Media Outreach

Wondering how to keep your videos sharp and clean in Sermon Connect? Wondering what we are doing to increase the resolution size for videos? What about what software you should use to convert your videos?

First, we want to announce that we now have the ability with videos in Sermon Connect to show a full screen version. There is a button next to the volume meter in the video player that will enlarge the video for you. We feel that this is a great enhancement to the video media section of Sermon Connect.

If you have tried to encode a video before you know there are many different variables which can change the quality of the video file. In most encoders there are at least the following variables: Movie Size, Framerate, Bitrate, Audio Bitrate, and Sampling Rate.

Here is a brief run down of what each of these mean. Movie Size is the resolution of the video, and right now this should be set at 320 x 240 pixels. Framerate is the number of still pictures displayed per second to give the viewer perception of motion, for a reference, Television displays at 29.97 frames per second. Movies display at 24 frames per second. We have found for Internet display you only need 15 frames per second (especially when you are only showing at a display of 320 x 240).

Bitrate is the number of bits (or pieces of information) processed per unit of time (normally second). The bitrate we recommend is between 160 and 220 kbps. You can use any bitrate, but know the higher the bitrate the larger the file. Along the same lines, audio bitrate is the number of audio bits are processed per unit of time.ÂWe recommend using a bitrate of 56 kbps. Since most of the videos are of one speaker the bitrate for the audio can be this low.

The last of our terms is Sampling Rate. The Sampling Rate is the rate at which the audio file is processed. By this definition alone it seems that the Sampling Rate is very similar to the Audio Bitrate. But lets dive a bit deeper and see the difference between the two. Bitrate will raise or lower the quality of the sound. Sampling Rate will change the frequency you hear the audio file. For instance, if the Sampling rate is too high the voice(s) will start to sound at a higher pitch (a la Alvin and the Chipmunks). If the Sampling rate is to low the voice(s) will start to sound at a lower pitch (a la James Earl Jones). The Sampling Rate we recommend is 22050 Hz.

As more and more churches start to add video to their website, questions of equipment and software start to arise. Unfortunately we are not the best place to come for questions on video equipment, such as a video camera or any editing equipment. There are many places though that can help out. Most of your local electronics stores can offer advice in this area. Where we can help out is in the field of Encoding software. This is the software which takes the file from your computer and converts it to a file for Sermon Connect use. As with any of these products there are options that fall within any budget. The Encoding software we recommend is the On2 Flix for Flash Encoder. This software can be found at www.on2.com/products/flix. There are a few different price levels for this product. The entry level software is priced at $39.00, compared to the pro level which is priced at $249.00. There is also free encoding software that is downloadable. The one we recommend is the Riva FLV Encoder, which is located at http://www.rivavx.com/index.php?encoder&L=3. About half way down the page you will see the link to Download this file. A note of interest, as with anything in this world you get what you pay for. The Riva software is very user friendly and perfect if you are on a tight budget. The On2 Flix Encoder does offer more options and is well worth the price.