Software Saturday: ProPresenter 3

I’ve posted a few times about how much I like and/or have been frustrated with Renewed Vision’s software software. Recently I had the opportunity to sit down and spend more time than I ever have before just checking out the features on ProPresenter 3. Oh my goodness, I feel like a whole new world has been opened up to me. It is now official. Without a doubt, ProPresenter is hands down the best lyric presentation software available.

Trust me, I’m not saying that lightly. I’ve used just about everything out there – many times – and none of them even come close. Why? Well, for one thing most of them are for WIndows systems only and I’m not even going to begin to explain again why that is a disadvantage. PP3 has always looked slick and been easy to use but now that I have seen the light with some of the features I wonder if most of their users even know about, I am singing it’s praises and will be using it exclusively when I travel this summer.

Here are some of my now favorite features:

1. Song Automation – insert an audio track (i.e. click track) and record when the slides are supposed to change. Yes, exactly what you are thinking. You can even make it so the words change color or light up as you sing them (i.e. bouncing ball effect).
2. Countdown Timer – with it’s built into countdown generator, you can insert a clock or countdown on top of anything. Mess around with this for a minute and you’ll see how useful it is.
3. DVD Clips – Instead of having to rip sections of a DVD for a short clip, you can set in/out points in PP3 and it will play them directly from the DVD.
4. Live Video Feed – hook up a video signal via firewire or SDI and you can overlay text on a live feed.

There are so many other little things I love (i.e. color coding song sections, quick editing, common sense video library, playlists) that I regret ever saying anything negative about any Renewed Vision products. Just remember – the Apple Button is the most important button.

Software Satruday: Handbrake

I love this program. Have used it many times to get short clips to show in services and this version makes some major improvements over its predecessor. Sorry all you PC users, this one is Mac only.

Panoramic Projection

It is only a matter of time before you see this in a church service somewhere. I know, it is not technically software, but considering all the components you’d have to have to pull this off and control it effectively, you can bet there’s some pretty sophisticated programing involved. Wonder if the guys over at Renewed Vision would consider adding some features to make this an easy option on say ProVideoPlayer 2.

Click the picture to read all the jargon you don’t really care about.

Software Saturday: iWorship

UPDATE: So I can set the record straight, we use ProPresenter3 and a love it. We had some issues but RenewedVision was quick to help us out through their forums. I came across iWorship and thought I’d mention it as an option. I’m not suggesting one is better than the other. However, as I said before, we use PP3 and will not be switching anytime soon. 

We’re running Propresenter and Provideoplayer for all of our text and video presentation needs. When they are working, they are great But since they are built around or based on Apple’s Quicktime software, if you happen to download an update to either the Mac OS or to Quicktime, you’re playing roulette as to whether everything will play nice. Renewedvision (the company that makes the above mentioned software) tells you not to update if everything’s working great, though they themselves offer updates fairly frequently to fix bugs and add features. Despite our share of prayer circles and oil annointings around the computer equipment on Sunday mornings, it is all working seamlessly now and we couldn’t be happier.

However, someone at at Granger Community Church got fed up with the stability issues of Propresenter and decided to make their own software that worked like they thought it should called iWorship (are all the other names taken?). It is built to run off the actual video architecture of the computer it is on instead teaming up with another piece of software. They claim is ridiculously simple to learn and way more stable than the software it is openly competing with. Check it out. If you’re not trying to do the three-video screen thing we are or are just looking for presentation software that makes you volunteers not want to run for the hills every Sunday, it might be exactly what you are looking for.

Software Saturday: Anxiety – the Mac App

If you’re a compulsive to-do list individual as I am and happen to be using one of the best computers on the market, you’ll appreciate this little free app.

Software Saturday: Mint

 Okay, yes, technically this is not software, but it is worth mentioning nonetheless. If you have ever wondered where all your money goes and would like an easy method to tell you how messed up your budget is, go check out Mint. For those of you who use Quicken or some other type of financial software, you might not be as impressed as us old-fashioned check balancers. I’m personally not sure how I’ve gone this long without it. Be sure to read all the security information before you dive in an hand these guys all your financial information. Then have fun and be amazed.