Streaming TechnologiES for Houses of Worship

Jeff Woiton

In this edition of Church Production Magazine Online Update, we speak with Jeff Woiton, director of sales, Houses of Worship, for Streambox. Jeff defines what streaming is and outlines some of the steps required for churches interested in integrating streaming technology into their worship experience. For additional information contact Jeff at jeff@streambox.com or visit www.streambox.com.

Equipment for the interview was provided courtesy of D&M Professional (www.d-mpro.com),
Audio-Technica (www.audio-technica.com) and Blue Sky (www.abluesky.com).

back to top

 

Shades Mountain Baptist Church Gets Cutting Edge Digidesign Venue System

Shades Mountain Baptist Church

Anyone who claims things move slowly in the South hasn’t been to Alabama's Shades Mountain Baptist Church. Located in Birmingham, the church's 20-year-old sanctuary is at the forefront of technology with a state-of-the-art production system based around a 96-input Digidesign Venue D-Show live sound console and Pro Tools HD system.

The 3,000-seat sanctuary recently underwent an extensive audio makeover, with the church replacing its aging analog console with the D-Show and adding a Meyer Sound PA system. Rob Searcy, the church's director of technical services, explains that their long-term goals for the new system includes podcasting, web streaming, and full CD production. 

"We've got another Pro Tools HD system in our post-production room downstairs with a [Digidesign] C|24 control surface," he says. "We typically capture the entire Sunday service, running 74 inputs. We take the Glyph drives downstairs, and do post production and sweetening."

Rick Shimer of Blackhawk Audio, the company behind the church's system design, admires the church's progressive direction: "These guys have really gone the extra mile to put together a system that gives them great sound, the best production tools, and the ability to create the best worship experience possible."

The system has greatly rewarded the church and its congregation with dramatic improvements to the sound and workflow. "Evaluating our recordings throughout the year gives us the opportunity to really refine things," Searcy explains. "We can try out different plug-ins for different songs, and really get the best out of our recordings. That, in turn, helps us be more cognizant of our live performance, which helps us to better connect with our congregation."

The system's FOH Rack is loaded with additional DSP Mix Engine cards for added processing power, and an assortment of VenuePack plug-ins. "The plug-ins are just amazing," says Searcy. "The more I play with them, the more impressed I am. Reverb One, ReVibe, and the Line 6 echo [Echo Farm] get a lot of use." Searcy also says he's a big fan of Digidesign's Smack! Dynamics plug-in. "I put that on a lead vocal, and it just really punches through the mix."

Searcy says the new Venue system also offers a dimension of flexibility in the church’s services. "One of the coolest things is being able to take tracks from a previous session, and feeding a click track to the band, use those tracks to supplement a live performance."

"Another important advantage for me is the training perspective," Searcy continues. "Most of our staff are volunteers, and the ability to use Venue's Virtual Soundcheck to train them on a previously recorded session, rather than during the stress of a live service, is just priceless."

Searcy admits to some initial trepidation in going with a Venue system. "We debated for some time about the decision," he reflects. "But the more I looked at the potential behind this system, the more it made sense. And the bottom line is the board sounds great; it’s really changed my mind about digital consoles. Now when I get on a different desk, I wish I had my Venue. The sound, the user interface — so much about it makes sense. I was almost a bit mad at myself for not looking into it sooner."

www.digidesign.com/venue

back to top

SPREADING GOD’S WORD EVENLY: Desert View Bible Church selects new line array system

Left - SPL’s Chris Henley, Right - Mike Bohlmann, Desert View Bible Church's Worship & Arts director

Phoenix, AZ: Founded in 2002, Desert View Bible Church is a non-denominational house of worship with modern facilities and a growing congregation. With a beautiful worship center that features modular seating for roughly 700 people and a contemporary worship style that includes a worship team and band, Desert View Bible Church (DVBC) has experienced steady growth. In an effort to keep pace with its success, the church recently upgraded its sound reinforcement (SR) system as the first part of a multi-stage enhancement to the physical plant.

