Setups and hardware

Hardware: what to buy

You don’t need expensive equipment. Most churches can start with a laptop they already have. This page helps when you’re buying, or when something isn’t working well.

The computer

PraiseAV runs on Windows 10 or 11.

An ATEM Mini does the streaming work itself, so with an ATEM the PraiseAV computer only needs the first column.

How many screens can it drive?

Count the video outputs. Each screen showing something different needs its own.

• Laptops usually have one HDMI socket, and often a USB-C or Thunderbolt socket that can also send video (look for a small screen or lightning symbol next to it). With a USB-C to HDMI adaptor (about £15) that’s two screens, plus the laptop’s own.
• Desktop PCs with a graphics card usually have three or four outputs (HDMI and DisplayPort). DisplayPort to HDMI adaptors are cheap.
• Mini PCs (the size of a sandwich) often have two or three outputs, and are good for a permanent install.

Before Sunday

• Turn off automatic Windows updates restarting during service times (Settings › Windows Update › Advanced options › Active hours).
• Set the power plan so the screen never goes to sleep while plugged in.
• Turn off notifications (Focus, or Do not disturb).

Projectors

• Resolution: 1920 × 1080 (“Full HD” or “1080p”) or 1920 × 1200 (“WUXGA”). Avoid “supports 1080p” projectors that are really lower resolution inside. Look for native 1080p.
• Laser projectors cost more, but last about 20,000 hours with no lamps to replace and switch on instantly. Lamp projectors need a new lamp (£80 to £200) every 3,000 to 5,000 hours.
• Short-throw projectors sit close to the screen, so people don’t walk through the beam or cast shadows.
• Makes that churches use a lot: Epson, BenQ, Optoma, Panasonic.

How big a screen?

A useful rule: the screen height should be at least the distance to the back row ÷ 6. A back row 12 metres away needs a picture at least 2 metres high. For a 16:9 picture, that’s about 3.5 metres wide.

TVs instead of projectors

Big TVs are now cheaper than projectors for smaller rooms, and work with the lights on.

• 55 to 75 inch 4K TVs are fine; PraiseAV sends a sharp 1080p picture that looks good on them.
• On the TV, choose Game or PC mode, and turn off motion smoothing.
• If the edges of the picture are cut off, find Picture size and choose Just scan, Screen fit or 1:1.
• For a preacher’s screen on the back wall, a 40 to 55 inch TV is plenty.

Getting the picture there

HDMI cables are reliable up to about 10 to 15 metres. Further than that, the picture flickers or doesn’t appear.

• HDMI splitter (1 in, 2 or 4 out, about £20 to £40): the same picture to several screens, for example two front projectors.
• Label both ends of every cable (“Front projector”, “Back TV”). It saves a lot of time.

MIDI pedals and Stream Deck

• A MIDI foot pedal or a keyboard’s sustain pedal lets a worship leader move the words while playing. Any USB MIDI device works.
• A Stream Deck (Elgato, about £80 to £150) gives the AV desk big labelled buttons.

See MIDI and Stream Deck.

Clickers

Any presentation clicker works: forward is Next, back is Previous, and the blank button is Black. Look for:

• A range of 20 metres or more.
• A USB receiver (no pairing).
• Examples: Logitech R400 or R500s, and many cheap unbranded ones (about £15 to £40).

The phone remote also works as a clicker.

Sound from the computer

PraiseAV’s video and music sound comes out of the computer: the headphone socket, or HDMI to the projector.

• The best way to the sound desk is the headphone socket into a DI box (about £25 to £50), then an XLR cable to the desk. A DI box stops hum and buzz.
• A small USB audio interface (Behringer UCA202, Focusrite Scarlett Solo) gives better sound and a clean connection.

Cameras

For a livestream, or a camera on the big screen. Look for:

• Clean HDMI output (no menus or icons on the HDMI picture).
• Runs from mains power for 2 hours or more without stopping. Some photo cameras stop after 30 minutes, or overheat.
• Optical zoom, to film the preacher from the back of the room.

Good choices:

• Camcorders (Sony Handycam, Panasonic HC-V range, about £250 to £500): simple, reliable, good zoom.
• PTZ cameras (pan-tilt-zoom, about £500 to £1,500): mounted on a wall and moved by remote, with preset positions (pulpit, band, whole room).
• Webcams are fine for trying out, but can’t zoom in from the back.
• Old phones, free: PraiseAV can use any phone on the Wi-Fi as a camera, with no app to install. Add a phone tripod or clamp (about £10) and a long charging cable. See Live video.

Capture cards

A camera’s HDMI needs a capture device to go into a computer (for Live video, or OBS).

• Plug it into a USB 3 socket (usually blue), directly, not through a hub.
• Elgato Cam Link 4K (about £100): widely used and reliable.
• Cheaper USB HDMI capture sticks (about £15 to £30) work well for 1080p.
• An ATEM Mini connected by USB also shows up as a webcam.

Which ATEM Mini?

Blackmagic’s ATEM Mini switchers are small desks that mix cameras and slides. PraiseAV controls all of them.

For most churches, the ATEM Mini Pro is the one: plug in the cameras and PraiseAV, and stream without another computer.

• Plug its Ethernet socket into the church router so PraiseAV can control it.
• Feed it the sound from the desk (an aux send) through its mic input.
• Update it with ATEM Setup to version 8.0 or later.

Internet for livestreaming

• An upload speed of at least 10 Mbps for a steady 1080p stream (test it at speedtest.net during the week, then again on a Sunday).
• Use a cable from the ATEM or streaming computer to the router, not Wi-Fi.
• If the church Wi-Fi is shared with everyone, ask whoever looks after it to keep the streaming cable separate or give it priority.

Shopping lists

Starting out (setup 1): your laptop, an HDMI cable of the right length, a clicker. About £30 if you already have a projector or TV.

With a preacher’s screen (setup 2): add a USB-C to HDMI adaptor, a 50 inch TV with a wall bracket, and an active optical HDMI cable or HDBaseT extender. About £450 to £700.

Livestream (setup 4): add an ATEM Mini Pro, a camcorder with clean HDMI, a tripod, HDMI cables, an Ethernet cable and an audio cable from the desk. About £800 to £1,200.

See Example setups for how each one fits together.