Propresenter Software Requirements
Michael Rosiles
If your church uses ProPresenter, you might wonder which computer system is best. Whether a church plant just getting started, or an established church looking to upgrade your computer systems, this article aims at helping your church be a good steward of its resources by choosing the best computer system to run ProPresenter.
While the first six listed above are solid reasons to choose Mac and the next two are reasons to choose Windows, the last two could go either way. So, depending on your situation, you might find that it's six to four in the Mac's favor, but only three of the Mac features are ones you're interested in. It really is dependent on your situation.
While ProPresenter costs the same whether you run it on a Mac or PC, there is something to be considered with the ProPresenter license. If your plan is to run it on a Mac in the sanctuary and on a Windows box for the youth in their space, but you only have the single license, it won't work.
The cheaper Windows boxes tend to have spinning hard drives and older processors. Comparisons start to get murky, too, because while the Apple computers tell what generation the chips are, the Windows computers may not. So an i5 might seem like a better deal than an i3 until you realize that the i5 was from several years ago and the i3 is brand new. The advances do make a difference in performance.
For a PC, the requirements are stricter. You need either Windows 8 Pro with Windows Media Center or Windows 10, an i5 or equivalent AMD processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a dedicated/discrete graphics card that supports OpenGL 3.2 or higher (like the NVIDIA GeForce or AMD Radeon series with a minimum of 1 GB of dedicated memory). Certain graphics cards are not recommended (like the AMD FirePro or NVIDIA Quatro cards). Some may or may not work (like Intel HD Graphics).
ProPresenter6 for Windows is a 32-bit application. When it launched, this meant the maximum amount of RAM the Windows version could address was 2 GB. Not knowing this, some churches decided to try and speed ProPresenter up with additional RAM. It didn't help.
All of this comes down to one advantage that the Mac version of ProPresenter has over the Windows version. Renewed Vision has been writing a Mac version since Brad Weston came up with the idea for it. They know how to code software for Mac and how to do it well.
This doesn't mean that the Windows version is just a port that they spend a few minutes tweaking. No, the two systems are different enough for something as intensive as ProPresenter that, rumor has it, it was rewritten.
It's still the case that Renewed Vision started on Mac and created ProPresenter for Mac initially, so while the features are getting closer and closer, they're not perfectly aligned yet. Part of that is because they're different platforms and part of it is that the Windows version is busy playing catch-up while the Mac version is growing.
The only exception is the Communications Module and its subset, the Midi Module. They only work on Mac. If you want to control a lighting console, switcher, a device over midi, or have ProPresenter be controlled by them, such as with Ableton Live, Mac is your only choice right now.
Here's what it does and why you should care. Syphon is a utility that captures the screen of one app and sends it to another. This means you could use it to send ProPresenter to OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) for live-streaming or use other software (like Resolume) to send its output into ProPresenter.
In Windows, there's a similar utility called Spout. Unfortunately, it's not a part of the Windows version of ProPresenter. If you want to send the output of Pro6 for Windows to other software, you have to find another way to do it, like the NDI module or Newtek's NDI Tools, which also work on the Mac version.
There are a lot of text formatting options you can still use inside ProPresenter. Of course, you can change the size of the font, change the color, make it bold, italicized, or underlined. You can also outline it (what Photoshop calls a stroke) and change the justification and centering. On top of all that you can also change paragraph spacing and space between letters or even make them all caps with just a single checkbox.
At least you can do all those things on the Mac, but not in the PC version. This stems from the fact that typography has always been something that was very important to Apple. Adding in various text formatting options is pretty simple in MacOS. It's harder on Windows. Sure, the basics are still covered, but not the things like the all caps checkbox and modifying the space between letters. Those are Mac only.
The Windows version goes a step further. It allows you to import transitions and animations. From an artistic perspective, this might not be good news to you, but if your pastor is insistent that each bulleted list item looks like Bill Gates is delivering a keynote, then you have an advantage with the Windows version.
