Good product, could still use some work

I've been using MediaShout weekly since 2009. I've learned most of the tricks, bugs and shortcuts to the older 4.5 version, but I haven't really tried version 6 a ton because I can't get it to do what I want all the time.

Pros

Very easy to add lyrics to the presentation, integrated nicely with other products most churches probably use anyways.

Cons

I am currently using version 6 and version 4.5. I am sticking with 4.5 for now because I can't find a good way to use my keyboard on version 6. In version 4.5 you can use the arrow keys to navigate the cues without firing them, then hit enter on the one you want to fire to the presentation. Maybe I just don't know how to use the newer software, but it feels a lot harder to control since I'm using my mouse a lot more. (on my laptop I want to stay away from the trackpad as much as possible!) You can go through (sort of) the cues with your arrow keys but enter isn't the way to fire the cues, and I have a lot of volunteers that help me out with running media, so I want things to be as simple as possible but also flexible enough to skip cues if need be, so telling them to just press spacebar isn't always the best way to do it either.

There's also some overall clunky things in the newer version with editing songs and text cues and how it reformats when you try to repaginate things to your liking.

It looks like a nice try, there's just enough finnicky things about it to keep me tied to the older, slower 4.5 version for now.

Customer service/support is amazing! First time user or an experienced user, they've got your back!

Pros

First and foremost, their customer service / support is the best. Any issue (my own or theirs) I've ever had the MediaShout team has effectively and efficiently solved to my utmost satisfaction. The team is very knowledgeable about their software, know it inside out, and are on top of their game with it. [No non-english speaking people reading from a script with these guys!] They are tirelessly patient and extremely concerned with making sure my experience with MediaShout is the best they can make it. That alone makes the money spent on the software well worth it!

Secondly I love that I can edit the presentation on the fly and live. My Pastor has a tendency to ask for something to be done right BEFORE service starts. Can you show this? Can you add this scripture? You can do all that easily during service with just a few clicks! We couldn't do that before. It's a win/win for us. Pastor's happy and we're happy!

And thirdly, I love that I can now spend more of my time focusing on the pictures / graphics that I want to use instead of spending the majority of my time on formatting and setting up road maps for our worship songs. MediaShout allows you to format the entire cue or script easily! Setting up road maps [that my worship leader changes each time we sing it] is a breeze. Just drag and drop everything in the order you want it and wallah!

And the best part, with the words showing up on the stage with the next line feature, MY team thinks I'm a rockstar!

Cons

I don't like that the main stage and the stage are tied so closely together when creating lyrics. I'm very anal about word placement in regards to the picture / graphic I am using. One slight change on the main effects the words on the stage as well as the next line feature. I know I can use the alignment buttons the software provides, but like I said, I'm anal about word placement. I would also like the ability to change the position of the words that show on the stage without it affecting the words or the next line feature as well.

Although the MediaShout customer service is top notch and the support they offer is the best service around, I do wish their user forum was a bit more active. You can learn a lot about how to use a program more effectively by communicating with other end users. I have yet to find a forum within [or without] MediaShout that actively offers this valuable resource.

We have been using it in our church for about 4 years. It has really enhanced our worship services

Pros

Mediashout visually enriches our Sunday morning worship experience. ** Our pastor uses sermon graphics or short video clips to support various sermon points. It is easy to import these into the script for him. **We love the time saving option of downloading scripture and song lyrics. ** We have an awesome choir that does special performances such as an Easter Cantata or Christmas concert. It is so easy to attach the background music mp3 to a title slide and then go right into beautiful graphics which visually support the song. **It is very easy to use MediaShout to set the mood for a special service -- especially more pensive services such as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday or our Blue Christmas service. **We've done some beautiful memorial services using customized slide backgrounds and photo slide shows with music behind the pictures. They are very easy to accomplish with MediaShout. **It is fun and easy to incorporate music lyric videos into our contemporary Wednesday evening service, using all or part of a video or even stopping it in the middle and restarting later. **We can import an picture of something that happened earlier in the service (i.e. a Baptism) and show it on the screens as a closing slide -- that's how easy it is. **The Customer Support team is A--mazing!! They ALWAYS go out of their way to help and advise us. ** We are an all volunteer team of 4 people, ages 65 to 80!!! If we can use this product, anybody can!

Cons

The learning curve from MediaShout 5 to MediaShout 6 was pretty steep. We had some frustrations making the switch. MediaShout 6 has had a few glitches, most of which have been fixed with upgrades. Customer Support has been awesome throughout it all.

I love MediaShout. It is excellent church presentation software

This software helps to enhance the spread of important information, it helps to enhance worship services, and is very cost effective.

Pros

I love the numerous features and options that help to make for a vibrant worship service. Most of all, I love the wide selection of Bible translations that are available without the need of having to purchase a separate license for each translation. This is really the main reason that we chose MediaShout above the others.

Cons

It can be a bit complicated to operate the software. Stability is a bit of an issue. Even with a powerful machine, it may crash from time to time.
I am not thrilled with the past licensing model that at times necessitated having to potentially purchase a new license if a computer crashed. It would be nice to have an option where licenses could be activated/deactivated via a secure login. However, I think that the new licensing model which makes it more cost effective just to purchase unlimited licenses will remedy this issue.
Finally, upgrade pricing is too high.

The software is very powerful and has features for every size church and way/style of worship.

