Teradek to Zoom

[russellhltn]

We are being encouraged to move to zoom. Not commanded. Not yet.

But as a precaution, I'd hold off on spending money for infrastructure if it doesn't support Zoom until things get clearer.

[lajackson]

The church just sent a letter indicating that feeds should only be done through zoom.

We [are] trying to understand why we are being asked to move these feeds to zoom when going direct to YouTube removes the computer and simplifies the feed? Anyone know?

The Notice did not say that feeds should only be done through Zoom. The Notice said you should consider changing to Zoom. The reason is so that the event (using Zoom) will show up on the Church broadcasting page for members to find there, along with other Church broadcasts.

In our consideration, we have determined so far, as you have, that feeding the Teradek encoder directly to YouTube works just fine. The link is available at the stake YouTube channel, which is easy for the members to find. And there is no need for extra adapters, laptops, or other equipment, along with an operator to learn how to use them, that would be required to feed Zoom instead.

While there is a benefit to switching to Zoom, we have determined so far that the benefit does not outweigh the effort and cost of changing something that works very well for us at the present.

[slloyd]

We also have been using YouTube for years without issues. I have/had the same concern. Does anyone know is Zoom feeds are searchable and findable on a smart TV, like YouTube feeds are? Moving to Zoom will surely complicate things for our stake.

[lajackson]

Does anyone know if Zoom feeds are searchable and findable on a smart TV, like YouTube feeds are? Moving to Zoom will surely complicate things for our stake.

I do not believe they are.

We webcast to five meetinghouses during our stake conference using YouTube. If we switch to Zoom, would they need to commandeer a laptop capable of running the Zoom client in order to receive the webcast?

Or could they just click on a button at the Church broadcast page and the Church would feed the webcast through the browser?

When I click on other Church broadcasts, the just send me a YouTube feed anyway.

[brad_p]

Zoom heavily prefers their client side app to show a broadcast.

Zoom does have a browser portal in can use in case the receiver does not want to use the client side app. But it's a few clicks to get this up and running, and it isn't obvious.

The church's new broadcast page would simply give a Zoom link with the meeting code. From here, the client would still need to use their pre-installed app (most likely) or click around and get it working in their web portal. (This latter point is one of the reasons why we chose YouTube as our primary broadcast over Zoom, as we don't want to train 85 year old widows how to download, install, and launch Zoom. YouTube is designed to be click-and-go.)

[slloyd]

Zoom heavily prefers their client side app to show a broadcast.

Zoom does have a browser portal in can use in case the receiver does not want to use the client side app. But it's a few clicks to get this up and running, and it isn't obvious.

The church's new broadcast page would simply give a Zoom link with the meeting code. From here, the client would still need to use their pre-installed app (most likely) or click around and get it working in their web portal. (This latter point is one of the reasons why we chose YouTube as our primary broadcast over Zoom, as we don't want to train 85 year old widows how to download, install, and launch Zoom. YouTube is designed to be click-and-go.)

I totally agree. Many in my stake are also older and do not know how to use a computer that well. Most smart TVs have a YouTube app so it is super easy. Does Zoom have an app for smart TVs?

[tostergaard1532]

this is a derect quote from the end of the second paragraph in the letter labeled "New Tools and Guidelines for Managing Local Broadcasts"

"YouTube and other services are currently being reviewed but are not approved as official tools
for broadcasting Church events"

so it sounds fairly strait forward that it's saying not to use youtube until it is approved. but i totally agree that with the teradek youtube is the best way. mainly because it has the least amount of failure points in the back end and the youtube app is widely available and easy to use for the members.

[BrianEdwards]

so it sounds fairly strait forward that it's saying not to use youtube until it is approved.

As already mentioned here and in many other similar Forum posts, a number of Forum members read that part of the letter differently. For example, this post (and entire thread) give a different perspective on how to read the letter:
YouTube is not a church approved broadcast service?

[russellhltn]

As others have expressed, while not officerly approved, there's no directive to discontinue non-approved methods.

I'll also point out that for large events (500+) Zoom cannot handle it and it would have to overflow to YouTube anyway.