http://www.renewedvision.com/pro4.php

苦等了一年, 等到虎年, Propresenter 4 終於正式來臨了!
我們Media4Christ團隊立即搶先使用, 試試它官網裏面所說的100項新功能~
如果大家想為你的教會或機構添置最新Propresenter 4 , 也可以在購買前先試試TRIAL VERSION 試用版.
http://www.renewedvision.com/pro_download.php
有關技術教學方面, 筆者想我們不作太多重覆的事情了, 還是留給官方教學做吧!
以下是的說明書PDF:
http://www.renewedvision.com/downloads/pro4_manual.pdf

不知道大家有沒有來LOVE IS… CONCERT?
這個CONCERT投映畫面的VISUAL效果, 就是我們團隊出隊以來, 第一次以Propresenter 4 控制和設計的, 不知大家感覺如何?
(以前出隊的聚會都還只是用 Propresenter 3 或 Easislides 的)
如果有聚會的相片或片段上載, 我們會立即通知大家!

還有幾個有關Propresenter 4 的好消息~

Propresenter Windows/PC版本
Propresenter 團隊終於回應我們海外敬拜者的訴求, 回心轉意宣佈, 開發Propresenter 的 Windows 版本!
而且還預定 2010年夏季推出 (好快的事喔), 所以各位教牧同工想試Propresenter又未買MAC 的, 請等等!!

Propresenter 中文版的可能
另外, 我們團隊再一次收到消息, 在不久的將來我們有機會為Propresenter 協助翻譯繁簡中文介面~ (像EASISLIDES一樣)
這樣, 我們中港台的華人教會機構在免費中文EASISLIDES這普及的敬拜軟件外, 現在又有這另一專業的選擇了!

以下是Propresenter 於12/2/2010 的公佈:
http://www.renewedvision.com/pro4_pc.php
there is one more thing… PROPRESENTER 4 WINDOWS ANNOUNCED!

For 10 years, we’ve developed ProPresenter for Mac only, and have been asked repeatedly if there was going to be a version for Windows. Our answers were always the same:

• The tools that enable us to do what we do on the Mac aren’t as robust on the Windows platform.
• We have nothing against Windows, but felt we could make a more powerful and reliable product on the Mac.
• We’d rather focus on making the best software for any platform, rather than divide our efforts by supporting two platforms.

All of these answers were valid, and as the marketshare of the Mac has increased over the last several years, the question has become a lot less frequent. At the same time, however, we’ve been troubled by some things:

• There are a lot of churches that don’t have Macs, particularly overseas
• There is a great variety of Windows-based machines on the market that are seemingly very capable.
• A new computer purchase is often difficult in today’s economy.
• Many PC users get excited about our product only to be let down when learning it’s Mac only.
• Some organizations will not purchase a Mac just to run ProPresenter.
• If we can improve the worship experience on the Mac, why not use our expertise to do the same for Windows?

Through the years, a lot has changed. Computers have become far more powerful and technologies have evolved. We’ve kept our eye on Windows technologies that would enable us to create a quality ProPresenter experience for Windows users, and we now believe we have found the right tool set, and assembled the right team of people to make ProPresenter for Windows a reality!

So, the cat’s out of the bag. We’ll be keeping you updated via our website as this story unfolds. Until then, here are answers to some questions we thought you might have:

WHAT WILL PROPRESENTER 4 WINDOWS LOOK LIKE?
We have put a great deal of thought into the user interface of ProPresenter 4 on the Mac, so why ruin a good thing? We are building the Windows version to look and function identically. If you know how to run ProPresenter 4 Mac, you will know instantly how to run ProPresenter 4 Windows.

WILL IT HAVE ALL THE FEATURES OF THE MAC VERSION?
We are working hard to make sure that every feature of the Mac version is implemented in Windows. In some cases, a feature may be less robust on the Windows platform while others may work even better. Some technical realities beyond the scope of ProPresenter may have an impact (video codecs, shared storage, etc.), but we’re going to make sure these are minimal.

WILL I BE ABLE TO USE BOTH IN MY ORGANIZATION?
From the ground up, we have worked to ensure interoperability between ProPresenter 4 Mac and ProPresenter 4 Windows. This means you will be able to move files back and forth, and they will run largely the same way on either platform.

WHAT ABOUT THE ADVANCED AND ALPHA KEYER MODULES, OR THE PROPRESENTER REMOTE FOR IPHONE?
We’re not planning our initial release of ProPresenter 4 Windows to include any modules or iPhone remote functionality. Depending on market acceptance and customer demand, however, we may consider developing them in the future. Be sure to let us know your interest in these additional features.

WHAT IS THE PRICING OF PROPRESENTER FOR WINDOWS?
ProPresenter for Windows has the same pricing structure as its Mac counterpart. Single user licenses will be platform specific and sold for $399. However, a Site License for ProPresenter 4 will work on either platform, allowing unlimited use on any platform for a single campus, making our site license an even better value add. This means for a $799 site license purchase, you can run ProPresenter 4 on either a Mac or a Windows machine. Existing ProPresenter 4 site license owners will be able to download and unlock the Windows version immediately after it becomes available.

