Electronic Song Books

At the church I attend, they (we) use a ceiling mounted projector to project the words to the songs as well as sermon "highlites", onto a screen. This is all well and good, but it has it's draw backs as well. One of those draw backs is known as reflective glare. This makes it nearly impossible for those with bad eyesight to read what's being displayed on the screen. So when it comes to the song service, they simply don't sing along as they are not able to se the words. And when it comes to the sermon "highlites" they can be seen looking at others notes. So a couple of weeks ago, I had this idea. What if a person were to build/create an electronic "song book" which these people could use? It would receive either an IR or RF signal transmitted from the sound tech's; or it may be "uploaded" via a usb, before the service. It would consist of both a brightness and contrast controls, which the user could adjust for their own comfort. Also it could also possibly have a selection of fonts, but that would REALLY take some doing. I refer to these as "books" as they would open up just as a book would, but it would consist of one or two LCD screens; thereby helping those with problems with their eyesight, to be able to join in with the others. So with this in mind, I would like to know if these "books" already exist, and if so, how much are they?

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  • Another thought. My wife owns a Kindle simply because she has a hard time ready printed books. She can adjust the size of the font and makes it much easier for her to read. Also, there is no 'page turning' as it has buttons that 'turn' the pages forward or backward. She loves it!!
    She does not have the 'reflective glare' issue, and in fact loves projection screens simply because they keep her looking forward and up a bit, making it easier to stay in eye contact with the worship leader.
    However, maybe a songbook for the Kindle could be developed and sold to churches for this purpose. Just an idea.
  • Lisa,

    Thanks for the comment.
    You're right about the "books" needing to be simple, that's why they would (more than likely) be limited to being able to control the brightness and contrast.
    These wouldn't be actual "computers" per say; they would look like song "books".
    As such, these (books) wouldn't be mounted, but you would open them up just like any other book; thereby eliminating the "angle" problem which you mentioned.
    (Although I have to admit, it would most certainly be a problem if they were "mounted"!)
    I apologize if I gave the impression that the "books" would be mounted.
    The "glare" problem isn't from the walls, it's from the screen itself. Some screens tend to have a reflective glare about them due to the material it is made of.
    They are made to have a better reflection, which they do, but in doing so, the white background(s) tend to appear as a glare to those with bad eyesight.
    This holds true with the white lettering on a dark background as well.
  • Hmmm, interesting idea. I'm kind of the "if I wanted a computer in church, I'd bring my own persuasion". However, this could be a useful idea. Going to be a bit of a "devil's" advocate here. It would have to be dirt simple to get some folks to accept and use it. My mother, for example, would be resistant just because it was a computer. She avoids them. My father, if you got him into the building, would use it just because it was a computer. The problem with LCD screens is you have to be looking at them from the correct angle to get a good picture. How would you mount the screen and allow folks to adjust it for best veiwing.
    On a quick and easy note (I hope) ...have you tried painting the wall with a flat or satin paint instead of glossy? Do your staff work with text color until they get something that shows well? What about font size?
  • Valia,

    Thanks for the response!
    I was beginning to wonder if anyone even read the posting!
    I hadn't thought about the WiFi approach. That one at least sounds feasible, but the church doesn't have an internet connection. (This was decided to avoid the need for someone to "watch" what it gets used for, as well as for other reasons.)
    I'm not quite sure how to go about this, but I'm thinking about looking for some laptops with bad keyboards, but good screens; rebuild (modify) them so they can then be made into a "book".
    The main "body" of the computer would be either fastened beneath the pew, or set in a "holder" mounted on the back of the pew in front of them. I'm leaning toward the idea of beneath the pew.
    This would also entail the use of a wireless gateway or hub for dispersing the signal. (Not unlike what you had mentioned.) This would eliminate the need for wired connections, but it would also open up the "connection(s)" to outside hackers. (Decisions, decisions!)
  • Howard, WOW! That is a really good idea. I can't think of anything off the bat that would give this functionality, but I will share your idea with other techy minded people to see if they know of anything.

    I do know that there are web programs available that let people see your computer screen, so maybe (and this is just an idea) you could do something like project your song lyrics and sermon notes from a computer with an internet connection. You could then set up a WiFi internet connection in your church building, and have people sign out WiFi devices that they can use during your church service. People would sign into the web conference program you are using for the service, so that whatever you are seeing on your screen, they are seeing on theirs. Then they would be able to adjust the brightness setting of their WiFi devices as well.
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