Tech Forum

I've noticed from the forum that others are recording broadcasts as we are. We recently had our Stake Conference broadcast to us. I recorded it on VHS and that tape has become very popular. Many have asked if I can record the individual talks in digital form and distribute them. I hesitate because of copyright laws. Is there a policy that covers the recording and distribution of these broadcasts? Can I create a digital copy of the broadcast and make it available to members of our stake? I know how, just don't know if I should.

Just to be clear, you're talking about a Stake Conference, correct?

I believe the General Handbook of Instructions contains prohibition against recording visiting general authorities. At minimum you'd need to obtain their permission to distribute any recordings of them.

I don't know of any guidance regarding local leaders or members. From a legal standpoint, I'd be concerned about any distribution that the speakers were not aware of when they gave their talk.

My biggest concern is that once digitized these kinds of things grow legs and start showing up in other places - like YouTube. That's spreading the message far beyond the intended audience and ecclesiastical authority.

Personally, I'd be disinclined to do this.

I guess I didn't explain fully. Our last Stake Conference was not a visiting authority, it was a satellite broadcast from Church Headquarters. All of Davis County was involved in the conference and it was broadcast at several different times on the Sunday of Stake conference. The recording I am referring to was recorded directly off the broadcast feed, exactly like others in this forum have described recording other broadcasts.

We would like to record other broadcasts as well such as Young Womens, Priesthood sessions, etc. but we are concerned about distribution of these recordings. I see from this forum that recording these broadcasts is fairly common. I just want to know if there is anything covering distribution of these recordings.

I think this is very different from recording a visiting authority with a video camera. We're not doing that.

The Priesthood session of General Conference is made available in the DVD set the Church puts out, so you have that already covered.

However, the Young Women meeting, the General RS meeting, and certain other major broadcasts are not available on DVD afterwards, just online in mp3 form and maybe video. I never see anything from the stake conference broadcasts, save for a few quotes in the news or in some of President Hinckley's 'Inspirational Thoughts' messages at times in the last couple of years he was still with us. So I doubt they would want to make those available even locally. Just my thoughts.

flyboyscott wrote:Our last Stake Conference ... was a satellite broadcast from Church Headquarters.

When we had a satellite stake conference, we were told that we were not authorized to record the broadcast.

In general, we are allowed to record almost anything on the satellite to put in the meetinghouse library (now called the resource center?) for members to check out and view. But not the satellite stake conference, and not Legacy, when it was broadcast.

flyboyscott wrote:The recording I am referring to was recorded directly off the broadcast feed, exactly like others in this forum have described recording other broadcasts.

You'll have to go back to the instructions for the conference. In the absence of any instructions that say you can record it, I wouldn't.

MOST satellite broadcasts specifically state that you can record and place in the meetinghouse library. Usually the instruction state require that they be labeled a certain way. For example, .pdf]the last YM Meeting (See page 3)

Now, there's nothing that says what format that recording must be. So you can do VCR or DVD. If you want to index the DVD to each talk, go ahead. I suppose you could use other video formats, but I would not recommend a different distribution method outside of the meetinghouse library.

Thanks. I had not noticed the copyright instructions before (I'm fairly new the the Stake position). I'll check out the instructions for our Stake Conference and I will pay attention to those instructions in the future.

lajackson wrote:When we had a satellite stake conference, we were told that we were not authorized to record the broadcast.

In the letter of instructions that came prior to our area conference broadcast last year, there was a statement that we could record the broadcast for immediate use in helping reach members of the stake (or words to that effect). The media was then to be destroyed or reused and not made available to anyone.

I have tried to find a document that passed through my hands over a decade ago regarding recording Church meetings. As I recall the instruction of that document was a prohibition against recording Church meetings unless specific instruction was recieved outlining the parameters and restrictions regarding distribution and disposition. The rationale (in my own words) was to prevent unfiltered talk material from being disseminated and then being taken as being authoritative or Church doctrine.

Without Church authorities reviewing recorded material significant problems could arrise as to the content being taken as authoritative and even Church doctrine. Just consider the letter sent out a few weeks ago from the first presidency denouncing false quotations taken from general authorities.

Before recording any meeting, whether it is broadcast or not, Church headquarters should provide instructions on the matter. If there are no instructions then recording should not be done, as I see it, if only to protect against promulgating false doctrine.

jdlessley wrote:I have tried to find a document that passed through my hands over a decade ago regarding recording Church meetings.

Probably from the General Handbook of Instructions. I had forgotten about that when I suggested the default "If it doesn't say, don't do it" in my earlier message. But I think that's a good reason to take that default.