Strategy for playing "Come, Follow me"

TinMan · #41

Sitting around an ipad is not very good in a class of 10 kids...

russellhltn · #42

sammythesm wrote:Has anyone considered a "Come Follow Me" app for tablet

I don't think the church is exactly flush with mobile development teams. At least two would have to be developed - one for iOS and one for Android and maybe even Windows 8. That's 3 apps to do one job.

dannykos · #43

The most cost effective thing for the church to do would be to make downloads available from a central resource. After that, people will make their own decision about either burning DVDs, loading onto smart phones or tablets, or using a media player solution.

We need to remember that the videos aren't the be all and end all of this new material, or the new approach to teaching it. Certainly not at the potential cost of millions of dollars of sacred funds which could be better used building temples, chapes or supporting the ever growing missionary force.

JonesRC · #44

sammythesm wrote:Has anyone considered a "Come Follow Me" app for tablet that will allow a teacher to stream (at home) to decide whether they want to show it, then download the clip if desired, and then show (from local tablet storage) the clip during class? Would function similar to the new Podcasts app on iOS, you can either stream or download.

Yes. There is some development work taking place to test that option. It is in the early stages but is proving promising. Sounds like it would be an additional option to others being discussed and considered. Thank you.

russellhltn · #45

dannykos wrote:The most cost effective thing for the church to do would be to make downloads available from a central resource. After that, people will make their own decision about either burning DVDs, loading onto smart phones or tablets, or using a media player solution.

I think the most cost/labor effective thing is to have a central resource that includes ISO images. That would save everyone having to covert the video to DVD a significantly time-consuming step. Depending on the format, I'm not sure as anyone else would have to do a conversion.

JonesRC · #46

RussellHltn wrote:I think the most cost/labor effective thing is to have a central resource that includes ISO images.

This option has been discussed. Not all the content currently available has been authored for DVD distribution so that is an action that would have to take place in order for the ISO to be available. Depending on the amount of content it could also be a fairly large file to download depending on available bandwidth. All good ideas and balancing the amount of content with the resources to make it all available in 16 languages is a big undertaking. Reaching a Global Church with digital media is a daunting task and one that is being talked about a lot. Finding a way to be as efficient as possible with the sacred funds being allocated to assist the members in using media for teaching and training is, as you all know, a hot topic of discussion.

russellhltn · #47

JonesRC wrote:Not all the content currently available has been authored for DVD distribution so that is an action that would have to take place in order for the ISO to be available.

So far, I think we have 2-3 people just in the forum who would have to do it if it's not done by the church.

JonesRC wrote:Depending on the amount of content it could also be a fairly large file to download depending on available bandwidth.

I agree that the ISO is not the most compact form. So this may come down to bandwidth vs. volunteer time. (Assuming the stake can find someone who can do that.) Now there's a hot topic.

Did I get the issue right? Or is there something else?

aebrown · #48

JonesRC wrote:Depending on the amount of content it could also be a fairly large file to download depending on available bandwidth.

Please don't let any concerns about the download size deter you from making these ISOs available. No matter how long the download takes, it will be MUCH faster than me finding and downloading the videos and then creating a DVD.

jimhyer · #49

JonesRC wrote:This option has been discussed. Not all the content currently available has been authored for DVD distribution so that is an action that would have to take place in order for the ISO to be available. Depending on the amount of content it could also be a fairly large file to download depending on available bandwidth. All good ideas and balancing the amount of content with the resources to make it all available in 16 languages is a big undertaking. Reaching a Global Church with digital media is a daunting task and one that is being talked about a lot. Finding a way to be as efficient as possible with the sacred funds being allocated to assist the members in using media for teaching and training is, as you all know, a hot topic of discussion.

On the other hand each ward can download individual video files as they come out. What is needed is a windows app that runs on the ward computer to turn all those MP4's into a dvd locally. Freeware apps may be available to do that and it would be efficient as it would run on demand in the unit. Another approach is to copy the downloaded mp4's to a USB stick. All we then need is to view MP4's on USB on a display (TV). A $100 roku can do that now against the cheapest TV's and $10 USB. If the church negotiated a bulk purchase we could get a good price on the Roku. We could compare that price to buying a TV that will display MP4's off a USB stick. I suspect the Roku approach will be cheaper IMHO. Then maybe share 1-3 TV's per unit??

Also, If individual members have tablets, there are usually ways to download the videos at home and save for display. We can not afford to stream them all over the church on Sunday morning. I know the Kindle fire will do it now, but it takes a process. Some education on those approaches could help those few with tablets.

Gary_Miller · #50

it seems like a DVD which could be purchased through distribution would be a good way to go.