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Red Bowl Challenge. Feed the hungry and win a free website for your church!

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:17:00 GMT

Last week most people in the USA celebrated by eating turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and squash, pumpkin pie and cylinders of cranberry goodness. We all have much to be thankful for. Which is why we are announcing a special holiday challenge that will give back to those in need, when we have plenty. From Thanksgiving Day until New Year's Day, we are asking everyone we know to team up with the good folks over at Rice Bowls to feed children in 52 orphanages across the globe. But we are not only asking, we are going to reward the biggest giver with a big gift!

Our hope is that more than 1,000 churches and gospel ministries will partner with Rice Bowls during this holiday season. To help motivate the givers, Church Plant Media is giving away a FREE website (valued at $1,000 one time + $50/month) to the church or gospel ministry that sponsors the most meals between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Day.

If you don’t need a new website, then the FREE website will be yours to give away in January!

Will you take the Red Bowl Challenge?

1. Fill out the form to order 1 red bowl for your church or gospel ministry.
2. Fill the bowl – inspire everyone to donate between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Day.
3. Send the funds to Rice Bowls by Friday, January 6th and feed some kids!
4. The biggest giver will be given a FREE Church Plant Media website in January.

Who can win the free website?

Any gospel-loving church or ministry that provides the most meals can win. This challenge is designed for congregations and para-church ministries to pool their resources and feed children. The only stipulation that we have in order to win the free website is that participants affirm our Gospel Agreement.

How many meals will be given to orphans?

With the help of over 50 Christian orphanage partners across the globe, Rice Bowls is able to provide 4 meals for every US dollar. That means you can provide 250 meals for the price as a 16-pound Turkey. We’re not saying don’t eat the bird… but we would love your help in feeding the children too!

Why is it an awesome time to give now?

The holidays are a great time to celebrate and give thanks for all that the Lord has done for us. That’s why we have teamed up with Rice Bowls to challenge churches and ministries to take part. In fact, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, Church Plant Media has committed to give a percentage of every website sale, directly to the Red Bowl Challenge. If we all work together, we can do something amazing for orphaned children around the world in the name of Christ.

When will we announce the winner of the website?

We will announce the final meal total along with the website winner on this blog after the 1st week of January. Still have questions? Call Rice Bowls at 866-312-5791, and ask about the Red Bowl Challenge.

To learn more about the Red Bowl Challenge go to: www.redbowlchallenge.org

Hands-on Product Review: Blue enCORE 300 Mic

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:51:00 GMT

Buy directly from Housetop Media to get the best price and free shipping. Every purchase helps support church planters!

Blue enCORE 300 - Buy Now!

Hands-on Product Review: EV Live X ELX112P Speaker and ELX118P Subwoofer

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Every since the launch of the QSC K-series line of speakers I have been a huge fan of them. They redefined the portable powered speaker category raising the bar for sound quality, output power and weight. There have been a string of me-too products to launch since the QSC's such as the JBL PRX series and the Yamaha DSR speakers. They are all good speakers but nothing has made the same waves that the QSC speakers made with their launch.

That all changed with the launch of the new EV Live X series of powered speakers. Not only are they better sounding, but they are also lighter and they cost hundreds less than their QSC counterparts. The EV 12" powered ELX112P sells for $599 compared to the QSC 12" powered K12 which sells for $799. With the subwoofers there is even a bigger difference. The ELX118P 18" sub sells for $799 where as QSC's 18" sub the KW181 sells for $1399, almost double the price. The EV Live X speakers are light, loud and sound incredible. The high frequency 1.5" compression drivers on the main cabinets sound substantially better than the QSC HF drivers with much more clarity and seperation of instruments and vocals within the mix. The low frequency drivers are also impressive putting out more bass in flat EQ mode than the QSC Series puts out with it's DEEP bass boost mode activated.

I did a head to head A/B comparison of the EV Live X series to the QSC K series and came away so impressed that I put my church's speakers and sub on Craigslist that day and ordered the EV Live X speakers.

