This box arrived on Friday with the beautiful Orange Thread Media logo and I was EXCITED to say the least. I’ll admit I was skeptical of the whole Playback Drive idea in the beginning – you can ask any of the guys involved, I shared my thoughts. But, I honestly believe it’s a valuable tool for churches and have now bought one myself. So, I thought I’d take a minute to share some of my thoughts on the content of the drive.

Note: If you’re looking for a more technical review of the Playback Drive check out this post from Chris Rouse or the Playback Drive website for specs. Yes, the tools are important, but my main concern with this post is the art. So, here we go.

I’ll say right away, if you are looking for a drive full of very literal content (waterfalls that are too good to be true, wooden crosses photoshopped onto a sunset background, a crowd full of fake looking worshipers with their hands raised in the air, etc) then the Playback Drive probably isn’t for you.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for more artistic expressions of those very same concepts and ideas then the Playback Drive is most definitely for you!

There was a long period of time where I avoided using still images because they all looked the same. In my opinion, they looked computer generated and lacked an element of interest. The people at Awake Images and Thr-ve (also the minds behind Simple Backs) have redeemed the use of still imagery for me. And a ton of their content is included is included FREE as a BONUS on the drive! Visual Worshiper (Camron Ware) also has some great stills.

I can honestly say that I can see myself using most of the loops during a worship service. There are some I would probably never use not because they’re not good quality, but simply because they don’t fit the environment of my current church. But, there is a good variety of textures and colors included in the content which are great for setting different tones in a worship environment.

I had people ask me before I purchased the drive if I thought it would be a good resource. I can honestly say now that yes, I think it’s a great resource. However, I will say that you have to be ready to make the content work for your environment and that may mean stepping a bit outside of the comfort zone you’ve been in with regards to media. I know I’ve been guilty of underestimating people’s ability to understand what’s communicated visually and therefore thought I had to be as literal as possible with everything. I have come to learn the value of using visual media to set a tone or create a mood and trust that it will speak to people in different ways depending on their experiences and that’s okay.

Bottom line, the content on the Playback Drive is quality. And I believe it’s content that will push churches to a new level in regards to worship media. If your church isn’t there but you want to get there, buy the drive. If you are there but need new content to keep things fresh, get the drive.

Oh, and did I mention that you’ll get a new clip each month if you purchase the drive?

One more thing, if you want a closer look at some of the content for yourself and have 45 minutes to spare, check out this PBHD Guided Tour video from Stephen Proctor.