If you want to go with Windows, take a look at this HP Pavilion Power 580-023w Gaming Tower. The NVIDIA GTX 1060 video card in this computer comes with 3GB of video RAM and supports OpenGL 4.5, so it should be fine with ProPresenter 6. One thing to keep in mind is that it ships with a spinning drive, so you'd probably want to upgrade to a solid state drive (SSD) for better performance. The base model, before adding the SSD, sells for $689.90, currently. For that upgrade, a 240 GB SSD runs about $30-40, so if you have someone techie who will install it for free, the whole thing, including the upgrade should come in at just over $700.
If you're going for a Mac, take a look at the new Mini which starts at $799. If you want more than the base amount of storage, it will cost you ($200 for the upgrade to 256 GB), but unlike the RAM, which is upgradeable, the SSD is soldered on the board, so you'll need to decide that at time of purchase. Unlike previous models, this one does support three external displays, so you can have one to control ProPresenter, one for the congregation, and an optional stage display.
One final point, don't pick one over the other based solely one data point unless that's the most important by far. As we've seen, there are churches that run ProPresenter on Windows and others that run it on Mac. You might find that your church is one of the ones that runs it better in Windows. For most churches, though, the features of the Mac version push the decision in that direction.
I both Love and Dislike your article, it is much appreciated the work that went into it and your understanding. (I am a Windows user through and through but willing to take a look at Mac only for this) However, I have a couple of questions in lieu of the changes that PP7 has brought to the table.
1.In a Mac what must be done to get 4 1080p outputs with such little vRAM over a Windows system? I am unable to find a Mac with 8GB of dedicated vRAM.
2.How does NDI support now compare to Syphon within the process?
We have been using a PC for our ProPresenter 6 since we converted from MediaShout this last year. We have found out that, according to ProPresenter, Windows has been causing issues with the 32-bit version of ProPresenter. It is very sluggish when building playlists and moving from the library to the playlist with periodic freezes. ProPresenter said they were building a 64-bit version for Windows but that there is no timeline for completion.
We have decided to replace our PC with a Mac this spring.
What is ProPresenter 7?
Answer: ProPresenter 7 is a professional presentation software designed for churches, conferences, and events. It allows users to display lyrics, videos, images, and slides in real-time.
How much does ProPresenter 7 cost?
Answer: The cost of ProPresenter 7 varies depending on the type of license you need. A single user license costs $799, while a site license for up to 3 machines costs $1,199.
What are the system requirements for ProPresenter 7?
Answer: The minimum system requirements for ProPresenter 7 are: Mac - macOS 10.13 or later, Windows - Windows 10 or later, 8GB RAM, and a dedicated graphics card with 2GB VRAM.
Can I use ProPresenter 7 to stream my presentations online?
Answer: Yes, ProPresenter 7 has built-in streaming capabilities that allow users to stream their presentations live on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and more.
How do I get started with ProPresenter 7?
Answer: To get started with ProPresenter 7, you can download a free trial from the Renewed Vision website. Once you've installed the software, you can use the built-in tutorials and help files to learn how to use it.
We realize every ministry is different with unique needs when it comes to technology. That's why we provide options to fit the needs of ministries of all sizes and budgets on MultiTracks.com. Reach out using the chat and ask to speak to a product advisor if you need personal assistance in finding the right resources for you and/or your team!
The Playback app can automate ProPresenter lyrics utilizing MIDI Out and Renewed Vision's ProPresenter MIDI module (that's included for free in ProPresenter 7 and higher). With that in mind, the bare minimum required to get started automating Lyrics in ProPresenter with the Playback app would be:
With the above minimum requirements, an individual would have all the technology needed to automate ProPresenter using MIdI information from the Playback app. However, with just the above, all of the content would need to be created manually; Including the Lyric slides in ProPresenter, and the MIDI cues in Playback to match the lyric slides in ProPresenter.
For the full automation experience, including ALL ProPresenter content and MIDI cue data that matches the ProPresenter content, many users opt for the full MultiTracks.com and ProPresenter automation package. This package would include:
*Customers can opt to purchase ProPresenter Templates individually for $5/song from MultiTracks.com instead of utilizing the Stage Display Add-on. However, the website ProPresenter templates do not have the full feature set that the Stage Display Add-on Templates have. Learn More Here.
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