After a series of consultations, the church awarded the SR upgrade project to the recently-opened Phoenix branch of SPL Integrated Solutions, a leading nationwide integrator. The system sale, design, and implementation were spearheaded by Chris Henley, general manager for SPL’s Phoenix office. The new $100,000 system revolves around loudspeakers from D.A.S. Audio and a Yamaha digital console.

Desert View Bible Church’s worship center is roughly 120 feet square with concrete side walls, a concrete floor, sheet rock rear walls, and an open truss ceiling at a height of 24 feet. With the stage situated in the corner of the room, this is a live space that presented a number of acoustic challenges. According to Henley, "Desert View’s worship center is a reverberant room that required
us to minimize the reflections from the walls and floor. Compounding this situation is the fact that, presently, there are minimal provisions for sound absorption. Acoustic treatment of the space is planned for a future upgrade."

Desert View Bible Church Worship & Arts director Mike Bohlmann oversaw the sound system enhancement project for the church. Bohlmann noted, "The original system lacked adequate coverage in the front, was hot in the middle, and was poor across the back of the room.  As the congregation size grew, these issues became more pronounced."
During initial consultations with church management, it became apparent that a line array system offered the best solution. "We flew ten Aero 28A cabinets using Genie lifts for a demo," said Henley. "Management was clearly impressed with the system’s performance and the potential it offered for future expansion. After the demo, the real test drive was taken when the worship team was able to have their weekly rehearsal and A / B the house PA against the D.A.S. Aero system."
Once authorized to proceed, the SPL team proceeded to install ten D.A.S. Audio Aero CA-28A self-powered line array elements plus two CA-215A powered subwoofers. The system is configured with five CA-28A’s per side, suspended twenty-one feet high using DAS Audio’s AX-CA rigging frame. Ground positioned on each side is a single CA-215A self powered subwoofer.

Test and measurement for SR systems is a standard part of any professional installation, but with the Desert View Bible Church project, Henley sought the expertise of D.A.S. Audio’s Design Services group headquartered in Valencia, Spain. "The entire system was designed around planned expansion," noted Henley. "As the rear walls of the worship center can be pulled out to accommodate for expansion, we wanted to plan for this up front. Rather than re-design a whole new system and go with distributed sound, we looked at this as an opportunity to use a line array, and add on more cabinets and re-aim when the time comes."

"D.A.S. Audio’s design services worked out great for us," Henley continued. "Using EASE 3D acoustic modeling software, D.A.S. was able to provide us a report that provided SPL (sound pressure level) readings throughout the seating areas, as well as intelligibility factors and recommended trim height and aiming for optimum dispersion. By seeking the expertise of the equipment manufacturer, I’m confident we were able to obtain the best possible results—and this was critically important in what was already a difficult space."

SPL provided and installed a new Yamaha M7CL-48 digital mixer with an 8-channel expansion pack for a total of 56 microphone inputs. "All signal processing for the D.A.S. system is internal because of their self-powered design," notes Henley, "though the actual tailoring of signals prior to the loudspeakers takes place within the Yamaha mixer’s DSP."
Travis Ho, John Ridley, and Phil Marlowe of SPL provided engineering and installation for the new speaker system, digital console, and the addition of thirty new microphone lines to the stage. Microphones were retained from the previous system and included Sennheiser Evolution Series wireless and an assortment of Shure wired microphones.

In the month that Desert View Bible Church has been using its new SR system, Henley reports his client is extremely pleased. "We’ve received a wide range of compliments," states Henley. "The church has never had a system of this caliber. Between the coverage the D.A.S. loudspeakers provide and the capabilities the Yamaha mixer affords, this system provides everything they need both today and as they grow."

UPLIFTING AUDIO: First Pentecostal Church facility upgrade boosts SR system capabilitieS

First Pentecostal Church

Colorado Springs, CO: In many of today’s churches, music plays an increasingly important role during worship services, as it has proven to be a key component in making the worship experience more relevant and engaging to the congregation. And while contemporary worship styles vary greatly, the Pentecostal worship service is, without question, a vibrant, musically upbeat environment that is viewed as a transforming experience for one to worship in spirit and in truth. Nowhere is this more evident than at the First Pentecostal Church of Colorado Springs, CO, which recently completed the second phase of its facility upgrade with the installation of a new SR system utilizing loudspeakers from the D.A.S. Audio catalog.

Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Sounds From Heaven (SFH) Productions, a full-service A/V firm that offers equipment rental, audio recording, and related services in addition to systems design and installation, handled the upgrade for the church. While the first phase of the church’s upgrade program focused on a new Hear Technologies Hear Back Personal Monitoring System for the stage area, it was the completion of the second phase that finally enabled both dialog and music to reach all areas of the sanctuary clearly and evenly. During phase two, the Sounds From Heaven team deployed the D.A.S. Audio loudspeaker clusters, installed a new digital console, configured the system for several new microphones, and reconfigured the stage to remove their existing monitor console and control the inputs to the monitoring system via the new digital console.

According to Gary Howard, principal for SFH Productions, "First Pentecostal Church’s sanctuary is a 120-foot wide by 100-foot deep space with a ceiling height of 28 feet. With the space being wider than it is long, once of the most pressing challenges was to ensure uniform coverage throughout the space while minimizing reflections off the solid glass back wall. While most services typically encompass a congregation of between 400 to 500 people, the new system needed the ability to support a congregation upwards of 1,200. With the prior sound system, providing adequate coverage in the rear of the room meant over-driving the front rows and, even then, there were numerous dead spots. Additionally, church management wanted audio to be available around the prayer area in the front of the room during the conclusion of services."

All services at the church include a sizeable praise band consisting of electric guitar, electric bass guitar, a Hammond B-3 organ, a Yamaha electronic keyboard, acoustic drums, plus 3-6 praise team vocalists. The music is high volume and high energy. Additionally, the style of sermon delivery used by most of the ministers required a sound system capable of providing high headroom for momentary peaks of sound, as they frequently use volume for emphasis.

To address these challenges, Howard specified a center line array cluster consisting of four D.A.S. Audio Aero CA-28A self-powered, bi-amplified, two-way compact line array elements flown at a height of twenty-six feet over the front edge of the stage area. On each side of the stage, there are two flown D.A.S. Audio Variant 25A self-powered, bi-amplified, ultra-compact line array modules—placed as sidefills. Additionally, there are two D.A.S. Audio Artec 26 passive 2-way, vented loudspeakers powered by a single Peavey GPS 3500 power amplifier— inconspicuously mounted on custom columns which also house the church’s existing Community Dual 15-inch subwoofers. The Artec loudspeakers are aimed to cover the prayer area in the front of the room. All enclosures are painted white to blend seamlessly into the environment.

"We selected the D.A.S. equipment for a number of reasons," noted Howard, "chief among them being the sound quality and self-powered design of the primary loudspeakers, as well as the tightly controlled vertical dispersion offered by the line array technology inherent in the Aero CA-28A.  The church staff heard a demo of the Variant 25A speakers at a conference, and was impressed with the sound quality as well as the ability to "aim" each cabinet in the array. This convinced them that line array technology would be critical for their installation. Once we were given the work, we were able to predictively model the room in Ease Focus and ensure we were directing the sound energy down into the congregation and not onto the glass back wall.  By utilizing a self powered system, we also eliminated the need to match power amps—not to mention finding a place to house them.  With the rigging of the central cluster, we used an innovative system from Polar Focus that utilizes a special tilt cable kit for obtaining the correct overall angling of the array."
A new Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console was installed at FOH, which is centrally aligned with the stage and positioned about two-thirds way back into the sanctuary. Augmenting the number of inputs into the mixer is an SM Pro Audio SM PR8 8-channel mic preamp. The mixer and preamp are currently handling 30 inputs, with the SM PR8’s outputs feeding 8 line inputs on the TT24.

