Questions and Answers on The Table

Answers to a few of the questions you may have regarding our new multi-media software, The Table, and MP3 technology.

1. Does The Table version 2 work with Vista?
2. Should I uninstall the original Table before installing version 2?
3. I have the original Table how do I obtain the upgrade disc of the new version?
4. What is the difference between the original with an upgrade disc and a complete new version?
5. Are the two new sermons included on a new MP3/CD?
6. What is mp3, and why are you just now offering it?
7. You already had the entire Message available on 10 discs in The Message/The Voice software. Will that no longer be available?
8. Why are there both MP3 CDs and DVD discs included in the complete package?
9. Others are offering a player with the Message already loaded into it for about the same price as The Table. How is your product better?
10. Can I make copies (cassette, CD or MP3) and give them out as gifts or as a witnessing tool? Will I owe royalties on the tapes or CDs that I make and give away in my personal witnessing?
11. Will my current DVD player work with The Table?
12. What is the best way to play the MP3s in a church?
13. I am having trouble finding a DVD player that will work with The Table.
14. I already have a computer with a fairly large hard drive. I want to put all the MP3 files onto my computer. What is the least expensive way to do this?
15. I have 2 computers: a PC and a laptop. I would like to know if I can install one program on both systems, or do I have to purchase a separate program for each system that I own?
16. What exactly, can I copy from the DVD set, and what can I not copy?
17. When I purchased the 2001 release I was under the assumption that it had the entire message. The manual states on the front that it has "the complete text and audio of William Marrion Branham" yet when I read the announcement for The Table you state that you 'admit' that not all the audio is in the 2001 release.
18. May I compile an audio CD of favorite "quotes"?
19. Is The Table search software available without any of the mp3 audio?
20. How do I purchase The Table?
21. Can you run the DVD program called The Table on Windows XP home or professional?
22. If I wanted to install the whole set to my hard drive can I use multiple drives that equal over 122 GB of free space? I am looking into buying two 120GB hard drives for my system.
23. Do you have any recommended MP3 players to suggest?
24. I assume that I install the MP3 Voice files from the DVDs and not from the CDs onto my computer, is this correct?
25. When I try playing a tape from one of The Table CDs it appears that the wrong sermon starts playing, often, the morning and evening sermons seem to have their positions different than the order you have them on the label.

Answers

Does The Table version 2 work with Windows Vista?

The Table version 2 was designed to work on Windows XP, however if it is installed correctly and the proper patches are installed it will work fine on Vista. Here are the instructions for installing The Table on Vista.

Should I uninstall the original Table before installing version 2?

When you install the new version on your computer it will not overwrite an older version. It will install version 2 in a folder beside the old one. You will then have access to both versions. But you cannot run both versions simultaneously. Most users will have no need for two versions and so should remove the original version first to conserve space.

I have the original Table how do I obtain the upgrade disc of version 2005?

If you bought it directly from VGR you will receive an update disc in the mail free of charge. If you have moved or you got it from someone else the disc was mailed to the address we had on file. If for some reason you have not received the upgrade please call VGR and we will work to resolve the problem.

What is the difference between the original with an upgrade disc and a complete new version?

There is no difference in packaging or content.

Are the two new sermons included on a new MP3/CD?

No, They are only included on the upgrade DVD. This is true if you are upgrading to version 2 or are buying a fresh new copy. Using the Table it is a simple procedure to burn your own MP3/CD if you have a CD burner in your computer. TOP

What is MP3?

MP3 is audio technology based on a compression process that reduces the size of the file (or, in our case, sermon) thereby increasing the number of sermons that will fit on a CD or DVD disc.

The obvious advantages of this technology are portability and economy. The difficulty lies in the compression process.

When a file is compressed, some of the information is dropped in order to make more room on the disc. Had the Message been delivered in a soundproof studio with no audience or other background noise, the level of quality would not be seriously compromised by the compression process. However, because of the ambient noise on the original tapes – much of which cannot be eliminated through filtering – there are many sounds that often overlap the sound of Brother Branham’s voice. During compression, as the unnecessary background sounds are dropped from the file, the voice that falls within the same sound range as the “disposable noise,” is sometimes dropped also.

In order to utilize MP3 technology for reproducing the Message, the ratio of compression (or sample rate) becomes the critical issue. In a nutshell:

Low Sample Rate = Low Quality Audio = Fewer Discs.
High Sample Rate = High Quality Audio = More Discs.

For example, in the message The Uncertain Sound” 60-1218, paragraph 128, Brother Branham says: “That’s the reason we’re trying to say, this morning, you can’t evaluate your big church, your big steeples, and things, with the love of God that’s in our heart, by the Holy Ghost He gives unto you. No comparison. These things come supernatural.”

