A Big TV, Apple TV and Bible Classrooms!

tvDo your Bible class teachers need the use of a projector in the classroom?  Does your small church need an inexpensive way to get a presentation system.  Let me share something for you to consider. 

At Seven Oaks for years one of our teachers used a large projector and large screen.  It never worked well since the room wasn’t that large and all the seats and space was needed.  It was often discussed to mount a projector and screen from the ceiling, but it never happened.

Last year we solved the problem and have really enjoyed the solution!  

We purchased a 50 inch plasma TV from Sam’s Club for around $500.  We bought the wall mount and mounted it on the wall.  The picture is superb, so lighting and quality are not an issue.  Teachers using Powerpoint or Keynote still must be mindful of font size.  If it is too small it is difficult to read.  We mounted it high so all in the classroom can see the screen.

We also purchased an Apple TV which allows you to connect iPhones, iPads, and laptops to the TV wirelessly.  So the teacher can mirror their iPad screen or computer screen.  If it is a Mac device Airplay should work, unless it is an older device. For another option check out Air Parrott software for $10 which works on PCs and older Macs through Apple TV.  I have used it for my Macbook Pro (which is a 2009 model) and it has worked well.  I enjoy being able to show the Bible text on the screen or show a picture or map.

But you should never want to limit your options to wireless.  So we made sure the TV had a VGA input.  We purchased a 25 foot cable so the teacher is not limited in space.  We also hooked a VCR and DVD player up to the TV.  

The entire project cost about $750 and has been far superior to the mounted projector option.

Other Ideas:

  • You could put the TV, Apple TV, and DVD player on a roll cart and have it transferable between classrooms.
  • In small church buildings with the size of TVs increasing and the cost decreasing, churches should consider buying large TV(s) for use during worship.
  • Also, it is possible, though maybe not the best option, to buy a projector or TV with HDMI.  Add an Apple TV and iPad and you have your presentation program and device.  You don’t have to have a computer.  Or you could have a Macbook using Airplay and run the song service and sermon from the iPad or laptop.  I would recommend getting at least an iPad 3 for this purpose.  This would be relatively low cost, but not as dependable as having it wired!
The TV mounted in our Classroom

The TV mounted in our Classroom

What questions can I answer for you?

 

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3 comments

    • Wesley on May 31, 2013 at 10:31 pm

    I have tried using the apple tv for some of my presentations. One problem I had was the apple tv losing connection to my iPad. The apple tv home screen was suddenly coming across the projector. I lost the attention of my high school class for a good 5 minutes because of this. Is there a way to keep this from happening? Also, is there a way to change the apple tv home screen so that nothing inappropriate shows up?

      • Josh on May 31, 2013 at 11:20 pm
        Author

      Wesley,

      Thanks for reading. I have a couple of ideas you might consider, as I mentioned in the post the wireless screen mirror option is nice, but not as reliable. I have had the problem you had when using my iPhone and it had to do with my iPhone timing out and going to blank screen and then after it does this, the Appletv will go back to the main menu. So you may want to increase the time before the screen dims and goes away. Also, the strength of your wifi connection is crucial and the speed of the internet connection can also be a factor, I understand. In regard, to the main menu, I do not like that it shows all of the movies or TV shows at the top and some can be inappropriate. What I do at church is run the apple TV menu over to Settings and it is not up there or go down to the lower apps and you will not see the movies. But I believe if you leave it on the settings it only shows an apple logo. I hope these ideas helped. Any more questions. Thanks, Josh

    • Lauren on July 3, 2013 at 7:01 am

    If you are using an Apple TV and looking for a way to mount it and secure it, Maclocks now offers their Apple TV mount which secures both AppleTV and its input cables.Maclocks says it for both personal use and B2B use at classrooms, student dorms, hotel rooms, lobbies, hospitals and pretty much every Apple TV Sold.

    See Maclocks website at http://www.maclocks.com

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