Screens and livestream
Words on phones
Some people find the screen hard to read: their eyesight isn’t what it was, they’re hard of hearing and like to read along, or they sit behind a pillar. With Words on phones they can follow the words on their own phone, as big as they like.
- It shows the song’s words, the Bible reading and the sermon slides, and moves on by itself when you change the slide.
- For a song it shows the whole verse or chorus, with the lines on the screen now marked. For a Bible reading it shows the whole reading, with the verses on the screen now marked, and the name of the translation.
- Nothing to install. People scan a code with their phone’s camera and a web page opens.
- No PIN, and nobody can change anything from it. The page only shows the words.
- It only works inside the church, on the church Wi-Fi. Nothing goes on the internet.
Some things never go to the phones: parent alerts and notices, the preacher’s notes and prompts, and the band’s chords. Only the words.
Turning it on
- Click Screens… at the top right.
- Scroll down to Words on phones and click Turn on.
- The first time, Windows may ask whether to allow PraiseAV on the network. Tick Private networks and click Allow.
PraiseAV shows a QR code and the address. It stays on next time you open PraiseAV, until you click Turn off.
Putting the code on the screen
Before the service, put a slide on the screen that tells people how to join.
- In Screens… › Words on phones, click Add the “Words on your phone” slide to the service. It goes at the top of the service.
- Click Done, then show the slide like any other, before the service starts.
The slide says Words on your phone, with a big QR code and the address under it. The code always has the right address, even if the computer’s address changes from one week to the next.
You can change the words on the slide, or move the code, in the slide designer: select the item and click Edit slides. Keep the code large, so phones at the back can read it.
What people do on their phone
- Join the church Wi-Fi.
- Open the camera and point it at the code on the screen. Tap the link that appears.
(Or open the web browser and type the address shown under the code, such as
192.168.1.20:8270.) - The words appear, and follow the screen by themselves.
At the top of the page there are three buttons:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| A− | Smaller words |
| A+ | Bigger words |
| ◐ | Light or dark background |
The phone remembers the size and background for next time.
Before the service the page says Waiting for the service to start. When there are no words on the screen (a picture, a video, or Black or Logo), it says so, and the words come back by themselves.
How many are following
Screens… › Words on phones shows how many phones are following now.
If it doesn’t work
- The church Wi-Fi: the phone must be on the same Wi-Fi as the PraiseAV computer. A guest Wi-Fi often keeps phones apart from the computer, and then the page won’t open. Ask whoever looks after the Wi-Fi, or put the PraiseAV computer on the guest Wi-Fi.
- Mobile data: a phone using mobile data (4G or 5G) instead of the Wi-Fi can’t reach the page. Turn the Wi-Fi on.
- The firewall: if Windows asked about the firewall and someone clicked Cancel, phones can’t reach PraiseAV. Search the Start menu for Allow an app through Windows Firewall, find PraiseAV, and tick Private. (Ask whoever looks after the computer if you’re not sure.)
- The phone says “Can’t reach the church computer”: PraiseAV was closed, or Words on phones was turned off. It carries on by itself when PraiseAV is back.
- An old address: if someone saved the page last week and the computer’s address has changed, scan the code again.