the company that makes EasyWorship, had talked about a Mac version coming out for years. Last year (April 2016) I decided I couldn't wait any longer, so I searched for, and found, a Mac solution that fit my budget.
My research was intended to be only for my use so there are some gaps in the search results. I may update the research some day again. Basically, if I didn't like it, I moved on.
I joined a "Visual Church Media" Facebook group and found that many people were asking about church presentation software so I decided to create a blog with my research from last year. While doing so, I found out that the software I'm using, was discontinued back in October of 2016. While it still functions (and is great software), I plan on looking for a replacement soon. OS upgrades can affect this type of video-intensive software, so you need a program with active development.
Needs to support
- Mac
- Video backgrounds (motion backgrounds)
- Import PowerPoint or allow functionality with PowerPoint presentations
- Low cost (under $100)
Additional considerations for the next time
- SongSelect song import capabilities
- Dropbox support for modifications from multiple locations simultaneously
Research Results from April 2016
Program | OS support | Cost | Data |
---|---|---|---|
ZionWorx | Windows only | ||
LiveWorship Version 1.3.85, released publicly on May 20, 2011 | Mac and Windows | $300 site license | |
Proclaim | $250 annually? Tiered pricing based on church size | ||
Quelea | $0 | Sketchy download | |
OpenLP | $0 | Doesn't support background videos | |
EpicWorship | Mac | $0 | Installed, not that great |
OpenSong | Mac | $0 | Probably no video backgrounds |
Harmony (& Mac app store) | Mac only | $80 (30 day trial looks good) | Does not support PowerPoint, use with Keynote |
Top 3 Church Presentation Software packages ($400 and up)
Program | OS support | Cost | Data |
---|---|---|---|
ProPresenter (by Renewed Vision) | Mac and Windows, Mac version probably more stable | $400 single license, $800 campus license | |
Media Shout | Mac and Windows, Windows version probably more stable | $400 | |
EasyWorship | Windows | $500 |
Other packages to research
- Proclaim
- Video Psalm (free?)
- Worship Extreme
- Worship Him
Harmony Info
File locations- If purchased directly from Glencode
- Database, Bibles & License ~/Library/Application Support/Harmony/
- Preferences ~/Library/Preferences/com.sweeterrhythm.HarmonyApp.plist
- Media ~/Movies/Harmony/
- If purchased from Mac App Store
- Database, Bibles & License ~/Library/Containers/com.sweeterrhythm.HarmonyApp/Data/Library/Application Support/Harmony/
- Preferences ~/Library/Containers/com.sweeterrhythm.HarmonyApp/Data/Library/Preferences/com.sweeterrhythm.HarmonyApp.plist
- Media ~/Movies/Harmony/
08-13-2017 Update
While responding to a post in the Visual Church Media group in October of 2016, and knowing that the video portion of presentation software is highly integrated/dependent on the operating system, I decided to move on replacing Harmony. Our church purchased ProPresenter 6. It's great. Even today I feel I'm only scratching the surface with what it can do. It's pricey though. If my church budget couldn't support $800, I would probably look at one of the free pieces of software previously mentioned instead of using regular presentation software. The benefit of storing songs in a database and being able to quickly put together 'play lists' highly outways the craziness that you quickly arrive at with a bunch of songs in a slideshow.blogs
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