With low quality audio compression, the entire phrase “…Holy Ghost He gives unto you” is dropped. But, unless you are closely comparing the audio with the original recording, a written text, or an uncompressed CD, you cannot tell that a portion of the Message is missing! There are no ‘clicks’ or dead spaces that would indicate where the editing has taken place. And this is only one of many, many places where these omissions can and do occur at lower compression ratios.

As the audio quality is increased, the words “Holy Ghost” becomes audible, but only in the high quality range, near 160kbs, is the entire phrase preserved.

Our major concern was this: Can the use of low quality audio MP3 technology be compared to the “splicing” of tapes that Brother Branham spoke against? He warned us that this Message is “not my word. It’s His Word.” Do we have a right to decide which words are important, and which are not?

Our decision was that unless every word was preserved, we would by-pass this particular technology.

After careful studio testing, we found that compression that resulted in 20, 40, 80, or 160 discs could NOT guarantee an acceptable level of quality. In order to listen to the Message in its entirety, and provide an “A-number-one” product, as Brother Branham specified, 234 discs are required. With this high quality (160kbs), not one word has been eliminated.

You already had the entire Message available on 10 discs in The Message/The Voice software. Will that no longer be available?

The audio on our ten-disc set is, admittedly, not the “A-number-one” quality product that Brother Branham specified, and therefore it was not intended or designed as a means of listening to an entire tape. It was intended as a reference tool only, in conjunction with the transcribed text. Listening is restricted to one quote at a time in The Message/The Voice software (which is why no royalties are paid on this product).

The Message/The Voice 2001 program is no longer available.

Why are there both MP3 CDs and DVD discs included in the complete package?

The DVD discs contain ALL the sermons in the MP3 160kbs format AND the updated software for The Message search 2003 program. This is your Master Library on 19 discs. With it, you can download the Message to any media type you want – portable MP3 player, cassettes, CDs, or even customized MP3 CDs.

For your convenience, we are offering the 234 MP3 CDs as a companion library. You may not have the time (or inclination) to burn your own by using the software that is on the DVD discs, so we have done it for you. Plus, these are individually labeled and packaged to match the DVD software, making it a very attractive set.

Both the DVD and CD discs contain the same MP3 files. The difference between the two is capacity. The DVD disc will hold 14 times more than the MP3 CD disc, and 70 times more than a standard CD disc. In our case, it takes 234 MP3 CDs to hold the same number of sermons that can be placed on 17 DVD discs.

There is a very important application where the MP3 CDs will fit the bill perfectly – overseas libraries. The large number of discs (each holding 5 to 8 sermons) will allow for wider circulation, and the cost of the players is now very affordable (less than $50). For a very reasonable price, we can put players and sets of 234 MP3 CDs into churches and libraries, and with pastors, missionaries and evangelists overseas.

Others are offering a player with the Message already loaded into it for about the same price as THE TABLE. How is your product better?

With other products, you are not actually getting what you think you are getting. We have already explained the problems that come with compression, but there is another technique that some have used that is also destructive.

It is a process that the recording industry has dubbed “quick and dirty filtering.” It will remove a lot of the hiss that is present on some of the original recordings, and make a product that, at first, may sound acceptable. The problem is that “quick and dirty filtering” will also remove anything that is within the same frequency range as the hiss – including the prophet’s voice. The words or phrases that are sacrificed during this filtering are in addition to what is lost during the compression process. Someone could whip together a product like this in just a few months and offer something that appears to be clear and complete, when it is not.

We have spent more than 2,500 man-hours filling in gaps, missing words, and making other corrections to the audio and written text. Then it took an additional 2,000 hours checking for every word in “real-time” listening, to make sure only background noise had been eliminated from our MP3 files, and not one word of the original text was missing. Also, a vital part of this project is the thousands of hours the recording department worked to create the new digital files from the analog source tape.

But by far the largest single element to affect the price of The Table is the royalties that are paid to WBEA, and to other sources for the infobase technology and the audio Bible.

The cost of The Table – 19 DVD discs plus 234 MP3 CDs, in a program that will enable you to listen, read, search, duplicate, and print from a data base of 1179 messages – is less than 42 cents per message. And, if you do the math, you will see that the audio-only MP3 CD library can be yours for the cost of royalties alone!

But most importantly, you can rest assured that every “byte” is on The Table!

Can I make copies (cassette, CD or MP3) and give them out as gifts or as a witnessing tool? Will I owe royalties on the tapes or CDs that I make and give away in my personal witnessing?

The material on the discs you will receive with The Table is protected by a copyright. As a purchaser, you will have permission to copy this MP3 audio for your personal use to any format or media you may wish. If you wish to make a copy of a message to give away as a witnessing tool, you’re free to do so. However, if you wish to make multiple copies to hand out free of charge, please contact VGR for written permission. This is a part of the policy which Brother Branham instituted, and which we continue to adhere to in accordance with his directions.

