Set up the Intercom Hub
The Intercom Hub is the Mac app that runs your intercom. Every phone’s audio goes through it, so put it on a Mac that stays on and stays on your church’s network, like a Mac mini in the booth.
What you need
- A Mac with macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Apple silicon and Intel both work.
- The Mac on the same network as your crew’s phones. A wired Ethernet connection is best.
- Your device code, if you’re linking it to your church now. See Turn on Intercom.
Download and install
Download the Intercom Hub from culminate.life/download/intercom-hub. Open the download and drag Intercom Hub into your Applications folder, then open it.
Allow the microphone
The Hub asks for microphone access the first time. Select Allow. macOS needs this for any audio input, so the Hub can send your program feeds.
If you missed it, the Hub shows Intercom Hub can’t hear your audio inputs yet. Turn it on in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.
Allow incoming connections
If the Mac’s firewall is on, macOS asks whether Intercom Hub can accept incoming connections. Select Allow, or phones won’t be able to reach it.
Name your Hub
Open Settings in the Hub. Under Hub name, type what crew should see in their list, usually the campus or room, like “Main Campus” or “Chapel”. Select Save and restart.
Restarting drops everyone for a few seconds. Their phones reconnect on their own.
Link it to your church
Still in Settings, under Culminate Life, enter the 10-digit Device code and select Set up.
The card changes to Set up for your church’s name. From now on, crew sign in with their Culminate Life account to join, and each person only gets the parties of their own teams.
Next, set up your parties and roles and add your program feeds.
The Hub window and menu bar
The first time it opens, the Hub shows its window. After that it lives in the menu bar, with a headset icon. Click it to see:
- Whether it’s running, and Live when crew are on.
- How many crew are on, how many program feeds, and the average delay.
- Anyone asking to join, and calls or pings for the director.
- Open director panel and Open Hub.
The gear button has Settings…, Check for Updates…, and Quit Intercom Hub.
The Hub window has six sections:
| Section | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Overview | Is it ready, who’s on, feeds, delay, and the addresses phones can use. |
| Parties & roles | Your channels and who hears what. See Parties and roles. |
| Program feeds | Show audio for the crew. See Program feeds. |
| Tally | Your ATEM switcher. See Tally. |
| Crew | Who’s on, and anyone waiting to be let in. See Who can join. |
| Settings | Name, Culminate Life, director name, announcer voice, updates, and network. |
Keep it running
- Open at login: in Settings, turn this on so the intercom is up whenever the Mac is on.
- Sleep: while it runs, the Hub keeps the Mac from going to sleep on its own. The display can still turn off. A laptop with its lid closed still sleeps, so use a desktop Mac or keep the lid open.
- Network changes: if the Mac’s address changes, the Hub follows it.
Updates
The Hub checks for updates every day. You choose when to install. If an update arrives while crew are on, it waits in the menu bar as Update version is ready, with Install it after the show. Select Review when you’re ready.
Installing restarts the Hub, which drops everyone for a few seconds, so it asks first if anyone is on.
To check now, select Check Now in Settings, or Check for Updates… in the menu bar. Turn off Check for updates every day if you’d rather only check yourself.
Network details
Settings → Network shows what the Hub uses:
| Signaling | TCP 7700 |
| Audio | UDP 7701 |
| Addresses | The Mac’s addresses on your network |
Phones on the same Wi-Fi find the Hub on their own. If your Wi-Fi is split into separate networks (for example, staff and guest), phones may not see it. The Hub’s Overview lists addresses crew can type in instead. See Join from the app.
Crew outside the building connect through Culminate’s relay. You don’t need to open any ports on your router. See Crew away from the building.
Unlink the Hub
In Settings → Culminate Life, select Unlink…, then Unlink. The Hub goes back to the preview, where phones on your network get 10 minutes at a time, an hour a day.