TVs4Jesus is a powerful tool to get the gospel out at your mission hospital, but is it the best solution for you? TVs4Jesus is concerned with effective evangelism not necessary a certain way of doing it. Sometimes a better solution is to simply buy an in-country DVD player with USB (or this or this) and plug it into a TV rather than going with a TVs4Jesus system. (Be sure to buy an SD card, USB stick and HDMI cable as needed). Below is a comparison to see why this may or may not be a better solution for you.
| Summary Comparison | TVs4Jesus | DVD-USB Player/HDMI Player |
|---|---|---|
| Central (and remote Internet) management with web interface |  yes | no |
| Features designed for mission hospitals | many | none |
| Solves common mission hospital TV challenges | yes | no |
| Requires technicians and technical installers | yes | no |
| Number of TVs to make practical sense | 4+ | less than 5 |
| Financial assistance available | yes | no |
| Cost per TV | $150 | $52-$200 |
| Detailed Comparison | TVs4Jesus | DVD-USB Player/Media Player |
|---|---|---|
| Manageability | ||
| Central (and remote Internet) management | yes | no |
| Automatically verify if all TVs operational | yes | no |
| Adding new content | easy | difficult |
| Arranging content for individual or groups of TVs | easy | difficult or not possible |
| Level of technical understanding to operate daily | medium-low | low |
| Maintenance person | technical | untrained |
| Who can change what’s playing | username/password | anyone that has remote |
| If TV turned off or power outage | no intervention required, pauses/plays where left off | manually restart |
| Features | ||
| Wifi network available to patients on mobile devices | all content on system on demand | none |
| Plays satellite/cable TV on a schedule (news/sports) | yes | no |
| Streams camera from cell phone to TVs for announcements, church services | yes | no |
| Statistics gathering | yes | no |
| Playlists | yes | rarely but some do |
| Customize content per TV | easy | difficult |
| Access | cell phone remote, web interface, remote control | remote control |
| Design | ||
| Minimum Number of TVs to Make Practical Sense | 4 | 1 |
| Maximum Number of TVs to Make Practical Sense | unlimited | 4 |
| Point at which you’ve outgrown solution | can’t | 4 TVs |
| Installation | ||
| Initial setup | needs technical person | layman |
| Number of UPS needed | 1 for whole system | each TV location |
| Cost per TV | $150 | $52-$200 |