A free countdown timer for church and event screens.

Countdown videos are popular, but they’re a fixed length: if the service starts at 10:30 you have to press play at exactly 10:25. A countdown to a time doesn’t care when you start it. LoopCast does both kinds, and it doesn’t interrupt your playlist: the slides keep their place underneath and come back when the countdown ends.

Start a countdown

1. Open LoopCast and start your loop. Download LoopCast (free) for Windows or Mac, or open it in your browser; the countdown works in both.
2. Press Timer (or T).
3. Type minutes, like 10, or a time of day, like 9:30 AM or 14:00.
4. Change the words above the timer if you like, then press Start countdown.

The countdown covers the screen. At zero it shows “Starting now” for a moment and then the slides come back. Press T again to stop it early.

Minutes or a time of day?

• Minutes for breaks: “We’ll be back in 15:00”.
• A time for start times: type 10:30 and LoopCast counts down to the next 10:30, so you can start it whenever you’re ready. If you leave the words as “We’ll be back in”, LoopCast changes them to “Starting in”, which reads better for a start time.

LoopCast remembers what you typed last, so a weekly service countdown is the same two keystrokes every Sunday.

A clock in the corner

Sometimes you don’t need a countdown, just the time. Press Clock (or C) to put the current time in a corner over everything that plays. In Settings › Clock, pick the corner, size, font (Clean, Bold, Classic or Digital), color, background, 24-hour time and seconds. It’s handy for speakers keeping to time, breakout rooms and lobby screens.

A message bar for quick notes

Press Message (or M) and type a line, like “Session 2 starts at 10:30 in Ballroom B”. It slides in along the bottom of the screen over whatever is playing, and pressing M again clears it. In Settings › Message bar you can put it at the top instead and change its size, font, text color and background.

Where it helps

• Churches: a countdown to the service start on the sanctuary screen and the stream, after the announcement loop.
• Conferences: break timers, “Doors open at 8:30”, and a clock for speakers in breakout rooms.
• Schools: a countdown to the assembly, or a clock on the cafeteria screen.
• Workshops: timed exercises: press T, type 5, and everyone can see the time left.

Run it from your phone

With the phone remote, you can start a countdown, show a message or turn the clock on from your phone while you’re away from the computer. Countdowns, the clock and messages also appear in the streaming window for your livestream.

Questions