Tips & Tricks > Remotely Control SSP via a Wireless Laptop

 


koop4us
1/8/2009 8:23:35 PM
As the lead praise team director and IT guy I have often wondered how to operate SSP while directing the praise team in practices. I wanted the ability to change the SSP program during the praise team practice without having run back and forth from the sound booth to the platform. I finally figured out a method that has worked amazingly well. I loaded a free program from logmein.com on both my laptop and our SSP computer. Via this program and a wireless internet connection I am able to "hijack" the SSP computer using my laptop. My laptop completely controls the SSP computer. Now changing verse order, songs, etc., all during practice without having to have an additional SSP operator there during the week. The process has worked flawlessly. Thought I would pass it on.

MikeFromWinton
1/9/2009 12:27:39 PM

Using logmein during practices to edit the SongShow Plus program on the fly is a great tip. We've been using logmein in our church for a couple years now. They DO indeed have a free version of the program which, by the way, only needs to be loaded on the host computer. The remote end of the connection is handled with a simple web browser. The paid version of logmein (LogMeIn Pro) allows additional functionality and costs something less than a dollar a week per computer. (Of course they advertise $70 for a single computer but you can find online coupons or perhaps twist the arm of the sales rep for a better price.)

In our church, we have taken logmein a step farther. We have two SongShow Plus projection licenses. We have a computer downstairs, where the audio tech sits, and the main projection computer upstairs where the video guys are. During the service, the projection operator upstairs "sends an invitation" to the guy downstairs (via email) which gives the guy downstairs a secure link with which to log onto the upstairs computer. The guy upstairs then grants permission to just watch or to interact with the upstairs computer. (For obvious reasons, we usually give the guy downstairs the "view only" authorization during a service. We learned this one the hard way!) Once this is up and running, the guy downstairs can actually watch the control screen of SSP being run upstairs and can know what's coming up. This beats the printed lineup by a long shot. In the case the guy downstairs is a more seasoned SSP user, he can also talk the user upstairs through a problem, should one arise. (Yes, you have to have a talkback system or some sort of communication for this.) This has worked very well for us.

In addition to these benefits, logmein on key computers at the church allows our pastor to build his sermon slides from home, our Minister of Music to build the songs music part of the program remotely and best of all, the projection tech for the week can log in from home and put it all together without having to drive to the church. (I really like that one!) So if your church can scrape together a few bucks for LogMeIn Pro, it's well worth the money. We have just renewed our annual subscriptions for several computers and could not imagine life without it.

Two of the greatest differences between the Pro and free versions of LogMeIn is that the Pro version allows you to move files back and forth between the host and remote. And, if I am not mistaken, the "mini-meeting" as they call it, is not available in the free version. (The mini-meeting is what is used to send someone else an "invitation" to log on to the computer you are using so they can view or assist.)

From an IT perspective, this has saved me MANY trips to the church to assist employees and volunteers alike with computer problems. There is just no reason to not make LogMeIn an integral part of your ministry. You can download a free trial Pro version of the program at by clicking here. But beware, before too many hours pass, the Pro version turns into a pumpkin and becomes the free version.

One last thing. I don't know if this still works or not but when I was originally introduced to LogMeIn, I had it installed on my personal computer at home and was attempting to access my home computer from church when the trial period ran out. I was bent for time so when I was asked if I wanted to purchase the Pro version, I said answered, "No." When asked why not, I answered, "Too Much Money." Within a couple minutes, I received an automated email from LogMeIn that contained a $25 discount. So $70-$25=$45, less than a dollar a week. The renewal was about the same price. If you want a coupon, google "logmein discount coupon" and you'll have several sites from which to pick. Here's one site: click here

Have fun with LogMeIn. It will make your life a whole lot easier!






George
1/12/2009 1:34:01 PM
Wow that is great - It sounds like this has worked well for you....
Just a couple of comments:

Regarding the others creating content remotely - This is not really necessary as SSP has unlimited workstation licenses so any of your users can install the full program at home, create content, then transport it via USB drive or other media (even free file transfer services) to the projection system. This allow them to avoid any lag that may occur over the web.