WHY ARE WE ANNOUNCING IT NOW?
Because site licenses of ProPresenter 4 will work on both the Mac and Windows versions, we want people to know these benefits before placing their upgrade orders.

WHEN WILL PROPRESENTER 4 WINDOWS BE RELEASED?
We don’t have a specific date for release quite yet, but are working towards Summer 2010. We will certainly have a public beta test for registered ProPresenter users prior to the wide release. Stay tuned to this page for such an announcement in the coming months.

WILL PROPRESENTER 4 WINDOWS EFFECT THE MAC DEVELOPMENT CYCLE?
Above all else, we want to create the most functional products possible. While ProPresenter 4 has a great many features that we’ve been thinking about for years, we still have a great many more ideas we are looking forward to implementing in the future. Because we have completely separate development teams working on the Mac and Windows versions of ProPresenter, we can concentrate on making each platform’s product the very best it can be and developing new features quickly.

不過由以PC Notebook使用的 Easislides v4.10 Beta 1b 轉移至以 MacBook Pro 的 Propresenter v3.54, 筆者花了一個月練習, 現在還是未能完全適應… (筆者已經是比較FLEXIBLE容易接受新事物的, 真不敢想像我們其他Media4Christ的操作人員能否適應)

當然, Propresenter 介面簡單易用, 在Motion Graphic Backgrounds短片的使用, 選擇和控制更十分容易. 隨時想用那段就用那段, 一秒後就出現在外面的Screen 了, 即時現場VJ絕對無問題. 相對Easislides, 一首歌只能Preset一段短片, 根本無法比較. Propresenter 能將短片畫面即時轉換時作 fade in fade out 的transition, 令現場氣氛直接提昇一個層次 (升呢~), 也是叫 Easislides 等敬拜軟件望塵莫及的.

可是, 在其他一般敬拜軟件的功能, Propresenter 卻有不少限制. 意想不到的是, 原來Easislides 甚至有不少比Propresenter 優勝的地方:

1) 筆者在Propresenter 匯入今次City Delight 兩晚聚會中約書亞, Jaeson Ma 馬正遠牧師和Vanness等使用/演唱的歌曲歌詞時, 便感到十分頭痛! 因為Propresenter Import功能只Support txt file… 還要是逐首逐首的輸入…更慘的是, Import 功能不能Support中文! import之後看看, 中文全部變了亂碼! (ansi, unicode, utf-8 format 都試過了, 還是不行)
最後, 還是用了最原始的辦法…跟做powerpoint一樣, 逐版copy & paste 歌詞… 今次20多首歌都是這樣做. 真懷念當初用mdb/xml 將全本詩歌集數百首中文詩歌直接import 入Easislides 的日子.

2) 因為Easislides 是居英的港人巫偉權先生開發的, 所以他的設計完全體貼我們香港教會的需要. Easislides 的Bilingual 系統, 將中英文歌詞分開兩邊Sessions 輸入, LIVE播放時軟件卻自己懂得對應, 一行中文間著一行英文可以, 左邊中文右邊英文又可以, 想只顯示一種語言都可以, 回想真的很厲害. 在Propresenter這類外國敬拜軟件同時輸入中英文卻痛苦了, 首先要在外面的TEXT EDITOR 事先做好中英文間行的歌詞, 然後 copy到Propresenter才行. 想分開中英文

3) 另外, Propresenter 不像Easislides可以獨立為中英文兩個Sessions 分別設定兩組字體/大小的.
想中英文同時使用不同的字體和大小? 對不起, 我暫時只能夠逐句獨立SET! Propresenter 又沒有Powerpoint 等Office 的match properties 功能的, 如果按』Apply to all slides』的功能鍵, 更會令其中一句的設定Override 全首歌, 令你逐句設定的磨練功虧一簣, 重新做過…

4) Propresenter 介面簡化了, Easislides相對是複雜和難上手的. 但是Propresenter簡化到沒有了Easislides 的 Fine alignment adjustment, 即是只有高中低, 只有左中右, 卻不能微調. 我以前常常設定歌詞置於上三分一的位置, 而不是畫面的最高; 現在卻暫時沒有辦法.

5) Propresenter Support 的Media Files種類, 原來只有mpg, mp4, mov, avi等基本種類, 可是我在Easislides 最常用的flv 和wmv 卻不能使用! 這問題不像上面3點那像容易解決, 因為我的vj video database的過萬個短片中, 有接近一半是這兩種format 的. 大家有時間可以幫我convert 這5000個flv/mov檔案嗎?

