LIVESTREAMING

IT'S LIKE BEING IN THE ROOM

Secure Livestreaming & Recording

Our live streaming service has been thoughtfully designed to let family and loved ones to publicly or privately attend a funeral, memorial, celebration of life or graveside service in real time on a phone, tablet, laptop or large screen monitor/smart tv with a wi-fi connection.


Other live stream providers can only provide video of the service. With our solution, you also have the ability to engage with additional content such as family photos, written remembrances, service programs, prayer cards, tribute videos; you can sign the guest book, leave condolences and more. When loved ones visit a personalized memorial page they need only click on the link to access the features. And once there can experience many of the aspects of the service previously only available to those attending in person.


9 out of 10 services held today have

loved ones who are unable to attend


When a life ends, friends and loved ones need a way to cope, to grieve, to pay their respects and to begin healing.


For centuries, funerals and memorial services have served this purpose. Too often, however, many of today’s mourners find themselves unable to participate, whether due to distance, illness, or family and work commitments.

The Best Way to Livestream Funerals:

Four Questions for Families to Consider


Even before the pandemic, many families opted to livestream the funeral of a loved one so those who couldn’t be there in person could attend remotely. In fact, 9 out of 10 funerals typically have loved ones who are unable to attend due to distance, health considerations or other commitments. If this is the first time you’ve considered adding a livestream to a funeral, you may be wondering: What’s the best approach? How do we make this livestream or webcast decision and if we decide to do it, how do we make it private so it isn’t broadcast beyond family and friends if we don’t want it to be and as meaningful as possible for those who can’t be at the service in person? Below are four questions you need to ask before you livestream a loved one’s funeral or memorial to make it the best experience possible.

1. Who are the people that may want to attend the funeral or memorial remotely?


It’s important to ask this question – and then start making a list. Chances are high that your loved one had friends and family members who will want to attend but can’t. Think about all the people whose lives your loved one has touched, including relatives and friends they may have lost touch with. Use their address book or holiday card list or ask other friends and loved ones to make sure you don’t leave people out who cared about your loved one. You may also consider including a link to the livestream of the service on the funeral home’s website and in the obituary.

2. What kind of livestreaming service does the funeral home use and how does it work?


This is a very important question. Some churches and other locations can livestream events already. But can they ensure the livestream of the funeral will be private and personalized? How do they monitor their livestream to help make sure video and audio quality issues are addressed quickly? Who do remote attendees call if they have an issue accessing a funeral livestream? Do they only offer funeral livestreaming or does their service allow families to provide context about the deceased’s life? What if the service is in a location that doesn’t have livestreaming  or wi-fi capabilities or what if the service is graveside or at some other location? Our livestreaming solution covers all the bases.


We offer a public (or private) and dignified way to attend a funeral or memorial service remotely. Each live stream is monitored for video and audio quality (so remote attendees can get help if needed). Each live stream has a unique distribution link (private web address) that is provided by the funeral home to family and friends and acts like a key for access. This link can also be made public on the loved one's Memorial Tribute Site/Online obituary on our funeral home website. All a remote attendee needs to do is click on the link which opens a web browser and takes them directly to the service they wish to attend remotely. Mourners don’t have to join a third-party platform, download a new app, or remember a new user id and password they may only use once – something particularly important for the older generation. 


3. Which portions of the funeral or memorial service do families want to make available via live stream?


The answer to this question varies quite a bit and depends a great deal on how the service itself is organized. Some families  only want to broadcast the church or chapel portion of the service. Others want to be able to livestream the rosary at the wake or the last prayers and farewells at the grave site. Those who opt for a Celebration of Life service may have completely different requirements. The person or persons planning the funeral need to be clear and precise about their wishes and expectations.


4. What kind of information do you want to share with those participating remotely? What will in-person attendees have access to that remote attendees might appreciate having as well?


We have learned through research and experience that it is far more meaningful to remote attendees to share personalized content with them that they can engage and interact with that was close to the deceased’s heart – the same sort of content that makes attending a highly personalized service in-person heartwarming and transformational.


If you choose to live stream, take some time to think about what kind of content you would like to use to frame the service for remote attendees. A picture of dad hiking the Appalachian Trail? The lyrics of mom’s favorite song or scripture verse? Information about an award that meant the world to your sister? A basketball trophy? A family tree? A wedding photo? A vacation home photo or video? A link to a beloved charity in lieu of flowers? A fun-loving childhood video or maybe a tribute video?



The possibilities for providing context are endless with our live stream solution and, like the eulogy, this content provides a series of windows into the life that was lived.

