Church AV teams face a unique challenge: professional production expectations on a volunteer budget. Your speaker needs to know when they're live. Your camera operators need to coordinate silently. But dedicated tally hardware costs $200–$600 per unit — and most churches run two to four cameras.
This guide shows you how to set up a fully working wireless tally light system for your church, using smartphones your volunteers already own, for free.
The short answer: Cue Light is a free browser-based tally light. Your TD opens it on their phone or laptop, volunteers scan a QR code, and everyone sees live/preview/standby signals instantly — over the internet, no local network dependency.
Why Hardware Tally Doesn't Work for Most Churches
Traditional tally light systems were designed for broadcast studios with permanent infrastructure. In that context, they work great. But church AV is different in almost every way:
- Rotating volunteers. A new camera operator every week can't be expected to configure a tally receiver or learn a new hardware system.
- Tight budgets. $400 per tally unit × 4 cameras = $1,600 just for tally. That's a significant portion of many church AV budgets.
- Venue constraints. Wiring tally hardware through a sanctuary is often impractical or prohibited.
- Multi-site challenges. If your church has satellite campuses, hardware tally can't signal across locations at all.
What You Need
To set up Cue Light for your church AV team, you need:
- One phone or laptop for the TD (technical director) — the controller
- One phone per camera operator or speaker — the display
- Internet connection (WiFi or cellular — either works)
- Nothing else
Step-by-Step Setup
TD opens Cue Light before service
Go to cuelight.io/app on any device. A room code generates instantly. No login, no account, no setup.
TD taps "Show QR Code"
A QR code appears on screen. This is the display link for all volunteers.
Each volunteer scans the QR code
Camera operators and the speaker scan with their phone camera. Their screen opens fullscreen display mode — a pulsing green dot on black that means "connected and waiting."
During service, TD taps the appropriate state
Green = live. Red = preview. Amber = standby. Off = break. All connected phones update instantly. Keyboard shortcuts 1/2/3/0 keep it fast without looking away from the switcher.
Tips for Sunday Morning
For the speaker
Have the speaker prop their phone on the pulpit or lectern, facing them. Tape it to a music stand if needed. The fullscreen color is visible in peripheral vision without them having to look directly at it.
For camera operators
Camera operators can mount their phone to their camera rig with a cheap phone mount (under $10 on Amazon). The display stays on automatically — Wake Lock API prevents the screen from sleeping during service.
For multi-site
Remote campus staff connect over the internet — they just need the room code or display link. No tunneling, no VPN, no local network required. Works exactly like being in the same room.
What About Volunteer Turnover?
This is where browser-based tally really shines. New volunteer this Sunday? Show them the QR code. They scan it, their phone opens the display, and they're ready in 10 seconds. No training, no hardware to configure, no passwords to remember. The QR code is the only thing they need to know about.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does it work on the venue WiFi?
Yes — and if the venue WiFi fails, it also works on cellular. Unlike hardware tally which is LAN-only, Cue Light connects to the cloud so it's not dependent on any specific local network.
What if the TD's phone battery dies?
The display devices stay on their last state. When the TD reconnects, they can update the state and everything syncs immediately.
Is it really free?
Yes. The free tier supports 1 room with up to 3 devices, which is enough for most church setups. A Pro plan ($10/month) removes the watermark and supports unlimited devices for larger productions.
Ready for Sunday?
Set up your church tally light in 30 seconds. No hardware to buy, no configuration required.
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