Media Bank Tips and Tricks

Welcome to our Media Bank Help Center! We are interesting in helping you gain conveient and easy access to the great store of files, graphics, video, and audio resources we have made available for you here. Remembering just a few basic rules and tips will make your experience edifying and rewarding. Here are a few tips to remember as you encounter our large storehouse of materials.

Be patient while the database searches. Every now and then you may notice a slight delay in the database, as if you are clicking on drop-down buttons or are choosing topics, but getting no response. Have no fear; usually if you are only mildly patient your search request will go through and you'll find what we have on your subject.

Files are available to both view online or to download for your convenience. Next to a particular kind of file in the database you will notice various icons which tell you want kind of files are associated with this presentation or resource. Both video (a little camera icon) and audio (a speaker icon) can either be viewed online, or downloaded. Know that is you decide to download a video, your length of waiting will depend on the speed of your internet connection. The rule of thumb is always be sure you want something bad enough to wait for its complete download! When it comes to computer downloading, patience is truly golden!

Check the format of the media you're downloading, and know what you can play back on your system. Downloaded audio files are in .mp3 format and will need to be burned to a WAV format before it can be used on regualar CD players (although many players now support both WAV and mpe formatted media). Know what you have and what you need before you download and burn!

Recognize how general the categories are as you search. Our database is massive, flexible, and useful, but, unfortunately, as of the present we can only assign a single topic to each presentation or file. Although we sought to attach several different concepts to our media files, many of the files could easily have been cross-matched, or connected to multiple concepts. All that to say, if you do not find your topic or ideas in the pull-downs, think in terms of synonyms or related and similar ideas. Read carefully the description of each item in the database; this is the easiest, safest way to assess the content of the item you're looking at. This can greatly help you connect to the ideas or presentations you're looking for.

Bible studies are the best! Our database was designed with ease of use for Bible studies, so employ the Bible reference drop down to find any Bible related presentations in the database.

File by Type is set up to help you understand the primary mode of the presentation. Each presentation or resource in our database has a primary mode of communication: it is a audio teaching which also has notes, it is a video presentation with a document outline, it is a graphics file with neither audio or video, etc. Try to determine what is the primary mode of communication for a resource, and you will know how best to use it. Again, the rule of thumb is to read carefully the item description for each resource in the database. While this is usually fairly easy to detect, it pays big dividends to know what the primary mode was.

Mine the graphic document treasures. One of the unique and wondeful things about our resource is the abundance of tables, charts, mind maps, and graphic representations of ideas related to theology, Bible, ethics, ministry, and mission. The graphics files here represent a remarkable treasure of our best reflection on urban ministry and mission over the years. A word to the wise: explore the .pdf files here, for they are rich in content and useability.
Visit the Media Bank often. Our aim is to provide you with our full range of teachings, videos, and document and graphic files over time. To sort through the thousands of files, images, and materials will take us some time, and we will try to organize it carefully before we upload it for your use. Check back often and browse.

These are just a few tips and insights in making the most of the Media Bank. Come back often to the tips and tricks section; we want you to take full advantage of the database's potential!