I built Tributestream after watching a friend's memorial online in 2015.
I was grateful to be there virtually. But something felt off.
My friend was an artist. Their work defined who they were. The memorial showed none of it.
The technology existed to stream a slideshow of their artwork in real time. Nobody thought to do it.
That gap between who someone was and how we honored them became my focus.
Families Started Asking For Something Different
Six years in, I've watched expectations transform completely.
Families now expect affordable streaming access to the specific moments they care about. The viewing. The burial. Sometimes the cremation.
They don't want the whole service anymore. They want the parts that matter to them.
A Hindu family once asked me to capture multiple angles of their service, including the cremation itself. I expected pushback from the funeral director.
They embraced it immediately.
That moment taught me something crucial. Good funeral directors already understand that honoring someone means respecting their culture and tradition, whatever form that takes.
The numbers back this up. Funeral homes offering livestreaming jumped from 21.5% in 2019 to 60.5% today. Nearly half of Americans now feel comfortable with virtual attendance at memorials.
The Real Barrier Isn't What You Think
I assumed funeral directors would resist this transformation. They're the opposite of resistant.
The actual friction point is simpler. Tradition and scheduling.
Directors are willing but stretched thin. They can't spend hours learning new technology on top of everything else they manage.
That's where specialized services matter. We handle the technical complexity so they can focus on families.
The bigger shift I'm seeing happens earlier in the process. When families learn about memorial livestreaming sooner, they're more open to choosing it.
Sixty-two percent of people now look at funeral services online first when planning. They approach memorial planning the same way they approach everything else in life.
Digital access isn't a backup plan anymore. It's an expectation.
What The Next Decade Looks Like
The transformation isn't coming. It's already here.
Funeral homes are changing right now. Not because technology is forcing them to, but because families are asking for something different.
They want memorials that actually represent who someone was. Multiple angles if that person valued perspective. Artwork if they were an artist. Cultural traditions honored precisely.
They want relatives across the country or globe to participate meaningfully, not just watch from the sidelines.
As a filmmaker, I see memorial services becoming more cinematic. More intentional about visual storytelling. More focused on capturing the specific human being we're honoring.
The industry is ready. Funeral directors are ready. Families have been ready.
We're just now building the tools that match what everyone already wants.