OneRoom Blog

Funeral streaming has come a long way from simply helping people attend a service when they can’t be there in person. Today, its value extends well beyond the live service. Families can return to the stories and tributes afterwards. Funeral homes can reach more people through every service, build stronger connections with their communities and even create new pre-need opportunities. OneRoom CEO Brady Cox joined Paul Lovelace on the Funeral Directors Playbook to talk about where funeral streaming is today, how funeral homes should be positioning it with families, and what they can do to get more from it.

At the Funeral (un)Conference in Scottsdale this June, OneRoom CEO Brady Cox sat down with Ryan Thogmartin, founder of Connecting Directors, to talk about OneRoom Stories and the thinking behind it. Stories turns moments from a funeral service into short, beautifully presented audio clips that families can keep on their phone, revisit and share. In this part of the conversation, Ryan and Brady talk about why audio can have a different power from video. It doesn’t have to be a big moment. A few words from a eulogy, a short story, a reading or simply hearing someone’s voice again can be something worth holding onto. As Ryan puts it, “audio moves differently than video.” Watch the clip below, or read the full transcript.

By Jane K. Callaghan, Author of The Death Doulas Guide to a Meaningful End. When COVID-19 hit the world’s population, people and systems found ways to keep things going–many professions switched to remote work, doctors’ offices established drive-through vaccine clinics, and funeral homes offered streaming services when the population couldn’t travel and attend gatherings safely.

Do you know what your music and webcasting license actually covers when it comes to recording funeral services?

Back in 2020, funeral homes had to move fast. Almost overnight, streaming went from optional to essential. With little time and limited tools, many teams scrambled to make it work - setting up phones, juggling hardware, and hoping the Wi-Fi would hold.

Streaming used to be just about helping distant guests feel included. Today, it’s also a powerful way to connect with the families you may serve next - without adding any extra work for your team. One of the most underused opportunities? Using streams to open the door to planning ahead. When done well, it’s thoughtful, unobtrusive, and surprisingly effective.

Key Results Increased Efficiency: with a white-glove streaming solution that requires minimal time and effort from CFCS staff. Expanded Community Awareness: building awareness of CFCS's services to more people in their community. Growth in Pre-Planning: identifying engaged pre-planning contacts and growing the community database.

Scammers have become a disheartening reality in our modern, digital life, targeting vulnerable individuals. We see them in the funeral industry in forms such as the obituary scams or the 'Look who just died' scams. Another scam that has been emerging as a concern is Facebook streaming scams.

"When my mother passed away, I wished we had recorded the memorial service," says David Lutterman, CEO of OneRoom. "My brother read poetry. A Scottish family friend spoke, and we could barely understand him. It was all sad and funny—plenty of tears and laughs—and I'd love to replay it. Recordings can be such a big part of the grief resolution process."

Organizing events and community outreach programs can be a meaningful way to serve the families you work with and give back to your community while having a positive business benefit. In this interview, we spoke with Holley and Sarah from Einan’s Funeral Home who have honed their skills in event planning and community involvement through their extensive community event program. To learn from their experience and get inspired, watch the interview or read on below!

Highland Park Funeral Centre offers funeral services at both their Funeral Home and various country chapels and churches in the area. While they have been using OneRoom’s fixed cameras in their Funeral Home for some time, they were missing an option for families requesting recording and streaming of funerals at off-site locations.

"It doesn't have to be limited to funerals." - Holly Sowards, Einan's Funeral Home

Although Sterling-White has large facilities, occasionally they will have a funeral where the crowd becomes so much more than expected. The chapel quickly fills and guests spill out through the car park, gardens, and cemetery. In these situations, Sterling-White won’t turn guests away and risk leaving them disappointed or unable to participate in the service.

Many of our funeral home partners with multiple locations are often wondering how to manage all the moving parts. Having to work with specific issues like on-site operating staff or rotating funeral directors, along with facilitating the various offerings to families can be overwhelming. In fact, some of the biggest demands we have heard are:

As our environment continues to experience frequent change, safeguarding your business by remaining vigilant and adapting to the world around you is becoming increasingly important. Funeral Homes are now having to contend with an unpredictable economic climate, regular staff shortages and quickly changing consumer needs. Digitalization is also becoming a bigger part of the industry. Digital guests are interacting with services in unique but impactful ways.