iPad app for streaming stake conference

Has anyone found any way to stream from webcast communicator to an iPad or other iOS devices? It would really be so much easier to setup an iPad in each building and mirror the video to the projector than have to deal with moving desktop computers around.

I understand some have had problems with wireless, but we use wireless to the desktop pcs anyway and have never had a problem attributed to the wireless LAN.

It would be great if the church would release a standards based product instead of this windows based junk. The stream plays better in vlc on a Mac than it does in WMP anyway.

I will look into using PVC for the next conference as a test.

If you haven't had problems yet, unless you haven't shared the wifi password with anyone, you likely will. We shut down the wireless everywhere in our building for stake conference broadcasts and it amazes me how many people come up to me before the meeting to let me know that they can't get onto the internet with their iPads/tablets/smartphones/iTouch/etc. They'd easily kill every bit of our bandwidth if they weren't shut out.

Fortunately we have more bandwidth than we can conceivably use with the tiny user limit we have in place. We are fortunate to have fiber running to our buildings.

Too bad there don't seem to be any iPad options out there to simplify the setup.

One of our engineers has successfully used this suggested solution (Good Player):

https://tech.lds.org/forum/showthread.php?6261-Watching-webcast-on-Mac

Perhaps with Mozilla's mulling of H.264 support instead of Ogg and WebM/VP8, the Church might switch their webcasting software from a Windows format to a H.264 format.

Browsers that currently support H.264 natively include Safari (both mobile and desktop), Internet Explorer 9, and Google Chrome. Mozilla and Opera are the last major hold out's to supporting H.264 natively.

We have a project later this year to examine all streaming technologies and make some decisions on our future direction.

I personally don't see any benefit for making streaming available across multiple platforms and browsers suppurt. We are not dealing with a personal conferencing system, this is the broadcast of meetings. Are you tellinge that the receiving end of a webcast is being viewed on an iPad? Maybe my understanding is wrong, but we are talking, in general, about building to building communication right?.


The current solution provides for the needs we have. I just did a broadcast to 12 stakes from the old communicator with the absolute slowest upload you can have with no issues... This solution in no way can be referred to as junk, and never should be. I don't believe catering to the individual with a system like this is the way to go. Where does it end?...

schester wrote:Fortunately we have more bandwidth than we can conceivably use with the tiny user limit we have in place. We are fortunate to have fiber running to our buildings.

Too bad there don't seem to be any iPad options out there to simplify the setup.

This is a very interesting comment to me. Displaying a screen on an iPad is simpler than using a windows device? Not in my observation.

I wondered how easy this would be to figure out, and I found this interesting response on the apple store comments

"Sending mine back because it doesn't enable mirroring.

Written by Todd O from Draper

Once again I get suckered into buying an overpriced iPhone or iPad AV connector because Apple cleverly omits the fact that it only works with certain apps. Don't they realize that people buy these accessories mostly to do demos of apps, or to mirror whatever's on their device's screen? This basic scenario does not work with this adapter. I found that it only works when playing video, or if you're a developer and you write special code in your app to support an external screen. So buyer beware..."

Is it really simpler.... when I can just hook the vga cable to my laptop (not something I have to purchase, and is already built into the OS), I think the contest is hands down. No iPad will ever been seen as 'easier' in an environment that still caters to the Windows desktop. Plus we really should be able to use the resources provided through the meetinghouse already. That provides the best opportunity for all. If in the future we want to support a webcast so that I can watch stake conference in my PJ's like I do General Conference, I'll start agitating for more platform support, but this works now

ksolsen wrote:One of our engineers has successfully used this suggested solution (Good Player):

https://tech.lds.org/forum/showthread.php?6261-Watching-webcast-on-Mac

I have used and had success with Good Player.
Troy

Here is a real scenario for you. Stake conference was being broadcast remotely to our meetinghouse. The meetinghouse Internet connection failed (long, irrelevant story). Several of us had iPhones and the necessary cables to attach them to the projector and building sound system. But because the stream from the webcast is Windows-based instead of H.264, were were not able to stream the conference this way. We ended up using someone's laptop and tethering it to one of the iPhone's Internet connection to get the stream.

Others (stake leaders) have mentioned wanting shut-ins being able to access the stake conference stream as well.

JohnShaw wrote:Written by Todd O from Draper

Once again I get suckered into buying an overpriced iPhone or iPad AV connector because Apple cleverly omits the fact that it only works with certain apps. Don't they realize that people buy these accessories mostly to do demos of apps, or to mirror whatever's on their device's screen? This basic scenario does not work with this adapter. I found that it only works when playing video, or if you're a developer and you write special code in your app to support an external screen. So buyer beware..."

