Feature Updates 03/29/2022
HLS M3U8 Support Added to Resolve Vimeo MP4 Transcoding Issue on Apple Devices
We're pleased to report the OnlineGiving.org sermon media manager has been enhanced to support HLS M3U8 for Vimeo.
Before the update, it was reported that the Vimeo MP4 playback distribution links were not playing right away on Apple devices for some churches. Specifically, Apple devices failed to recognize the Vimeo MP4 streaming codec and required the video to download entirely prior to playing. OnlineGiving.org investigated the issue and found that some videos uploaded to Vimeo with incorrect encoding may fail to transcode correctly at Vimeo for MP4 distribution links. Technically speaking, Vimeo correctly transcodes to AAC H.264, which is supported on Apple devices. However, in some cases, the video's metadata can fail to include the required information for Apple to stream playback right away.
OnlineGiving.org enhanced its Vimeo distribution link support to include HLS M3U8 support to resolve the Vimeo issue. HLS stands for HTTP Live Streaming. It's an HTTP-based media streaming communications protocol created by Apple. It works by breaking the overall stream into a sequence of small file downloads, each download loading one short chunk of an overall potentially unbounded transport stream. Long story short, it's the preferred format for Apple devices for video streaming.
Church administrators can now add HLS M3U8 Vimeo distribution links for playback in the mobile application in the OnlineGiving.org Control Panel > Sermon Media Manager. We would recommend all churches use Vimeo Distribution links with the OnlineGiving.org Sermon Media Manager to start including the HLS M3U8 links when creating future sermons. Additionally, we would recommend any existing OnlineGiving.org mobile app church using Vimeo that is having Apple playback issues to go back into the Sermon Media Manager and update your existing sermon media content to include MLS M3U8 links.
For your convenience, we've included videos below showing how to add Vimeo Distribution links for new sermons and how to quickly update existing Vimeo sermon information (if needed).
How to Add Vimeo Distribution Links for New Sermons in the OnlineGiving.org Control Panel Sermon Media Manager:
https://vimeo.com/693583533/88beceba59
How to Update Existing Sermon Vimeo Distribution Links in the OnlineGiving.org Control Panel Sermon Media Manager:
https://vimeo.com/693583610/c1256b089d
YouTube Videos Updated to Open in YouTube Mobile App Due to New YouTube License Terms
An update is now live to OnlineGiving.org to comply with the latest YouTube license terms that prohibit YouTube embedded video playback inside mobile applications. OnlineGiving.org delayed this update as long as possible. However, YouTube has recently updated its platform to prevent playback when embedded in a mobile app (besides the YouTube app). Per YouTube's terms and conditions, churches using YouTube videos will have the video playback in the YouTube mobile app when tapping the video to play.
We can only speculate, but our guess is YouTube has performed this move to prevent advertisements from not displaying, etc. With censorship on the rise and the possibility of worldly advertisements displayed on church sermons, we strongly recommend moving to a paid video provider such as Vimeo or similar. Vimeo offers nominally priced video services that allow the complete church control over video playback, embedding, comments, and no advertisements. Additionally, today's popular video publishing applications contain cross-publishing features making it easy to have Vimeo as your primary video source and cross publish the video to YouTube, Facebook, etc. The goal is to avoid using YouTube or any other provider that continues to lockdown and restrict video content based on worldly views.
It's important to note that mobile app users may need to close the open app from the mobile device app switcher to view the latest changes. For iOS devices, swipe up and hold from the bottom of the screen to view the app switcher (tasks manager), then swipe up on the open app to close, then open the app again to view the latest changes. For older iOS devices, double-tap the home button to view the app switcher. For Android devices, tap the navigation button, swipe up on the open app to close, and then open the app to view the latest changes.
OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning for MinistryPlatform Enhanced with Additional MP Contact Matching
We're pleased to report an update is now live that enhances the OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning for MinistryPlatform by adding additional MP contact searching capabilities when reviewing checks. Specifically, we've enhanced the check scanning OCR and donor search features to reach out to MinistryPlatform for MP Contact matches based on first name, last name, phone, and mailing address. Church administrators may now select external MP Contact matches when reviewing checks and those matches will be automatically imported into OnlineGiving.org when processing the check batch. The goal of the feature is to allow extended MP contact matching to prevent duplicates further. The update adds to the existing capabilities of OnlineGiving.org to perform MinistryPlatform checking/account number matching.
OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning Rock RMS Enhanced with Additional Rock RMS People Matching
We're pleased to report an update is now live that enhances the OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning for Rock RMS by adding additional Rock RMS people searching capabilities when reviewing checks. Specifically, we've enhanced the check scanning OCR and donor search features to reach out to Rock RMS for people matches based on first name, last name, phone, and mailing address. Church administrators may now select external Rock RMS people matches when reviewing checks and those matches will be automatically imported into OnlineGiving.org when processing the check batch. The goal of the feature is to allow extended Rock RMS people matching to prevent duplicates further for first-time OnlineGiving.org paper check donors.
OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning Planning Center Enhanced with Additional PCO People Matching
We're pleased to report an update is now live that enhances the OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning for Planning Center by adding additional Planning Center people searching capabilities when reviewing checks. Specifically, we've enhanced the check scanning OCR and donor search features to reach out to Planning Center for people matches based on first name, last name, phone, and mailing address. Church administrators may now select external Planning Center people matches when reviewing checks and those matches will be automatically imported into OnlineGiving.org when processing the check batch. The goal of the feature is to allow extended Planning Center people matching to prevent duplicates further for first-time OnlineGiving.org paper check donors.
OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning TouchPoint Enhanced with Additional TouchPoint Individual Matching
We're pleased to report an update is now live that enhances the OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning for TouchPoint by adding additional TouchPoint people searching capabilities when reviewing checks. Specifically, we've enhanced the check scanning OCR and donor search features to reach out to TouchPoint for people matches based on first name, last name, and phone. Church administrators may now select external TouchPoint individual matches when reviewing checks and those matches will be automatically imported into OnlineGiving.org when processing the check batch. The goal of the feature is to allow extended TouchPoint individual matching to prevent duplicates further for first-time OnlineGiving.org paper check donors.
OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning Church Community Builder Enhanced with Additional CCB Individual Matching
We're pleased to report an update is now live that enhances the OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning for Church Community Builder by adding additional CCB people searching capabilities when reviewing checks. Specifically, we've enhanced the check scanning OCR and donor search features to reach out to CCB for people matches based on first name and last name. Church administrators may now select external CCB individual matches when reviewing checks and those matches will be automatically imported into OnlineGiving.org when processing the check batch. The goal of the feature is to allow extended CCB individual matching to prevent duplicates further for first-time OnlineGiving.org paper check donors.
OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning Aplos Enhanced with Additional Aplos Individual Matching
We're pleased to report an update is now live that enhances the OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning for Aplos by adding additional Aplos people searching capabilities when reviewing checks. Specifically, we've enhanced the check scanning OCR and donor search features to reach out to Aplos for people matches based on first name and last name. Church administrators may now select external Aplos people matches when reviewing checks and those matches will be automatically imported into OnlineGiving.org when processing the check batch. The goal of the feature is to allow extended Aplos people matching to prevent duplicates further for first-time OnlineGiving.org paper check donors.
OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning Fellowship One Enhanced with Additional F1 Individual Matching
We're pleased to report an update is now live that enhances the OnlineGiving.org Check Scanning for Fellowship One by adding additional F1 people searching capabilities when reviewing checks. Specifically, we've enhanced the check scanning OCR and donor search features to reach out to F1 for people matches based on first name and last name. Church administrators may now select external F1 individual matches when reviewing checks and those matches will be automatically imported into OnlineGiving.org when processing the check batch. The goal of the feature is to allow extended F1 individual matching to prevent duplicates further for first-time OnlineGiving.org paper check donors.