10/19/2005 5:30:12 PM

I am a current Media Shout user.  I am however evaluating other software packages and felt that Song Show Plus was the closest comparison.  Has anyone had experience with Media Shout as a comparison to Song Show Plus?

Thanks!

TR

 

 

10/19/2005 7:17:56 PM

I only know what I've heard. And what I've heard is that ms 3.0 was a good upgrade, but many folks are staying with version 2.x because the transitions in 3.0 are taking  too long, about a seconds.

I've read that over at churchmedia.net

SSP does not have that problem.  

SSP has hundreds of 3-d transitions (if you count all the variations) , tons of animated visualizations for backgrounds. All included. 

DVD support. Video clip support. live video support.

Only the KJV Bible is included. But you can purchase other Bible software to add other versions.

It has a slide show builder, for Sermons, announcements and such. So, even though it will work with Power Point (any version from 97 - 2003), you don't need it.   

And I haven't even touched the features that will be in v.7

The other thing you should be aware of is that MS's " Dare to compare" webpage has some ...err... inaccuracies. Several of us have e-mailed ms about this, but haven't gotten a reply.

If you have questions about any particular features, let us know.

10/21/2005 9:45:51 AM

I got an actual reply, promising that they would fix the problem.  That was 2+ months ago, with no change as of last week.  It's still wildly inaccurate.

Oh, well.

10/21/2005 11:13:34 AM

Can anyone tell my what specifically the inaccuracies are?

10/21/2005 12:20:56 PM

It may not be worth your time researching.

More importantly are the programs themselves. If I could sit down next to you I would describe some reasons why you would not be sorry if you opted for SSP. But don't expect SSP's capabilities to be described by a competing product's web pages; they want to emphasize their own capabilities, as one would expect.

A competing product is, after all, a competing product and can still serve its intended purpose. Nevertheless, even when a competing product has some capabilities similar to SSP, it still may be smart to opt for SSP. 

Since you currently have Media Shout in use and presumably a trained staff in place, it is curious that you are entertaining a switch.

10/21/2005 2:50:20 PM

What in particular are you looking for with SongShow Plus?  If you were to share your concerns or thoughts I'm sure that the folks here would be more than happy to share their experiences with you.

10/21/2005 8:30:23 PM

The main problem with the comparison grid is that they are claiming that the features supported by SSP ProModules cost extra. A one year subscriptions to the proModules is included with the purchase of SSP. After that year, the ProModules you have continue to operate, but if you want updates, you need to pay for the annual subscription. All SSP upgrades are included in that subscription fee.

So, given that, Powerpoint integration is free (although you do need to have a copy of Powerpoint on the projection computer.)

Song Import is free. DVD playback and scene selection is free. Live video feed is free. Full motion backgrounds are free, although SSP does not support Flash backgrounds.

Flash support is included. You can edit text; the songs, quick slides, and even a full slide show maker.

The song database can be searched by lyrics and author.

I'm not sure how they came up with the "average number of clicks". You can find the song with one click (unless you count the key clicks in the search box) and display it or insert it in the program with 1 click.

So, of all the negatives listed, only the audio file support and Bible Versions lines are correct.