According to Howard, "Since the church relies entirely on volunteer assistance to operate the sound system, they wanted a setup that could be recalled back to four starting presets for the typical sections of the service. These presets include the praise and worship section, choir, sermon delivery, and post sermon prayer. Church officials had grown weary of arriving for church and never knowing exactly what was going to happen with the sound. The use of the Mackie TT24 console and its snapshot recall capability—used in conjunction with all monitor sends to the personal monitoring system, which are also automated—provides the church with an easy and convenient means of having consistent settings that can also serve as the starting point for any modifications."

"Further," continued Howard, "with an active system of this nature, the correct power on/off sequence of the equipment is very important. To that end, we installed a Juice Goose power sequencing system that enables the entire setup, including the console, processing, amplifiers, active cabinets, etc. to be correctly powered on and off with a single switch located at FOH. The Juice Goose components include two CQ-1520 power sequencers and two CQ-2200 20 AMP power distribution systems with remote control capability. The system provides a total of ten sequence events, along with excellent surge protection. By automating as many aspects of the system as we have, it ensures a high degree of repeatability that would otherwise be impossible to achieve with a volunteer staff while protecting the equipment in the process."

Another interesting aspect of the system that Sounds From Heaven installed is its remote accessibility. As the Mackie TT24 provides software for control of virtually every parameter on the console, Howard saw this as an opportunity to make adjustments to the system from his offices in Tulsa—facilitating some innovative support options. "After the initial installation was completed," said Howard, "there was a need for support. Since we’re based in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the church is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, we wanted to avoid another on-site visit if possible. To address this issue, we decided to use GoToMyPC.com, which is a PC remote control software tool. By installing GoToMyPC on the Mackie TT24’s control PC, we are able to remotely access and run the mixer’s control software. As a result, we are able to diagnose and fix problems from Tulsa, directly on the console via the Internet."

Additional signal processing for the upgraded SR system is achieved via a dbx DriveRack PA that was part of the church’s prior system. Additionally, services are recorded through a BOSS multi-track stand-alone hard disk recorder which takes its feeds from the Matrix outputs of the TT24 console.

As with any system of this nature, microphones play an important role, and First Pentecostal Church is well equipped. Their microphone arsenal includes six Audix OM-5 concert dynamic vocal mics for the praise team vocalists, along with two Audix VX-5 handheld vocal condenser mics for vocal performances at the organ and piano. The church choir is miked with five Audix ADX-51 pre-polarized condenser mics while an Audix I-5 dynamic instrument mic acquires the Hammond organ’s Leslie tone cabinet. For drum miking, an Audix Fusion 7 dynamic drum mic kit is deployed. For wireless microphones, the church’s existing Shure ULX and PGX systems are available.

With the new SR system up and running, First Pentecostal Church reports it has made a tremendous impact on the quality of their worship services. "We first put the new system to the test with 1,200 young people that were attending a youth conference," said Pastor John Burgess. "The clarity and range of the new system made it very easy to handle a group of this size. Every person in the crowd, regardless of where they sat, could hear very clearly. For our regular services, we are able to scale back the volume and still cover the entire sanctuary. The new D.A.S. loudspeaker array makes a tremendous difference. We are very pleased with the system and feel that we have not even completely tapped the potential it holds." For Gary Howard, that’s music to his ears.

back to top

Neumann and DiGiCo Collaborate

Neumann, a microphone manufacturer, produces the Solution-D generation digital microphones. This microphone conforms to the new AES 42 data transmission protocol to allow it to work in conjunction with digital workstations.