Also regarding the communication thing - could you use IM for your comms between users?

Anyway - good use of other tools to enhance the SSP Experience.


twj
1/13/2009 6:05:23 PM
We use MSN Messenger to communicate between our projection computers. It works well as long as the internet is working. Our services over lap and it is used a lot to warn the other operator of typos in the sermon notes. It doesn't use enough system resources to affect SSP operation.

MikeFromWinton
1/14/2009 9:58:27 PM

These are all great suggestions. For those of you who might consider LogMeIn, there is a built-in chat feature in LogMeIn. So if, for example, you are using LogMeIn as we do to enable the downstairs audio tech to follow a SongShow Plus program as it is being run from a computer upstairs, you would not need to run another chat utility. In our particular configuration though, it is usually easier for the audio tech to use the talkback system rather than moving to the keyboard of the computer and typing, even though we do utilize that method on occasion. When we do employ chat via the keyboard, we use the built-in LogMeIn feature. It’s all very slick.

The comment about using Pack and Go (a feature in SSP) to transport files, is another good idea. It packs all the files you use in a program so you can transport the program and associated files as a unit. We used this feature in the past until we discovered LogMeIn which resolved the issue of packing files back and forth on a thumb drive.

At about that same time, we put our SSP data files on our file server. I was a little unsure of putting our SSP data files on the server but once we did, it opened up a whole new world for us and we haven’t looked back. It is a tad bit slower in opening files, but the tradeoff is great. Each person responsible for a part of the service has access to the exact same set of files and each person has LogMeIn available to them on their own church-assigned computer. Our Minister of Music starts the process by entering songs from the SSP database into a template we use for our SSP worship service program. Our Senior Pastor makes his own sermon slide show in SongShow Plus Slide Show Builder. He also creates the Call to Worship, a responsive reading, and the Offertory Reading. Then when the A/V guys get to the show late in the week, all the elements for the program are in the same SSP directory on the server and we build the rest of the SSP program for the week from the SSP presentation computer (which also has LogMeIn Pro installed). No more sending files by email or toting them around with removable media. It is great!

I know I have wandered a bit from the original topic of LogMeIn. I am hopeful this clarification helps others when considering not only LogMeIn but also how SSP can be implemented in a networked environment. Whether you are working on a stand-alone computer or in a networked environment, I would recommend LogMeIn Pro. We frequently comment on how LogMeIn has changed our lives as we fulfill our ministry responsibilities around the church.


MikeFromWinton
1/15/2009 2:23:01 PM

LOGMEIN DISCOUNT FOR CHURCHES

As you probably know by now, LogMeIn Pro service are sold for $69.95 per year per computer. I contacted the sales department at LogMeIn and advised them of the conversation in this forum. Subsequently, they are offering churches a discount for LogMeIn Pro. Here’s the deal:

Louis Capozzi (Louis.Capozzi@logmein.com) said he talked to the marketing team about offering a discount to churches through the SongShow Plus forum. He offered the following discount code to "post and distribute." He goes on to say, "Anyone that uses this code will receive the promotional price of $39.95 per license."

LogMeIn Pro for $39.95 - Discount Code: ILAD-WEFL

WOW! That’s a killer price! That’s something like 77 cents per week to access your computer from anywhere you have Internet access. Very cool! Our thanks to Louis Capozzi and the LogMeIn sales team for offering SongShow Plus users a 40%+ discount.

 


Yagabu
1/15/2009 8:05:26 PM

I have used TeamViewer, is simmilar to what you use, but there is no yearly fee for their service from what I have seen. I use the free version which has a spash screen when you end a session or shut down the program. It offers full control, IM, file transfer, ect...   I found it very useful.

My 2 cents.....

 

Greg


To post messages to the forums you must be signed in to a user account.
An error has occurred. This application may no longer respond until reloaded. Reload 🗙