Tech Forum

My stake presidency received an email about the upcoming Face to Face event on May 12 with Elder and Sister Bednar. It included the statement "We hope you use this event for a Mutual activity." What is the best way to do this technically?

It doesn't look like it will be broadcast over the satellite network, so my first thought is to use a laptop and projector. But many lds.org videos actually point to YouTube, which is blocked on the meetinghouse internet. Is there a way to find out in advance whether this broadcast will work in our stake center?

I'm also wondering whether keeping the wifi enabled will cause a problem with the streaming. Part of the hype for the event is the "two-way conversation", where participants can ask questions, I think using Twitter. Disabling the wifi would prevent that. I'm leaning towards keeping it on, and only turning it off if it causes problems with the stream. Thoughts?

Finally, the broadcast will be translated into several languages. Is there a way to accommodate the translations besides using separate laptops for each language? Does anyone know if audio-only streams will be available for the languages?

Non-technical info on the event: https://www.lds.org/church/events/new-f ... ter-bednar

rsidwell wrote:Is there a way to accommodate the translations besides using separate laptops for each language? Does anyone know if audio-only streams will be available for the languages?

I wouldn't count on different streams being in sync. I would suggest setting them up in separate rooms so sync issues won't be a problem.

Besides, if an audio stream was available, wouldn't you need a separate laptop for that anyway?

Maybe you could have the youth go in smaller groups to various members' homes (like youth leaders and bishopric members) to watch the event.

rsidwell wrote:My stake presidency received an email about the upcoming Face to Face event on May 12 with Elder and Sister Bednar. It included the statement "We hope you use this event for a Mutual activity." What is the best way to do this technically?

Announcements in two different locations at LDS.org have been updated to show that the event will be broadcast on the Church satellite system.

lajackson wrote:Announcements in two different locations at LDS.org have been updated to show that the event will be broadcast on the Church satellite system.

Not that I don't believe you, but I had no luck confirming it.

The last paragraph on the church's Face to Face with Elder and Sister Bednar page states:

Watch live via the Church satellite system, or watch live and join the conversation on the Youth Activities site, the Mormon Channel YouTube site, and the LDS Youth Facebook page (where a recording of the broadcast will be archived for later viewing as well).

What I want to know is how do I stream it to a ward building that doesn't have a satellite system? (Obviously, YouTube isn't the answer.) Is there a way I can test it NOW to make sure it works? I'd hate to pack in a bunch of youth who've been instructed to spiritually prepare themselves for this live event with an apostle, only to have technical difficulties preventing them from participating.

Mikerowaved wrote:What I want to know is how do I stream it to a ward building that doesn't have a satellite system? (Obviously, YouTube isn't the answer.) Is there a way I can test it NOW to make sure it works? I'd hate to pack in a bunch of youth who've been instructed to spiritually prepare themselves for this live event with an apostle, only to have technical difficulties preventing them from participating.

You could try playing the Lindsey Stirling event from the Youth Activities page. The Facebook page seems to link to the Youth Activities site, so that may another route to the same feed.

It looks to me to be using the same brightcove player as General Conference.

russellhltn wrote:You could try playing the Lindsey Stirling event from the Youth Activities page.

Good suggestion. Just got back from the ward building and it was able to stream the Linsey Stirling and David Archuleta recordings without any problem, so I HOPE that's a good sign that Elder & Sister Bednar's event will stream live from that site as well.

BTW, the data stream from the recordings would buffer at 10 Mbps for a few seconds, then zero for a few seconds, then 10Mbps, etc., averaging around 3 Mbps. This appeared to be their highest quality stream. If it's like Conference, It will scale back the quality if it doesn't have adequate bandwidth. I post this so those forced to use lower BW connections will be aware they might have quality issues.

I was able to stream from the Youth Activities page with no problem. I had it all set up, then thought I would check the satellite, and was very pleasantly surprised it was broadcast there (I missed the memo that that would happen). I immediately switched to the satellite since it is more reliable. If anyone responsible for making that happen reads this, a very heartfelt THANK YOU!

My time setting up the internet stream wasn't wasted; I now have experience with a backup method if we ever have a satellite problem during a broadcast!

The best thing about the itnernet stream as a backup is that it is behind satelite enough that if you act fast, you may not miss any of the broadcast (of course that means you're dependent on the stream for the remainder).