How it works
Live church translation in 3 steps
Voco translates your sermon into 150+ languages in real time. Your congregation reads along on their phones — no app, no hardware, no interpreter. Setup takes under 10 minutes.
Connect your audio
Open Voco on your laptop and select your audio input — your laptop's built-in mic works for testing, but for live services, a USB audio interface connected to your sound desk gives significantly better accuracy. Voco listens to the speaker's voice in real time.
Most churches use a Behringer UM2 (£28) or Focusrite Scarlett Solo — an XLR cable from your sound desk's AUX or monitor send, into USB. You can test with your laptop mic first to see Voco in action before investing in any hardware.
Choose languages and go live
In the Voco dashboard, select the languages your congregation speaks and press Go Live. The AI begins transcribing and translating within seconds. You'll see the live transcript on screen as the service progresses.
You can add any of Voco's 150+ languages — Spanish, Farsi, Mandarin, Tagalog, Amharic, Urdu, and more. All languages run simultaneously. There's no extra cost or complexity for adding more.
Display the QR code
Your congregation scans the QR code with their phone camera — a browser page opens immediately. They tap their language, and the translated sermon starts appearing on their screen within half a second. No app. No account. No friction.
Show the QR code on your projector, include the link in your bulletin, or put a printed card at the door. Some churches use both a QR code and a short URL (e.g. voco.church/c/your-church) so people can type it in if scanning doesn't work.
What your congregation actually sees
When someone scans the QR code, they see a clean, distraction-free reading experience — just the translated text, updating live as the sermon progresses. No ads, no app prompts, no accounts.
Scan
Phone camera scans the QR code on the projector screen or bulletin card.
Choose
A simple language selector appears — one tap to choose Spanish, Farsi, Mandarin, or any other language.
Read along
Live translated text appears within half a second of the speaker's words.
Under the hood
Voco uses a three-stage pipeline to get from spoken word to translated text in under a second.
Speech recognition
Your speaker's audio is transcribed in real time by Deepgram's Nova-3 model — trained for low latency and high accuracy in conversational speech. Voco boosts theological vocabulary (grace, propitiation, Gethsemane) automatically.
AI translation
The transcript is translated by a pipeline of engines — OpenAI, DeepL, Google, and Azure — with fallbacks for maximum reliability. Scripture references (John 3:16) are fetched from Bible APIs in the target language for precision.
Real-time delivery
Translated text is pushed to every attendee's browser via WebSockets — the same technology as live sports scores and chat apps. End-to-end latency is typically 400–600ms. If WiFi drops, missed text backfills automatically when reconnected.
Common questions
How does Voco translate a church service live?
Voco uses Deepgram's AI speech recognition to transcribe the speaker's audio in real time, then translates it using a combination of OpenAI, DeepL, Google, and Azure translation engines. The translated text is pushed to attendees' phones via a QR code — no app download required.
Does the congregation need to download an app?
No. Attendees scan a QR code with their phone's camera, and a browser page opens automatically. They select their language and read the translation — no download, no account, no setup on their end.
How long does it take to set up Voco?
Most churches are fully set up in under 10 minutes — from creating an account to displaying the QR code. The first-time setup takes a little longer while you connect your audio input.
What audio equipment do I need?
Your laptop's built-in microphone works for testing. For live services, the best results come from a USB audio interface (like a Behringer UM2, around £28) connected to your sound desk. This gives Voco a clean, dry audio signal from the speaker's mic.
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