The translation equipment you do not have to buy
A transmitter, a receiver for every listener, headsets to charge, hand out and collect, and somebody to look after all of it. Your audience is already holding the hardware — this uses that instead.
At a glance
- Hardware to buy
- None
- Receivers to charge
- None
- Listeners per language
- Unlimited
- Free on signup
- 30 credits
The tray of receivers is the expensive part
A hardware system is not one purchase. It is a transmitter, then a receiver for every person who might need one, then headsets, then batteries, then a case to charge them in, then somebody at the door on a Sunday handing them out and counting them back. Adding a second language means a second transmitter and a second set of everything. Here you buy no receivers at all — the audience listens on phones it already owns — and a second language is a checkbox.
What a hardware system asks of you
- A transmitter, then a receiver for every person who might need one
- Headsets, batteries and a case to charge them in
- Somebody at the door handing them out and counting them back
- A second language means a second transmitter and a second set of everything
What this asks of you
- No transmitter, no receivers, no headsets
- Nothing to charge, hand out or collect
- A second language costs no second set
- Nothing to replace when a unit is lost
What each setup actually asks of you
The comparison people make is price. The one that decides it is who does the work every week.
Up front
A transmitter plus a receiver per listener, bought before you know how many people will use it. Here: nothing, and 30 credits to find out.
Every single week
Charge, hand out, collect, count, chase the missing one. Here: put a code on the screen.
Adding a language
A second channel means a second transmitter and an interpreter to fill it. Here it is a setting, and the AI fills it.
When more people come than expected
You run out of receivers. Here nothing runs out — everyone who has a phone can join.
What you get besides audio
A receiver plays sound and nothing else. Here the same broadcast also carries captions, and can keep a transcript and a recording.
Where hardware still wins
Delay and dependence. FM and infrared are close to instant and need no network; this arrives a few seconds behind and needs one. Read the questions below before you decide.
Switching over without a gap
- 1
Run both for a few services
Keep handing out receivers while the code is on the screen. Nobody is asked to change anything, and you find out what people actually pick without risking a Sunday on it.
- 2
Feed it the same audio the receivers get
Whatever line already goes to your transmitter is the right source. If the sound is good enough for a receiver, it is good enough for this.
- 3
Watch which languages people choose
The console counts listeners per language, live. Two services tell you more than a year of guessing from the receiver tray.
- 4
Keep a few receivers
Not everyone carries a phone, and a handful of units for the people who do not is cheaper than a full system and kinder than a shrug.
Common questions
Is there more delay than with an FM system?
Yes, and it is worth being clear about it. An FM or infrared receiver is close to instant because it is a radio in the same room. This translates and then streams, so the translated voice arrives a few seconds behind the speaker — a whole clause at a time, which is what makes it fluent to follow. For a sermon or a talk that is fine and most listeners stop noticing. For a live back-and-forth where someone must reply immediately, hardware is still the better tool.
What if the internet goes down?
The broadcast stops, which an FM system would not. If your venue's connection is unreliable, that is a real reason to keep hardware — or to keep a few receivers as a fallback. Listeners can also use mobile data, which in most rooms fails independently of the venue Wi-Fi.
Does this satisfy an assistive listening requirement?
Not on its own, and do not treat it as if it does. Where a venue is legally required to provide an assistive listening system, that requirement is usually written around dedicated receivers or a hearing loop, and a bring-your-own-phone service does not automatically discharge it. Check your local rule. What this does add is captions in the language actually being spoken and high-quality Bluetooth audio, which help the same people in practice.
Some of our people do not have a smartphone.
Then keep a few receivers for them, or a couple of loaner phones with the page already open. This replaces the tray of fifty; it does not have to replace the last five.
Can we keep using our existing headsets?
Any headphones that plug into or pair with a phone work, and a listener who prefers their own earbuds simply uses them. What will not work is the receiver itself — it listens to a radio signal this does not transmit.
What does it cost compared with buying a system?
You buy credits, and one credit is about a minute in one language. There is no equipment cost, no replacement cost and no subscription — and a language nobody listens to that week is not charged at all. Whether that beats a one-off hardware purchase depends on how often you broadcast, which is the honest answer and the one the pricing page lets you work out.
Try it before you order anything
Run one service on 30 free credits, beside the system you already have.