Why Facebook Live and YouTube Live

are NOT a good idea

Thinking about using Facebook Live to livestream a funeral? You might want to think again. Many reputable sources, including the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) recommend against using Facebook Live and YouTube Live for livestreaming funerals (see points 2 and 8 below). Funeral Directors and families want secure, easy-to-use and personalized platforms for funeral livestreaming – with no chance of technical glitches or, worst of all, technical failure. Unfortunately, Facebook Live does not perform well in any of these areas when it comes to livestreaming funerals.

Top 9 Reason NOT to Use Facebook Live

1. Not everybody has a Facebook account – or wants to be on Facebook. 


In fact, Facebook is actually losing daily active users (see this). Do you really want to force family members to join a social media platform they have thus far avoided and which appears to be on the decline? This might be especially true for older family members who do not use social media.


2. Facebook Live is NOT private or secure. 


Does your family really want to share final, precious moments with every person who can access the hosting funeral home's Facebook page (literally anyone with a Facebook account)? Keep in mind that some heavy users may have more than a thousand friends, some of whom may be no more than social media acquaintances they may have never actually met in person. This number grows exponentially if the page is set so friends of friends can see and comment on content. Facebook is also vulnerable to cybercriminals and trolls.


 Cybercriminals regularly monitor obituaries and publicly available social media posts and livestreams. They create fake accounts, copy photos of the deceased, and post malicious "livestream" links in the comments to steal credit card information or install malware.  Social media public streams are inherently vulnerable to trolling. Unmoderated or malicious comments can instantly degrade or disrupt the solemn atmosphere of a memorial service.


3. Inappropriate content. 


Facebook Live comes up via feed that is based on each individual’s Facebook data profile. There is a strong possibility that something incongruous or inappropriate might show up in the video feed or even just the news feed – including unwanted advertisements. Do you really want viewers to be distracted by ads, posts and TikTok videos in the middle of your loved one’s funeral?


4. Difficult to record.


While a video can remain on a given Facebook page, recording the funeral livestream from Facebook Live takes special software and know how. You will need to Google special step-by-step instructions if you want to make the livestream available for download, DVD, or to store it on a thumb drive. Otherwise, it stays on the Facebook page forever – or you need to delete and risk losing it. Recording, saving and reposting a live event also has many legal risks including music copyright laws.


5. Likes, comments – and number of viewers.


Before livestreaming a loved one’s funeral, ask yourself this: Do we really want viewers to be counting the number of likes and loves, or reading comments during the service (unless comments are disabled)? Do we need to know, in the moment, how many people are viewing the funeral? These Facebook metrics can be distracting, and even potentially upsetting, to families and other loved ones who are viewing the livestream. The best alternatives to Facebook Live are purpose-built for funerals and won’t distract – they will inform. Which leads me to my next point . . .


6. Facebook Live content is not personalized. 


Yes, you can livestream a funeral via Facebook – but you won’t have a guest book or a funeral program to share. You won’t be able to surround that video with other memories like pictures, stories, poems or tributes. In fact, a Facebook livestream shows up alongside posts and videos based on Facebook’s algorithm – not the family’s choice. As noted earlier, some of this Facebook-generated content may in fact be inappropriate for a funeral or memorial service.


7. Facebook Live doesn’t offer technical support. 


Families using Facebook Live are not protected from technical problems that can derail the entire livestream experience. If something goes wrong during the livestream, it’s up to your funeral director – or the family – to fix it in the moment. Nobody from Facebook is going to help – just try calling them if you don’t believe us! As one media expert puts it, “There is nothing more stressful [than] a live event that is experiencing real-time technical difficulties both for the organizers of the memorial service and the viewers trying to participate live online. Technical glitches can surprise even those who regularly use Facebook Live for other purposes."


8. Consider the problem of using music. 


According to USA Today, “If you plan to play music during a live streaming funeral service, proceed with caution . . . Many streaming services use software that detects copyrighted music and can suddenly mute the sound — leaving those watching in limbo . . . NFDA says its members have seen issues with streams on Facebook and YouTube in particular.” If you're not lucky enough for them to mute the music, you're open to copyright law violations. Not to mention the $30k+ fines per copyright infringement for recording and reposting a livestream with protected music. Funeral home webcasting licenses do NOT cover recorded, stored, or reposted livestream events with copyrighted music. This includes posting to a funeral home website, DVD, USB or other storage and retrieval method or device.


9. You are giving away control of your content.


In exchange for “free” broadcasting you are giving up control of your content as well as the user data of everyone who viewed the service. Facebook WILL use this to push advertising [spam] they benefit from onto those who view the service.

The information above is provided in part by TribuCast (R)  Remote Attendance System (R)

Interested in Livestreaming a Memorial Event?

Nichols Bewley Funeral Home and Cremation Services has almost a decade of experience in providing secure, quality livestreaming services for the families we serve. If you have questions or are interested in live streaming a memorial event, reach out to us anytime.

AUTHENTIC FAREWELLS

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