Strategy for playing "Come, Follow me"

Discussions on how emerging technology can assist the distribution of media content through mobile, kiosks, Internet, social networks, etc.
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rknelson
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#71

Post by rknelson »

ericb wrote:I've been looking for a unified and simple way for them to have access to on-line content, which would compliment the need for the SS, YW, and YM programs.
RussellHltn wrote:I think we need to find a way to deliver the content in easy and quick to access format. In doing so, we need to keep from being caught up in "what's cool".
The Roku USB approach is pretty easy. But it can be really user friendly, IF someone takes the time to download and organize files on a thumb drive. You can add jpeg files that become icons for directories and videos so they are easy to recognize, and include pictures to use in the discussions, etc.

Let me give one example. A January YM outline suggests: "Show the young men the First Vision scene in the video “The Restoration,” or show a picture of the First Vision (see Gospel Art Book, 90). "

If you want to make that really "tech easy" for a teacher, you provide the picture to display on a TV as a photo AND the scene (11:48 to 15:28 in the 19 minute long video) ready to play. The video also needs a small thumbnail image to make it easy see and navigate to the video, not just a name. And of course, the material is organized by month and discussion outline. To accomplish this you need to edit the video so that only the 4 minute scene is in the outline directory, grab screenshot and name it the same as the video clip so it becomes the thumbnail image, download the picture, and get it all in the right directory structure.

If there were a zip file to download by the Stake Tech Specialist and put on thumb drives if would be rather easy. But I expect it would take whole bunch of work to prepare this for all the lessons in SS, YM, & YW for the year.

In the long run, it seems a single local cached copy in each building on a disk drive, accessed over WiFi is a great solution. JohnShaw has discussed something like this here: https://tech.lds.org/forum/showthread.php?13362-Meetinghouse-Wifi-Idea#4
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JonesRC
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#72

Post by JonesRC »

rknelson wrote:There are challenges and people discussing them at church headquarters, but please, please, start communicating with us! If there is an effort to have ISO's I will wait for those before I start burning DVD's, but we need to know that in the next week or two. We really don't want to be going a direction that is contrary to what finally comes out.
To date there are no plans to create ISO's for download. We are discussing ways of making the media for download easier to access and download. A central location on the Month page of the New Youth Curriculum that will allow you to download the media for the month in a zip file. There are currently 23 languages that need to be prepared and a simple and efficient way for all those videos in each language to be accessible. There are some great ideas being proposed in the forum and all are being discussed and followed up on. The first step will be trying to make the video content as easy as possible to locate and download. Thank you for all the ideas and discussion, it is very insightful.
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johnshaw
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#73

Post by johnshaw »

JonesRC - good luck with what you decide, I doubt it will ever be enough at this point for most: - one thing to keep in mind is that meetinghouses are just not setup to view anything other than a video or dvd. The reason an ISO is so nice is that it can be burned to a DVD with a menu and everything... If the Church were to do that centrally for us (sure it is a bunch of languages, no small feat) - but it will save the likely work of thousands of STS across the world downloading mp4 and creating their own DVD... it's what is going to happen, regardless of distribution licensing in place, or not. Give us back thousands of hours of family time and do it at the central office.
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jimhyer
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#74

Post by jimhyer »

JonesRC wrote:To date there are no plans to create ISO's for download. We are discussing ways of making the media for download easier to access and download. A central location on the Month page of the New Youth Curriculum that will allow you to download the media for the month in a zip file. There are currently 23 languages that need to be prepared and a simple and efficient way for all those videos in each language to be accessible. There are some great ideas being proposed in the forum and all are being discussed and followed up on. The first step will be trying to make the video content as easy as possible to locate and download. Thank you for all the ideas and discussion, it is very insightful.
It seems to me that the lowest common denominator for Unit equipment is a ward computer to download and store videos. If it becomes easy to update the folder on the unit computer with just the latest videos that is even easier that burning an ISO, which many units cannot do. Making a copy of the local video folder to USB is very cheap and easy. If a special video is needed the teacher gives the clerk one week notice (unless they can download at home). As the video world moves to a flexible world without a DVD distribution machine we need a monitor and a USB play capability no matter what. We can divide the technology into two clumps: 1. download and store updates. 2. USB display mechanics.
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aebrown
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#75

Post by aebrown »

jimhyer wrote:It seems to me that the lowest common denominator for Unit equipment is a ward computer to download and store videos. If it becomes easy to update the folder on the unit computer with just the latest videos that is even easier that burning an ISO, which many units cannot do. Making a copy of the local video folder to USB is very cheap and easy. If a special video is needed the teacher gives the clerk one week notice (unless they can download at home). As the video world moves to a flexible world without a DVD distribution machine we need a monitor and a USB play capability no matter what. We can divide the technology into two clumps: 1. download and store updates. 2. USB display mechanics.
I don't see how USB is the lowest common denominator. In our buildings, for example, every TV has a DVD player. We have no capability for playing any videos from USB. I haven't reached any conclusions as to whether it makes sense eventually to play videos from USB, but the fact is that we do not have hardware that allows us to play videos that way, but we have plenty of hardware that allows us to play DVDs right now.

It's certainly good to think about the way "the video world moves," but I've been directed by my stake president to have a solution in place before January 1. I don't see how anything but DVDs is practical for our stake at this particular time.
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jimhyer
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#76

Post by jimhyer »

aebrown wrote:I don't see how USB is the lowest common denominator. In our buildings, for example, every TV has a DVD player. We have no capability for playing any videos from USB. I haven't reached any conclusions as to whether it makes sense eventually to play videos from USB, but the fact is that we do not have hardware that allows us to play videos that way, but we have plenty of hardware that allows us to play DVDs right now.

It's certainly good to think about the way "the video world moves," but I've been directed by my stake president to have a solution in place before January 1. I don't see how anything but DVDs is practical for our stake at this particular time.
I assume USB is the lowest common denominator WHEN we have a world where videos are being added regularly and the church can't seem to distribute thousands of DVD's every month. In that world, and until units can download MP4's and then have software to author an old style DVD and hardware to burn it (which is not within reach of some units) adding a $95 USB player per TV seems a logical choice. If a stake can easily create and get DVD's to other units (my units are a 1 hour drive away) then that seems a good short term solution for those environments. DVD's are not practical for our stake, I guess your mileage may vary and I was generalizing too much.
Gary_Miller
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#77

Post by Gary_Miller »

jimhyer wrote: adding a $95 USB player per TV seems a logical choice.
As long as the purchase comes from the proper funding source. Hint the proper source is not the Sunday School or YM/YW Local Unit Budget Allowance.
russellhltn
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#78

Post by russellhltn »

jimhyer wrote:adding a $95 USB player per TV seems a logical choice.
In my stake, that would probably come out to around $1,000. And that's out of a budget that's normally used for activities. If you can tap into a more appropriate budget, like the one the FM group uses to buy the DVD players, let us know.
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Gary_Miller
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#79

Post by Gary_Miller »

RussellHltn wrote:In my stake, that would probably come out to around $1,000. And that's out of a budget that's normally used for activities. If you can tap into a more appropriate budget, like the one the FM group uses to buy the DVD players, let us know.
You would need much more than that, at anyone time you could have six classes needing to play a video.
russellhltn
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#80

Post by russellhltn »

Gary_Miller wrote:You would need much more than that, at anyone time you could have six classes needing to play a video.

6 x $95 = ~$600. What am I missing? I was sticking to one device per existing TV set. Unless the FM group suddenly gives us more TV sets with carts, I'm not going to assume there's a mandate for one TV per class.
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