The software is built and designed for churches ... and allows me to support our worship services with spectacular visuals and a smooth running one hour services. The team of support people is outstanding. This software is the bomb and I love it.

Pros

It allows me to use beautiful motions as backgrounds and I can put text over the motions. It's easy to use and very well supported by a team of very knowledgeable and helpful Christian people. I don't use/need even half of the functionality but what I do use allows me to create wonderful hour-long services in a liturgical "high church" setting. I love my work as a visual worship leader and could not even begin to do my church justice without this wonderful and powerful software.

Cons

Same thing with all software I guess ... when big new releases come out, the learning curve is very rough. Part of that is on my shoulders because I'm not a young techy ... but wow sometimes I wonder why developers don't take into consideration the stress it creates and time required to have the user interface change so drastically that the user feels lost and has to start from scratch. And you know how much time we have on our hands. But, bottom line is the software and support is awesome and I love it.

Newly Designed User Interface Poor.

I want to remain on 4.5 which has an excellent interface without a steep learning curve. Pastors do not have the time to be techies. We need something that is stable. Unfortunately, Media Shout has taken 4.5 away making it impossible to use if reloading on a new computer.

Pros

Nothing. The learning curve of a new interface doesn't allow me to receive value from this product

Cons

User Interface. It's like a product I never seen though I've been a customer for 15 years.

Mediashout v6 supports almost anything we wish to accomplish as a church presentation program.

Ease with which a presentation queue can be constructed and displayed. All manner of media can be easily employed.

Pros

Ease with which a queue can be laid out and understood by a completely new operator. The addition of comments and sections keeps the clutter of a long program manageable. I also like the ability to immediately edit lyrics, to easily change backgrounds and to specify where I wish to place all of the various media in a networked drive which greatly simplifies backups. The operator interface seems well laid out for use in the service. The customer support is absolutely STELLAR. Extremely knowledgeable and curteous support persons smooth over any issues which could be otherwise frustrating. I love the tutorial videos which seem complete for most operations and is a great introduction to new users.

Cons

Somewhat inconsistent or confusing song editor when inputting/editing lyrics. Function key F8 sometimes will not stop a cue and sometimes the spacebar will not advance a page within a cue, but there are others ways to accomplish these. Dragging and dropping a media selection within a queue is a bit "touchy" and sensitive to small mouse motions. There have been a few annoying instances where the computer has "frozen" prior to a service while running Mediashout, but to be fair, these instances are few indeed and it is unclear where to place the blame. Technology is notoriously fickle.

Amazing Presentation Software

Pros

The program is very easy to use and covers all our needs as a church. Being able to show lyrics and Bible verses and ppts seemlessly makes MS6 worth it. Being able to open multiple presentations is a useful new feature.

Cons

We have encountered random crashes and bugs in the program. Even those are rare, it does get annoying if that happens during service. When moving between decks, it feels like MS6 is moved backwards in comparison to MS5 and MS4. Being able to skip slides without having to use the mouse is very useful to our church and using the arrow keys then entering was a valuable feature that was lost.

Finally, an update to the Android version of MSRemote to match the iOS would improve our experience.

5 was great but 6 stinks

Does what I need it to do in setting up worship media. My experience was great for versions 3-5. They just really screwed up version 6. It does it all, but in the most cumbersome way.

Pros

It will do all sorts of things, pretty much anything you want.

Cons

I've used Media shout from versions 3 through 6. 5 was great - I loved it. Easy to use. Virtually no learning curve. Very intuitive. Then someone decided to make major changes on version 6. Very cumbersome. Hard to figure out. Not intuitive at all. I actually hate it, but have not choice but to use it. Even after nearly 2 years, I still can't stand version 6.

One of the most annoying is that things like column width on the screen, remote on/off, preview screens, compact script - none of those things save with the program. So if you have to do a quick reboot, the program comes up with several things you then have to do in addition in order to be back to where you set it.

The lyric setup - entering your own lyrics - is really cumbersome. Seems like the program is friendly to those who use the lyric service, but hard for those who want to do their own lyrics from scratch.

Have been using for more than 5 years and it does not disappoint in any way

Ease of use and reliability are the main benefits. I also have always been impressed with the customer support. The way they have always understood what I am going through in my weekly schedule here at my church, understood my issue with me having to explain several times and helped me solve that issue.

Pros

Ease of use for my volunteers; Personal touch from customer support and that they understand my needs; Always ahead of my need with the functionality of the software.

Cons

Updates for the software seems to come out more often than I would like. Because I have volunteers that run the software in two services weekly (4 volunteers swap out weeks), they barely get used to the look and the feel of the program when it is time for the latest update and changes and the learning starts all over.

My MediaShout

We have had Mediashout for over 5 years and the devlopers continue to update and improve the product. Purchasing the premium help has made a difference in my stress level coming in on Sunday morning and not having to worry that I can't get help with a last minute problems.

Pros

My favorite thing about the software is the ability to change my presentation on the fly! Incorectly spelled words, wrong bible verse or version. This is one the main reasons we purchased this software.

Cons

The link to Songselect doesn't link. Freezing sometimes occurs in the middle of service and I have to reboot. This issue has greatly improved with the information provided under knowledge base for updates to Codec.

Our church uses this software every week and it's got all the features we need, and then some.

Pros

The MediaShout people