Check out the video below for the full review. You can order the EV Live X powered speakers right here on our site, or you can give us a call to order at 607-542-9156. Free shipping on everything including the subwoofer.

EV ELX112P 12" Powered Loudspeaker
EV ELX115P 15" Powered Loudspeaker
EV ELX118P 18" Powered Subwoofer

Presonus announces StudioLive Remote app for iPad providing wireless mixer control

Thu, 13 Jan 2011 06:00:00 GMT

Last night Presonus finally announced what many of us have been hoping and waiting for. StudioLive Remote is a native iPad app designed from the ground up to provide wireless control of the Presonus StudioLive 16.4.2 and StudioLive 24.4.2 digital mixers. The software is multi-touch compatible allowing you to adjust multiple faders at once, adjust parametric EQ settings by pinching and dragging and more. The iPad app gives you control over every function of the StudioLive mixers except for the analog knobs like input gain and main aux output knobs. This solution opens up some new possibilities for portable churches. Churches with a low budget, in need of simpler setup or in a pinch can eliminate the need for an audio snake by leaving the mixer on stage and then mixing on an iPad from the mix location. If a church has monitor speakers the sound engineer will be able to walk around the stage and make adjustments to the monitors while listening to the mix. Also, since you can use multiple iPads at once a musician with an iPad could even be given wireless control of their own monitor mix. My hope is that in the near future they release an iPod/iPhone app specifically to only mix aux mixes that musicians can use for their monitors speakers or in-ear montors. The bottom line is that church planters have a lot to be excited about with the StudioLive mixer. It just keeps getting better as more and more features are released in free upgrades.

Purchase a StudioLive Mixer on our site or give us a call at 607-542-9156. We provide free training with every StudioLive mixer.
Presonus StudioLive 16.4.2
Presonus StudioLive 24.4.2

Check out the video of the StudioLive Remote on iPad in action:

New native iPad app coming soon for Presonus StudioLive mixers!

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:37:00 GMT

Website AudioProInternational accidentally released an announcement for an upcoming iPad application for controlling Presonus' line of StudioLive digital audio mixers. The webpage has since been taken down ( http://www.audioprointernational.com/news/2484/PreSonus-provides-iPad-control-for-StudioLive-digital-mixers )

Since the launch of its VSL ( Virtual StudioLive ) software Presonus has demonstrating using an iPad to control it's mixers. But this has required the use of a third party application to remotely control a computer. The results were mixed. Some people complained of laggy controls, confusing setup and an interface that was clearly not optimized for touch screen control.

This new app is exciting as we will probably see a completely revised interface that is specifically designed for multi-touch control. The lag will also more than likely completely disappear as the new app will not have to stream as much data and will be optimized to interface directly with VSL.

I'll keep you informed as we learn more. In the meantime check out the Presonus forum to stay up to date on the most recent information regarding this app.
http://forums.presonus.com/posts/list/5764.page

To Pastors - How to structure the leadership of your tech team

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:00:00 GMT

A lot of pastors I talk to aren’t sure how to structure their church’s tech team. It’s an important decision though. Without properly structured and managed leadership your tech team will go rogue and end up being run by a bearded man who smells like beef and cheese, drinks a lot of mountain-dew and reminds you of the uni-bomber. This guide was written to try and save you some headaches.

After years of leading and serving on tech teams this is the structure I have found works best. I’m not saying it’s the only structure that works, it’s just the one I recommend.

Pastor < Worship Leader < Tech Team Leader < Sound Guys

5 reasons your sound guy should be part of the worship team

1. Creates Accountability
When left to ourselves we all do stupid stuff. We can all agree accountability is a good thing. When your sound/tech team is part of your worship team there is ongoing interaction and accountability. Conversely, when the tech team reports to the pastor more often than not there isn’t much interaction unless the tech team wants the pastor to do something for them. This is typically the structure found in churches where the sound team has gone rogue.

2. Encourages Unity
In some churches the worship team and sound team resemble competing teams in the SuperBowl rather than teams working together for the same goal. By putting the sound guy on the worship team everyone is part of the same team. Plus, in smaller churches the sound guy doesn’t feel like he’s the loner.

