MediaShout vs ProPresenter, Round 1
March 10, 2008
Based on my conversations with people who have decided on MediaShout or ProPresenter, the PC vs Mac debate is really at heart of the issue. Some of the other issues like “Ease of use” are really just side issues based on which platform you are more used to or can handle.
So Round 1 has to come out in favor of ProPresenter. Macs are easier to use, easier to train volunteers on, and generally speaking (though I’ve seen exceptions first hand) are more reliable.
But, I still choose PC’s and Mediashout for the same reasons. Macs are easier to use and more reliable because they leave you with fewer choices. Businesses default to the PC platform not because they are easier to use, but because they are easier to customize. Their potential is greater because the PC platform is generally open to any form of customizing you want to do and you can make a PC do something you want it to even if Microsoft didn’t think of it first.
I’m generalizing here, but the opposite is true for a Mac. If Steve Jobs & Co didn’t think of it first (or Renewed Vision in this discussion), there’s little you can do to add the feature yourself. This is why Macs are more reliable, people aren’t customizing it with conflicting options or accidentally changing something they didn’t intend to. Developers can’t write code that has the same access to the core of the system the way they can on a PC. This is great if the only developers you interact with write viruses, but bad if you run a business and want to hire developers who can automate your business.
The catch to it all is, you have to know what you are doing. This means that the PC user needs more training, and generally speaking the average user won’t get to utilize the benefits unless they go into advanced training and learn to develop their own software solutions. ProPresenter and Macs in general take much less training to get a new volunteer used to using it, and it’s difficult for them to mess anything up because their aren’t nearly as many options to mess up.
The bottom line is that if you give me a good computer with MediaShout installed, I can usually accomplish more and spend less money than anyone using ProPresenter. But I know what I’m doing, and I will freely admit it’s harder to get a volunteer to start doing what I do.
December 8, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Right now, we are in the midst of this debate. I just happen to have the privilege of having a Mac professional who works with me. He and many others develop stuff for the Mac platform and the cool thing is that most of it is free or very low cost. Many websites, developers, etc. in the Mac World actually “share” their ideas, plug-ins, or whatever freely. Totally different world than the PCs and reliable. I’m going to send him the link to your blog so he can comment further.
December 8, 2008 at 2:22 pm
It’s funny how people who only associate with given groups assume their group has the monopoly on ideas and principles.
Mac users have public forums and developers and clubs and share ideas, plug-ins, or whatever freely.
PC/Microsoft users have public forums and developers and clubs and share ideas, plug-ins, applications, or whatever freely.
Linux users have public forums and developers and clubs and share ideas, plug-ins, operating systems, applications, and everything freely.
There’s nothing I can write that will end the debate about which group is superior or the better choice when deciding which platform to utilize in your organization. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, if you have volunteers that know what they are doing with the Mac platform and will support you, go with it! If you have volunteers that know what they are doing with the PC platform, go with it! If you have volunteers that urge you to go with all open-source/linux and will support you, find more volunteers! (or you’ll be screwed when that volunteer leaves you)
Point is, if you are basing your decision on which group shares ideas more freely or has more “free” software, Linux wins but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone because the pool of people who know what they are doing with it is small and troubleshooting when something goes wrong is painstaking. Microsoft would come in second place, they have an SDK for every application they make. If you want to automate things in Excel, write a Macro. If the Macro is too limiting, open up the Visual Basic window. All of the Microsoft Apps have so much power behind the Visual Basic and developer tools available that it is the number one choice for people who want to write malicious software. Yeah, that’s nothing to brag about, but it also means that the good guys can write some really powerful software too.
The Mac/Apple culture always has a “luxury tax” to it. Yeah, they are opening more doors and allowing developers to start doing more. But the pool of developers is smaller. The pool of generous developers who give away their plug-ins for free is even smaller. Just compare the number of free applications for a Windows Mobile phone and the iPhone. Big big difference. Granted, many of those free tools for the WM rank on the useless side, but it only took them a couple of minutes to make and they are useful to somebody. And all the hardware and retail software costs at least 30% more than a PC equipped to handle the exact same tasks.
Many websites, developers, etc. in the PC World actually “share” their ideas, plug-ins, or whatever freely too. I happen to charge per hour or per application for the stuff I develop because it’s how I provide for my family. Most Mac developers do as well. I do share ideas freely though and participate in forums such as this one for ministry and other Microsoft based ones as well. And as someone who downloads free software all the time, I can say with confidence that there are far far more free and useful programs on the PC platform.
January 8, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Well Said Daniel, I have had debated many times that the cost of a PC with greater specs than a Mac will often cost you less. It is true, if you know what you are doing will not easily fall into trouble on a Windows system. I can appreciate what Apple has done and they get the win for form and design but if you need more options you will have to look elsewhere. ProPresenter does a great job and is currently the best option for Mac users.
January 28, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I have it broken down to some specifics. If your looking for one software to do it all Then Media Shout is good. However it is a jack of all trades and a master of none! Text input is archaic. Formatting text in an easy to use put it where you want style just doesn’t exist. Video playback quality if you have the correct codecs installed is choppy at best. But if you want to go from A few songs to a movie clip to some message notes back to a movie and then a few more songs it will do the Job. (Make sure you disable your network device before running your show!)
Pro Presenter on the other hand is a breeze to create text for lyrics choose multiple backgrounds without glitchy crossfading and plays video’s with ease and looks amazing with no additional junk needed. But come time for the message notes… Your better off with Keynote. Which is far superior to Microsoft Powerpoint. Now you can export your keynote slides as jpg and bring them into pro presenter. But if it’s volunteers running the show and there are last minute changes to the keynote. The changes and then re-exporting of graphics and then re-importing into pro presenter could get to be a bit much. So My suggestion is Build your songs and movie clips in Pro Presenter. Build your message notes and Bible verses in Keynote and Just switch between the programs. Any decent mac can handle both programs running no problem.
March 30, 2009 at 11:04 am
At our church we have the luxury of having a PC and Mac. I agree with much of the previous posts. I have a PC at home which I use for my studio and I can’t get a Mac cause its too expensive. I don’t like how you can’t customize a mac and how expensive it is but I am a nerd so I can use a PC. For Volunteers it does make sense to use a Mac because there is less for them to mess up. My question is in response to Joe’s last post. Can’t you just use Pro Presenter to do Biblical verse in addition to song lyrics. Does it not work like Media shout were you can search a scripture and just put it up. I think the bible verses is were media shout shines. The way you have to enter lyrics could be improved. Let me know because I would prefer my volunteers just using Pro Presenter.
April 20, 2009 at 10:51 am
It really comes down to how your service is run. We have a lot of on the fly changes and shifting. The mac with Propresenter works excellently like this. However, the media shout we had works great from runing a set script.
The bottom line of the debate is, Does you gear free you up to let people worship with no minmial stress (worship leaders, pastors, musicians, techs, and the congregation), or does it become some volitale idol that must be appeased.\
Having used both profitienly, I believe it all completely hinges on flexablitiy. I have to say that our volunteers jumped right in on the mac, and they get it. Media shout tended to get complicated and stressful.
It is a left brain right brain thing.
Elijah