A collaborative effort with UK-based, digital mixing console manufacturer, DiGiCo, takes this technology a stage further, allowing Neumann’s digital microphones to interface directly with DiGiCo’s desks. Neumann's President of Marketing/Sales, Wolfgang Fraissinet says, "The addition of the DiGiCo console connection gives an added benefit to our customers by eliminating the need to use an external workstation, which makes the process even easier."

www.digico.org | www.neumannusa.com

back to top

ChurchMedia.net Holds Fourth Annual Convention

ChurchMedia.net is holding its fourth annual convention in Dallas, Texas with this year's theme, "Refresh Your Image." The four-day training conference features over thirty classes and general sessions focusing on technology and communication in the church. Keynote presenters include Phil Cooke, Len Wilson, Jason Moore, Phil Graves, and Tim Eason. Many of the classes will be streamed live on the Internet and also recorded for later viewing.

www.RefreshYourImage.net | www.ChurchMedia.net

back to top

Martin Launches New Look Website

Martin Professional has given its website a thorough makeover. The new site, optimized for bigger bandwidths and wider screens, features an enlarged format with bigger images, expanded segment pages, and a brighter appearance for greater clarity and visual impact.

The website features project references, product information, technical specifications, photometric data and marketing material, global support access, online service, and much more.

www.martin.com

back to top

Gefen Wireless USB Solution Extends Reach of How-To Sound Workshops by Fits & Starts Productions

Mobility for on-the-road audio/video productions has its challenges. When setting up remote audio/video gear for worship services and recording needs, those challenges can multiply, especially in church facilities. So when Hector La Torre and Mike Sokol of Fits & Starts Productions, began their city tour of the How-To Church Sound Workshops, they brought along the Gefen Wireless USB Extender.

Fits & Starts Productions trains church sound and media professionals in the proper use of sound and video equipment during road tours conducted by sound engineer/author Mike Sokol, featuring a full touring sound system complemented by video technology.

Workshops take place in worship facilities and select technology conferences through the United States.

The Gefen Wireless USB Extender entered the picture when we wanted to remotely operate a Mackie TT24 digital mixing console using Mackie’s control application called "TT-Control" which allows a sound technician in a house of worship situation to mix with a laptop computer located at a seat in the middle of the church where the best possible acoustics are, while the digital mixing board is positioned in a less-than-ideal choir loft or other acoustically-challenged spot," explained La Torre.

Sokol and La Torre found the Gefen Wireless USB Extender presented an optimal solution to their mobility challenges. "Many churches have A/V equipment in hard-to-reach or very confined areas," they said. "The Wireless USB Extender allows the sound technician, for example, to take a laptop computer with the control software to the stage and assist in setting up a monitor mix for the musicians, while the mixing board could be located at the FOH (Front of House) position at the rear of the room."

www.howtosound.com

back to top

Digital Juice Releases Eight New Volumes of Swipes!

Swipes!

Digital Juice announces eight new titles to its highly successful animated Swipes! line of products. The eight new titles bring the sound-infused collection to 40 volumes covering an array of different styles and themes including basketball, construction, money, metals, etc.

Swipes! are animated wipes or transition effects that are accompanied by matching sound effects. "In a video or multimedia production, Swipes! are ideal for cleansing the visual pallet and refocusing attention on the next clip, section, or idea" says President of Digital Juice, Viv Beason.

Most wipes are single-Alpha and full-screen. The alpha channel allows video to show through every part of the screen that's not the animation itself, blocking the screen entirely by the graphic at the selected point. Digital Juice calls this the Switch Frame. To apply the wipe, you position this frame over a cut to mask the edit. When you play the sequence, you get a seamless transition. The double alpha Swipes! (included on volumes 13 and higher) come in two pieces: an animated transitional matte and a coordinated animated overlay. First, the transitional matte is applied to two video clips, assigning the lead clip to the black portion and the trailing clip to the white. Next, the matching animated overlay is added. The effect is a slick transitional composite that doesn't require a full-screen switch frame.

The eight new volumes include: 33: Nothing But Net, 34: Under Construction, 35: Filigree Flow, 36: Money Money Money, 37: Chromed Themes, 38: In A Flash 1, 39: In A Flash 2, and 40: Screen Smashers.

www.digitaljuice.com

back to top

Epson Introduces Powerlite Pro Series and Five New Multimedia Projectors

Epson PowerLite 6110i

Epson announces five new projectors offering advanced capabilities and industry-leading 3LCD technology. New to Epson's projector lineup are the Epson PowerLite 6110i and 1825 projectors. This also includes the introduction of the PowerLite Pro series with three new models: the Epson PowerLite Pro G5150NL, G5350NL, and G5200WNL.