3. Fosters Humility
We all struggle with pride. And pride is definitely a struggle for us sound guys. Typically we only get noticed when something goes wrong like feedback or a mic that doesn’t work. Sound guy pride often comes out as being controlling and not wanting to hear criticism. By being under the leadership of the worship leader it encourages the sound guy to serve rather than try and prove his “power”.

4. Inspires Creativity
Once sound guy is recognized as part of the worship team the sound equipment can also be recognized for what it really is, an instrument. The worship leader and sound guy can work together to change the sound by bringing out particular instruments in certain songs or sections of songs. They can begin to experiment with different types of reverbs and delays. They can even work together to EQ instruments and vocals to bring out specific qualities of the instrument or voice. Working together creates much better results than the worship team aiming for one thing and the sound team doing their own thing.

5. Creates a Buffer for the Pastor
I met with a pastor who was completely burnt out from dealing with his church’s technology issues. After speaking with him only a few minutes I easily concluded 4 things.

1. This pastor is spending a ton of time trying to manage technology issues.

2. This pastor doesn’t understand technology issues.

3. This pastor is being pulled away from doing the things he’s good at and should be doing.

4. The reason for all of this was that the tech team didn’t have a leader and everyone reported directly to the pastor.

When you have a designated Tech Team Leader he is your first line of defense when the sound guys have a problem. If he is qualified he should be able to help them find a solution to most problems himself. If the tech leader can't come up with a solution on his own he should discuss the issue with the worship leader. If you are or have a pastor that understands tech and wants to be involved then your situation might differ slightly. But even in those cases I would caution the pastor from bogging himself down in small tech details that should be managed by others.

iPad Music Stand for Worship Teams Now a Reality

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:44:00 GMT

Once again one of our predictions of how the iPad would be used in churches has become a reality. A company called Planning Center has developed an application for the iPad that integrates with their worship music organizational tools. The worship leader can create a song list for Sunday even changing the key on the fly and adding new songs. Each musician gets their own music sheets based on whether they need sheet music or tabs, etc. This is really cool and eliminates the clutter and bulk of giant song binders.

Check out more information on the Planning Center website.

Planning Center Music Stand iPad Walkthrough from Planning Center on Vimeo.

Hands On Review: Blue Microphones enCORE 100 vs Shure SM58 Comparison

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:24:00 GMT

We love reviewing and comparing products here at Housetop Media. It's one of our favorite things to do. We don't like marketing hype and we don't like assuming a particular product is best just because it's the most popular. One of our favorite ways to review a product is to do a comparison review with whatever other product is our current favorite. By giving ourselves a reference point we can really do a detailed analysis helping us decide if the new product has what it takes to become the new standard.

The Blue Microphones enCORE 100 is part of a new line of live performance microphones by Blue Microphones. Blue Microphones is known for making great sounding studio microphones at a great price. They decided they wanted to expand into the live microphone market and created the enCORE line of mics. When I heard about the enCORE 100 I was interested but skeptical. Their are already a bunch of good sounding handheld microphones, especially at the popular $99 price point. The other competition includes:

Audix OM2
Sennheiser e835
AKG D5
Shure SM58

Each of these mics have their own strengths and weaknesses, but no one can argue that the Shure SM58 is considered to be the standard for mics in this category by most. That's why we chose to do a head to head comparison between the long reigning champ the Shure SM58 and the new Blue Microphones enCORE 100.

Check back soon for the review of the Blue enCORE 200. Don't want to spoil the review, but I'll let you know that after trying them I replaced my church's microphones with the enCORE 200.

