Survey on DVDs or Webcasting from A Puritan's Mind

What would you rather pay for?

  • Webcast teaching/participation, with an opt in for a one on one dialogue (say on Covenant Theology).

    Votes: 13 61.9%
  • A DVD series I could buy and own and play anytime I want (say on Covenant Theology).

    Votes: 8 38.1%

  • Total voters
    21
  • Poll closed .
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C. Matthew McMahon

Christian Preacher
What would you rather have - webcasting that happens, say, once a month on teaching from A Puritan's Mind, or would you rather get a DVD that you could own the series on a particular teaching?

I'm trying to get a feel of where the Reformed Community is going...
 
DVD's cause a lot of clutter, so If I was able to access the webcast anytime or download them like you can on ligonier, I would opt for the webcast. Especially, since they can be viewed just about anywhere a DVD can be viewed e.g., computer, flat screen TV! :2cents:
 
Even if you don't plan on supporting APM in any way, I'd like to get a feel as to how you think about obtaining Reformed materials on the web. If you have a second, cast your vote so I can get a sense of the outcome. Thanks in advance.
 
Just to be clear - by once a month webcast, do you mean a live webcast that must be viewed that time, or a podcast that can be downloaded and viewed at any time?
 
What sort of content do you intend. How is the "Puritan" in the content?

If you have a good internet service then fine downloads. If you are struggling with an mp3 live feed no - DVD's (that would be me)
 
I'm trying to get a feel of where the Reformed Community is going...

I think if you're trying to get into pushing materials to the masses this late in the game it might be better to look at where society is going (can't believe I just said that). Assuming a fresh start at either DVD or webcasting, putting the effort into a webcasting service will pay off far more in the long run. You can see the impact Netflix and similar sites have had on major DVD rental stores in recent years, as well as look at the prevalence of Internet-enabled TVs (I don't have one... or cable... but I hear they exist) to know where the future of the market is.

While the future of the market shouldn't dictate our actions, my argument would be that streaming will only get cheaper and more direct as more devices are capable of greater bandwidth, putting solid reformed materials in everyone's hands at all times. That would be in opposition to DVDs which we can already see a trend away from, require you to physically have the materials on you, and a device capable of playing them.

At the end of the day, what would tip me over in favor of a web-based delivery mechanism would be the ease of which that is put into the hands of someone who cannot get their hands (legally) on such materials otherwise. I review the Sermon Audio stats for my church and I have marveled recently at how many sermons are being downloaded in countries that are officially "off limits" to the Gospel. By putting your materials online, you may give an underground church yet another means of growth when they can't order your DVDs.
 
I will assume DVD's will cost the consumer money to produce, ship, etc. Most podcasts, streaming videos, etc are free. I wouldn't pay for a DVD if I could get similar content for free.

Even if the DVD's were completely free, I'd just as well prefer some type of podcast/streaming video. Actually I'd probably prefer just an mp3 because that's easier to download and listen to on the go.
 
At the college, we podcast every lecture, and the students know that I will burn them to DVD if they desire. I have a stack of unopened DVD's in my desk drawer and an unused duplicator.
 
I would rather have the content as an audio and/or video download, I can move the content from place to place as need be...

Rather than DVD, thumb drives are more convenient in my opinion. Newer car stereos have a USB port and play at least an mp3. I recently installed a Sony HD TV for my mom, I was happy to see comes with a USB port and reads thumb drives. Heck, many newer motherboards offer booting from a USB source, allowing for an OS install from a thumb drive versus the CD/DVD drive. No opening and closing of the drawer or whirling spindle spinning @ a gazillion miles an hour.

Thumb drives are relatively cheap per GB and the sizes are very big providing ample storage. I don't always read from the drive, moving the content in most cases is faster, especially for video, copy to the computer then view. But, as a storage medium moving content from A to B, it's hard to beat - point & click, copy, paste - done.

Just my $0.000002 worth.

Mike
 
My choice would be downloadable and transferable, followed by downloadable and copy protected.

My continuing education materials are view online in a 30 day window, at which point the link expires.

DVDs are OK, but that is a mature, if not a dying, technology.

And my least favorable option would be a 'single view' live broadcast.

And don't use Flash - that is a dying format.
 
I've mostly used Webinars for technical traing. My preference is for an arrangment where the presentation portion is available later to play again on my own.
 
I concur with the brethren above - live & interactive is cool & helpful, so long as it is subsequently made available in downloadable and transferable format.

You may want to consider producing/offering a few DVD's of each session as an option for the minority of people who cannot (for whatever reason) access the streaming/downloading option. Just a thought.

BTW thanks for making the PB & APM available for the rest of us.
 
One thought that crosses my mind is this: If you make it as a download, your production cost is less, so the download should cost less than the physical copy. If you want to cover all bases, I'd offer both and post the price difference and why. :2cents:
 
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