Video mirroring has been only available on the iPad 2 or later since March 2011 (when the iPad 2 was released) and the iPhone 4S since October 2011 (when it was released), so quoting a review written April 2010, before either the iPad or the iPhone had mirroring functionality, seems irrelevant.

by William B from Babylon, March 13, 2012:
By default, iPad apps are designed to output a mirror image. There are certain apps that disable this feature. It is up to the individual app programer to determine if this will be permitted.

Video out, is different from video mirroring and is supported on all iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches (4th generation). Unlike video mirroring, video out has to be specifically enabled by the app programmer.

The Apple VGA adapter and the Apple Digital AV Adapter can be used for both the video mirroring and video out. The Apple Composite AV Cable does not currently support video mirroring, only video out. One can also use AirPlay to stream video from an iPhone 4S or iPad2 or later to an Apple TV.

One thing I can do with my iPhone 3G with the Apple Composite AV Cable connected up to my TV is to use Safari to browse to videos on lds.org, such as the Bible Videos. When I select one of the videos, the TV display comes to life and the video starts playing. I would love to be able to browse to stream.lds.org/webcast and get the same result.

Wow, thanks for all the responses and the suggestion on good player. I'll have to try it on a test webcast one day to see for myself.

JohnShaw, The iPad or other iOS device would be much simpler to setup than pulling a desktop computer out of a clerk's office or the FHC. We don't have any laptops that are capable of playing the stream in the stake, so I am forced to use a FHC computer which means many separate pieces and things to plug in or bring in my MacBook Pro. Since we have multiple sites, allowing iOS devices means I can use more of my own devices.

Ideally, if it was possible to stream the webcast off an iPod touch or similar, it would be within reason to purchase one of these for each building.

jbh001, great observation. Another reason where an iPad with LTE connectivity could provide a great solution.

Kurt, please let me know if we can help in any way in evaluating the streaming technologies.

The iPad is not the only thing out there, everything you mention about your iPad, I could cut and replace the text and put my Android tablet in there, including the comment on tethering, except my Android has had native hotspot for years now... When designing and supporting an Enterprise system like this streaming solution you must design for the greatest and widest success (which includes supporting, etc...) What happens when someone calls into the church and says, my iPad won't stream the webcast...... you'll get dead air... if you call and say my windows desktop/laptop doesn't work then there is a whole list of things that the helpdesk can help you walk through. It is EXPENSIVE to start supporting everything under the sun, but not expensive (relatively) to support windows. That is just facts, today, at least for a while to come, Windows support is the best and most effective way to accomplish the needs of the church. If we are paying for a device for each building, the smart decision would be to use a windows laptop, and not an iPad, or Android tablet.

I can understand a desire to open standards, to move to a linux device for MLS, or streaming to an IOS, but support and the ability to deliver the solution consistently across the globe drives most decisions in this area.... In my opinion, the most consistent result will come from a purpose-built device, like a multi-media streaming device that can easily be incorporated in the satellite system (current building CCTV), connected to the back of a television or connected to a projector, something like Roku, AppleTV, GoogleTV, etc...

John, yes, I agree with most of your comments. Specifically the purpose built device. The last thing we should be doing is pulling a clerks or FHC computer to use for streaming, but I suspect not many units can come up with the budget for the expensive webcast receiver box the church previosuly sold.

Something in the $100 range like Roku or appletv would be ideal in my opinion.

I just noticed that there is a link for the stream of the Tech Conference for iOS

http://stream2.lds.org/stream/ldstcd2/eng/ios.m3u8

Is this available now or is it experimental?

Will my streams from my webcast have this link as well?

JohnShaw wrote:I just noticed that there is a link for the stream of the Tech Conference for iOS

http://stream2.lds.org/stream/ldstcd2/eng/ios.m3u8

Is this available now or is it experimental?

Here's a link to the page that links you to the streams:

http://tech.lds.org/wiki/LDSTech_Confer ... on_streams

What I did from my iPhone this morning is click the link to watch now. From that screen there was a message saying it wouldn't display on my device along with a link for iOS devices. That link worked great.

I've had good luck receiving our Stake Conference stream on both iPhone and iPad using an app called "OPlayerHD Lite" (free). Open the app and then "Open URL". Specify the streams.lds.org/xxx address and it will buffer and then show the stream.