最後, 筆者在此澄清, 於之前』本地教會/機構使用的敬拜軟件系統比較『一文中曾分析過Propresenter的功能, 原來筆者誤會了, 原來現在最新 Propresenter v.3.54還是未擁有短片速度控制和兩短片同時播放功能, 這兩功能要配合使用同屬Renewed Vision公司開發的ProVideoPlayer 軟件才能實現.
因此,Propresenter 沒有這兩個重要功能之餘, 而又有以上種種限制. 總結一句, Propresenter 真沒有想像中的強. 如果要評分的話, 免費的Easislides 有7分, 原本心目中的Propresenter有9.5分, 花$399美金, 卻發現只有8分.(未計買Mac Book Pro的錢呢…相信神的供應是足夠的)

其實還有8分, 大家還不需失望. 而且筆者認為對於大型聚會, 始終惟有Propresenter才能應付自如, 更絕對值得感恩. 而且, Propresenter v.4 即將推出了! 不知新版有沒有筆者對Propresenter 期望的功能, 和解決那些限制的限制的方案, 令筆者的評分升呢, 回到9.5分呢?

如果有新的資料, 我們會第一時間提供!
當然, 我們希望能以用家的角度, 試試它新的地方, 特別是有那些特別適合我們華人教會應用的功能.

有關Propresenter的功用分析和比較,
大家不妨看看以下幾篇:
貪新忘舊? 由Easislides到Propresenter的過渡旅程~
本地教會/機構使用的敬拜軟件系統比較

我想大家上星期有去』讚美之泉2009 巡迴敬拜演唱會』的, 一定會感到他們在音樂和氣氛上有著不少的突破.
在這裡, 我們當然是特別討論視覺媒體的敬拜投映方面.
可以客觀的說, 他們已經純熟的應用視覺敬拜上不同效果和技術.

以筆者了解, 早在上年2008年他們已經有使用動態的敬拜投映, 取代了靜態的投射字幕畫面了. (詳見…)
不過, 近日得到了他們同工的證實, 他們原來也是和美國的PASSION一樣, 選用的PROPRESENTER! 以取代了一直沿用的POWERPOINT/其他 IMAGE VIEWER.
似乎PROPRESENTER / PVP 真的是多數大型敬拜團隊的最佳選擇. (有關軟件分析請參看:http://media4christ.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post_17.html)
不過MAC 介面限制和PROPRESENTER / PVP 的軟件價格令中小型敬拜團隊則有點卻步.
筆者提議各團隊先試用EASISLIDES等免費專業敬拜軟件, 待團隊中有視覺敬拜恩賜的人成熟掌握後, 才轉用高階的敬拜軟件及系統.

有好友已將當時聚會的片段上載, 可惜濛了一點; 我們惟有暫時同時看看上年2008年的瑒場片段:

另外, 看來讚美之泉也在不斷開展有關視覺敬拜的異象, 繼上年『只願見你』E敬拜影音系列那張, 已經在DVD的宣傳說:

『將敬拜音樂從聽覺延伸至視覺 將全心的敬拜化為立體的感受』

跟著今次最新的專輯中, 竟然加入了動態的iWorship 部分於DVD 作個人/小組敬拜的用途, 詳情看下面他們宣傳短片的1:26-2:02, 雖然技術簡單, 但感覺已相當不錯. 似乎有參考已發展成熟的 Integrity Music的 iWorship 同名系列呢.

1:57-3:30 iWorship 使用教學

筆者相信, 讚美之泉已經在華人信徒作了其中一個牽頭帶領的先鋒角色, 在中港台啟發更多團隊和教會, 開展視覺敬拜的路.

延伸閱讀:
讚美之泉 (二) – 一般MV與Visual Worship Video 的分別
讚美之泉 (三) – 視覺敬拜示範標準和dynamic motion backdrop

今次我們主要討論和比較的, 將主要是3個本地教會有使用的敬拜軟件: Propresenter, EasyWorship, Easislides 和雄霸全球教會敬拜軟件市場多年的…Microsoft Powerpoint.(不過相信Bill Gates當年推出Powerpoint時並無此策略:P ). 其他歐美也有不少教會使用的敬拜軟件, 如MediaShout, SongShow Plus, DreamBeam和 OpenLP等, 因暫時未見在香港教會界使用, 而未列入今次討論之列.

從上面的比較得出的結論, 再加上全球視覺敬拜設計者的回應來看, Propresenter的確功能強勁, 介面簡單易用, 實在是一枝獨秀的專業敬拜軟件, 就算應用於超大型的公開聚會一樣卓卓有餘. 可惜它的價格和不兼容Windows PC系統, 卻令不少教會卻步.
EasyWoship 價格則Propresenter一樣高, 功能卻還比免費的Easislides 遜色, 實在不作推介,不能完全顯示中文尤其致命. 相對一些未能投資太多資源, 但又想嘗試應用視覺敬拜和動態背景的技術, 功能和介面跟EasyWorship相近, 但卻免費的Easislides 則是一個非常好的選擇.