For more info check out the enCORE 100 and 200 product pages:

Blue Microphones enCORE 100
Blue Microphones enCORE 200

Watch the 720p version to hear the best audio quality

Blue Microphones enCORE 100

UPDATED: Apple iPad Used to Wirelessly Control Presonus Studiolive Audio Mixer

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:00:00 GMT

In a previous blog post I talked about some of the future uses of the iPad that I envisioned for churches. One of the possibilities I mentioned was the ability to control an audio mixer remotely using the touch display of the Apple iPad. I wanted to share with you guys how this has already become a reality with the Presonus StudioLive 16.4.2 and the StudioLive 24.4.2 mixer. I was already a huge fan of the StudioLive, now I'm just amazed. What I'm really excited about is that according to Rick Naqvi on the Presonus forums, Presonus is currently developing an iPad specific application that will better take advantage of the screen size and multi-touch display. I can see some portable churches deciding to ditch an audio snake and just leave the mixer right up on stage and mix on their iPad over wifi.

VIDEO UPDATE: Presonus just came out with a brand new video demonstrating using the Apple iPad to control the StudioLive mixer. They even show you how to do it without using a separate wifi router, just your iPad and a Macbook.

Click here to purchase or learn more about the Presonus StudioLive 16.4.2 digital mixer with FREE shipping and training

How to use Audacity to make your MP3 sermon podcasts sound professional

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 15:00:00 GMT

In this 2 part video tutorial I'll show you how to make your church's sermon audio recordings sound great.

I'll show you how to:

Set up Audacity's visual workspace

Trim the sermon start and end points
Amplify the recorded audio
Compress the audio for consistent volume levels
Remove noise like hisses and hums
Convert and systematically archive using iTunes

Part 1

Part 2

How will churches use the Apple iPad?

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 15:00:00 GMT

Seems like everywhere you turn someone is talking about the new iPad from Apple. Some people argue that it doesn't serve a purpose while others argue that it's the future of computers. The one thing you can't argue though is that this is a completely new type of device that opens the door to new possibilities. I am especially excited about what this means for churches. Lets take a look at a few ways churches could possibly use the iPad.

Digital Music Stands for the Worship Team
Imagine if the Worship leader could simply select the song list for the service from a complete library of your church's worship music. His iPad would wirelessly send the set-list to the rest of the band's displays. You could change the key of the song and instantly everyone's sheet music is updated. The soundman or pastor could also communicate with the worship team by sending them text messages that are displayed on their screens. The pastor could request a particular song or the soundman could let the guitarist know he needs to tune his guitar. All without distracting the congregation.

Sermon Notes and Projector Control for the Pastor
The pastor could load his outline for the sermon into an app on the iPad that also allowed him to control slides and videos being displayed on the video projector. All he would need to do is touch the slide or video he wants to show. Each section of his notes can also be assigned a certain amount of time helping him keep on schedule.

Interactive Resources for the Congregation
Eventually many church members will be using iPads (or similar devices) as their Bible and to take notes. The church could use this as an opportunity to get live feedback allowing the pastor to ask a question and immediately get a live poll. In reverse the congregation could also submit questions that the pastor could view and address. Once devices like the iPad are as standard as cell-phones churches could even ask visitors to fill out a visitor form by making it available to them on their device. All of the data would immediately go into the database.

Digital Audio Mixer Control for the Soundman
Using an iPad and a wifi connection and the right software a soundman could control a complete sound system wireless from his iPad. This would allow you to leave the mixer up on stage and eliminate a bunch of cables. The soundman would be free to move around the sanctuary and mix from any location. Systems like this already exist, but the iPad coupled with a digital mixer like the Presonus StudioLive would be the first time a system like this was affordable to your average church.

Encouraging Members to Check Out New Books and Music
Most churches are limited in the number of books or CD's they can stock and offer to their members due to space and budget constraints. With the iPad members can read preview chapters of a book and can listen to song samples. This frees the church up to be able to recommend a broader range of resources to its members. And since members can preview resources before purchasing them they won't be afraid of getting a book or music they don't like.

These are just a few of the ideas that came to mind as I was thinking about how the iPad could possibly be used in churches. I'm sure there will be many more creative ideas that will surface over the coming months and years. It's not going to happen overnight, but the possibilities look exciting for churches. What are your thoughts? How do you see the iPad (and similar tablets) being used in the church?