The PowerLite Pro G5150NL and G5350NL offer XGA resolution, as well as 4,000 and 5,000 lumens respectively (ISO 21118 standard). The PowerLite Pro G5200WNL offers 4,200 lumens and delivers WXGA (1280 x 800) widescreen resolution. The new PowerLite 6110i and 1825 projectors both offer XGA resolution and 3,500 lumens of brightness. All five models feature Epson 3-chip 3LCD High Aperture panels for more intense and sharper images.

"The new PowerLite Pro series builds upon the established Epson PowerLite series by introducing projectors that is expected by professionals in the installation and vertical markets," said Daniel Oey, group product manager, Epson America. "This new class of Epson projector is engineered and designed to meet the quality, reliability, precision control, and low cost of ownership that professionals expect for easier integration into demanding environments."

The PowerLite Pro Series XGA models and PowerLite 1825 projector are wireless capable models, enabling presenters to send content to the projector via wireless and wired LAN Networks. The projectors enable IT managers to monitor the status of installed projectors remotely and perform key control functions. In addition, the PowerLite 1825 and PowerLite Pro G5150NL and G5350NL projectors support the network projector functionality found in Microsoft Windows Vista for easy presentation sharing over network environments.

www.epson.com

back to top

StudioLive Digital Mixer from PreSonus

StudioLivei

PreSonus Audio Electronics introduces StudioLive 16.4.2 Digital Performance and Recording Mixer. The channel digital mixer features StudioLive, a sixteen-channel digital mixer loaded with sixteen high headroom XMAX microphone preamplifiers, along with built-in 22x18 FireWire recording and playback engine. It also features “Fat Channel” processing with 4-band EQ’s, compressors, limiters and gates, DSP effects, six aux buses, four sub-groups, extensive LED metering, talkback, and more.
 
StudioLive integrates a digital mixer with a multi-channel recording system
delivering an environment available for both live performance and studio music production.
 
Sixteen class A, high-headroom, low-noise XMAX microphone preamplifiers are featured on StudioLive for clarity, transparency, and musicality. All sixteen channels of StudioLive include line input, balanced inserts, and balanced direct output. StudioLive includes six balanced auxiliary sends and two dedicated auxiliary effects sends for flexible monitor mixes and aux effects. Four subgroups are also included for maximum flexibility. Two sets of balanced main outputs as well as control room outputs are located on the back panel.
 
StudioLive features an innovative and intuitive “QuickTouch” design allowing fast access to every parameter, mix, effect, and aux. Load and save functions are also included to create snapshots of channel settings, save effect settings, totally recalling a mix, and more. All digital mixing and effects processing is done with 32-bit floating point precision.
 
The heart of StudioLive is the Fat Channel engaged by pressing any select button, and features extensive equalization and dynamics available to every input channel, every aux output, every subgroup output, and main output. High pass filter, and four-band semi-parametric equalization algorithms are based on PreSonus’ custom-designed digital EyeQ equalizer, delivering extremely musical results. Also included in the Fat Channel are compressors, limiters, and gates modeled after PreSonus’ ACP88 for dynamics control.

Two programmable 32-bit stereo DSP effects engines are loaded in StudioLive with a wide range of reverbs, delays, and time-based effects with parameter adjustment, tap tempo, store, recall, and scene selection for ultimate creative flexibility.

StudioLive has a Talkback system that enables direct communication with each stereo aux mix separately. This allows communication between the mixer and the musicians using in-ear monitors without disturbing other performers during a performance or recording session.

This system includes PreSonus’ FireWire technology with JetPLL synchronization delivering 22 channels of recording and 18 channels of simultaneous playback. Each FireWire recording channel can be set to record either pre or post Fat-Channel signal processing. StudioLive can also return 18 FireWire playback channels from a recording and production software for remixing and live performance with pre-recorded tracks, as well as studio mixing using the mixer’s internal signal processing and summing algorithms.

www.presonus.com

back to top