Service-cast™ by Hathaway

If those watching on a computer, tablet or phone, cannot hear clearly what is said and shared at the funeral home during an internet broadcast, then the people outside the funeral home have missed out on almost everything.

A Hathaway Service-cast is different. We put microphones up front at the podium, so no one has to miss a single word. Every thought and prayer comes through loud and clear.

Also, any special music used during the service gets played directly to the internet, so no one has to strain to understand what’s going on.

Most funeral streams use one low quality camera at the back of the room, meaning that after the first few minutes, there’s nothing more to look at than the back of a few funeral participant’s heads.

A Hathaway Service-cast uses more than one camera, so you can actually see who has stood up to talk at the podium. Service-casts also incorporate slide-shows of photographs and tribute messages, along with themed video clips, to make the viewing experience more complete, meaningful and engaging for anyone watching on a computer or tablet.

Funerals aren’t weddings, the emotions are very different and the experiences tend to be much more solemn and personal. Therefore we don’t point cameras directly at the family and friends present at the funeral home or gravesite. Not unless they specifically ask to be filmed. We also keep microphones away from grievers and turned off as much as possible, so conversations do not inadvertently drift out onto the internet.

For technical reasons, streams tend to get started well before the actual service time. This is done to make sure everything is connected and running properly, and sometimes a virtual visitation is incorporated into the funeral schedule which adds even more quiet minutes to the beginning of the broadcast.

This is fine the day of the service when everything is happening live, but a day or a month later, all that quiet footage at the beginning can make it very hard to find the beginning of the actual service to watch over again.

We are the only provider who takes time to edit the permanent recording, so that it opens at the beginning of the service, and clears away any of the silences which occur when participants move back and forth from the podium. The final video has a flow that feels finished, without cutting away anything that’s important and meaningful.

Our equipment is completely portable, so we can set up for Service-casts in any of our six Bristol County locations. We also have the ability to stream using cellular data from many remote locations—including cemeteries—with the same level of quality and attention to detail. This is subject to having a cell tower close enough to support the stream. When data is limited, we can also record a service and post it later in the day for others to see.