If you have other questions regarding the duplication and distribution of any of the materials in The Table, please contact VGR. We are willing to work with you on any project.

Royalties are not owed on cassettes, CDs, or MP3s that are distributed in accordance with our General Missionary Policy, which you will find at the end of this article.

Will my current DVD player work with THE TABLE?

Because this is new technology, not all DVD players will play MP3 files from DVD discs. Several of the newer DVD players will play the audio MP3 files, and DVD drives are an available option on all new computers. Watch the market for more new portable players that are on the way.

On our website, we will post a few recommendations that may help you to select a player that is best for you. There are many options available, and the market is constantly changing. A major feature to look for is “Resume” which will allow you to stop a message, even turn off the power, and then resume listening at the place you stopped.

What is the best way to play MP3s in a church?

In a church environment, having an easy way to return to where you left off is of the utmost importance. Any portable or stereo unit should have a "power-down-resume" feature.

Considering the possibilities of projecting the "Continue Text" on a screen for the entire congregation to read along, suggests that you would use a computer. The "Continue Text" feature only works with a computer. Using a computer makes the power-down-resume a flexible and yet very simple task to accomplish. You would simply plug your computer sound card output to an input of your PA system.

If you desire to project the "Continue Text" for everyone to read, plug the video input for the projector to the video output from the computer.

I am having trouble finding a DVD player that will work THE TABLE.

If you plan to use a DVD MP3 player, we suggest that you take one of our DVD discs to your stereo component store to actually try it in a player before purchasing one. There are many DVD players that will not play MP3 files on a DVD disc, even though they will play MP3 files on a CD disc.

I already have a computer with a fairly large hard drive. I want to put all the MP3 files on my computer. What is the least expensive way to do this?

THE TABLE, including the MP3 and all extras, uses 125 GB of space on your hard drive. You would need to use the entire new hard drive and also about 14 GB’s of room from your existing hard drive. This would allow you to have everything loaded.

I have 2 computers: a PC and a laptop. I would like to know if I can install one program on both systems, or do I have to purchase a separate program for each system that I own?

In accordance with the licensing agreement we have with Folio Corporation, as a purchaser of this program, you have permission to use it on multiple computers, as long as they are used exclusively by you or your immediate family, residing in your home.

What exactly, can I copy from the DVD set, and what can I not copy?

This is explained in detail in the End User License Agreement.

When I purchased the 2001 release of The Message Software, I was under the assumption that it contained the entire message. The manual states on the front that it has "the complete text and audio of William Marrion Branham" yet when I read the announcement for THE TABLE, you state that you "admit" that not all the audio is in the 2001 release.

When the The Voice/The Message 2001 Software was released, it was never intended to be a replacement for the audio tapes. It was solely intended as a research tool. Because of this, no royalties were charged for these audio files, which were included at no extra charge. The text in the software program was complete to the best of our ability at that time. With the new software program, The Table, we have added about 40 Messages, filled over 400 blank spots, and improved the audio quality of our files to the point where no words are lost due to the compression process. Therefore, since it is now an "A-number-one" product, it is no longer limited to research, and royalties are paid on these audio files.

May I compile an audio CD of favorite quotes?

Yes, but for your personal use only. Although The Table software does not facilitate this, it may be done with other audio software.

Is THE TABLE search software available without the MP3 audio?

No, the software of The Table and the audio are a combined unit and only the audio is available in a separate form.

How do I purchase The Table?

You may place your order using our online catalog or by calling Voice Of God Recordings at (812) 256-1177 for ordering.

Can you run the DVD program called THE TABLE on Windows XP home or professional?

The Table will work on either version of XP.

If I wanted to install the whole set to my hard drive can I use multiple drives that equal over 122 GB of free space? I am looking into buying two 120GB hard drives for my system.

YES, you may use several hard drives if necessary.

Do you have any recommended MP3 players to suggest?

No. We recommend you test the player before purchase, or buy from a dealer with a “money back” guarantee.

I assume that I install the MP3 Voice files from the DVDs and not from the CDs onto my computer, is this correct?

Yes, there is an install program on each DVD that makes it very simple to do. Also, loading from 234 CDs would be quite a chore compared to doing so from a few DVDs.

When I try playing a tape from one of THE TABLE's CDs it appears that the wrong sermon starts playing, often, the morning and evening sermons seem to have their positions different than the order you have them on the label.

The label on the CD disc lists the sermons in their proper chronological order, Morning before Evening. The sermons are actually placed physically on the CD discs in this same order. However, the order in which they are listed on any particular MP3 player will depend upon the software imbedded in the player. Most MP3 players will sort the names of all the MP3 files on a disc alphabetically. This means that the Evening sermons will be listed before the Morning sermons since "E" comes before "M" in the alphabet. To insure that you are playing the correct sermon, look at the detail information on the LCD screen (or monitor) and pay attention to the title.