The Importance of Training: A Discussion with Vance Breshears

In this edition of Church Production Magazine Online Update, we speak with Vance Breshears, principle consultant for Sound Technology Consultants of El Cajon, California. Breshears tells why training as well as technical rehearsals are important. For additional info on Sound Technology Consultants visit: www.sound-technology.com.

Technical support for this Podcast courtesy of D&M Professional (www.d-mpro.com), Audio-Technica (www.audio-technica.com) and Blue Sky (www.abluesky.com).

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Going HD: Mars Hill Church
By Justin Eby

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Shure Raises Concern Over FCC "White Spaces" Decision

The Federal Communications Commission voted on November 4th to allow technology companies like Google, Microsoft, Dell, and Motorola to produce "white spaces" devices that will use the same radio frequency (RF) spectrum now being used by wireless microphone systems. Final text of the rules is not yet available, but the order is purported to greatly reduce the amount of clear spectrum available for use by professional audio and communications equipment.

The Commission adopted certain important elements of Shure's recent wireless microphone interference protection plan.  However, Shure is concerned that, despite technical evidence to the contrary, the Commission's action opens the door to a new breed of wireless gadgetry that relies on unproven technology as a safeguard against interference to wireless microphones. Shure is also concerned that the Commission did not reserve an appropriate number of channels for flawless operation of wireless microphone equipment and did not address several important issues necessary to ensure a robust geolocation-based database for protection of large-scale events, as the Company had proposed.

"While not unexpected, today's FCC decision will greatly complicate the lives of wireless microphone users across the United States and negatively affect tens of millions of Americans listening to live and broadcast events," said Mark Brunner, Shure's Senior Director, Global Public and Industry Relations. "In over four years of activity, including numerous written comments, technical submissions to and meetings with the FCC, Shure has highlighted that wireless microphones, monitor systems, and intercoms are essential production tools in modern music, theater, broadcast, sports, corporate, hotel, convention, education, and house of worship environments. Often supported by their representatives in Congress, these communities have voiced their concerns throughout this proceeding.

It is worth noting that in just the past week, over 50 members of Congress including Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D, NY) and voices as significant and diverse as Pastor Rick Warren, Dolly Parton, Guns N Roses, the Grand Ole Opry, the Shubert Theater Organization, Harrah's Entertainment, the American Federation of Musicians, the Country Music Association, The Recording Academy, the NFL, NASCAR, the NBA and other major sports leagues – among many others - called on the FCC to protect their ability to communicate with their numerous and diverse audiences through wireless microphones.  Unfortunately, even a chorus this strong could not alter the vote."

 "While we have several options regarding our next steps, Shure's first obligation is to its customers," said Sandy LaMantia, Shure President and CEO. "In anticipation of this ruling, Shure has been working diligently on technologies and technical support programs that will enable wireless microphone operators to be successful in a more complicated interference environment. Shure has been the leader on the "white spaces" issue and we will continue to lead in the wireless microphone area going forward.

Although the outcome is not ideal, we are thankful for the outpouring of support for our initiatives from thousands of individuals in the arts and the audio production community. Additionally, we are grateful for the backing of many members of Congress, particularly Congressmen Bobby Rush (D) and Mark Kirk (R) of Illinois, who have taken a strong leadership stance on the protection of incumbent operations. Without these voices, the importance of wireless microphones and related audio equipment may have been completely overlooked in this proceeding."

Additional links of interest concerning White Spaces:

The FCC press release: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A1.pdf <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A1.pdf>

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's comments: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A2.pdf <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A2.pdf>

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps' comments: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A3.pdf <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A3.pdf>

FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein's comments: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A4.pdf <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A4.pdf>

FCC Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate's comments: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A5.pdf <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A5.pdf>

FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell's comments: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A6.pdf <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-286566A6.pdf>

Lincoln Brewster Rocks the Christian Charts with PreSonus Gear

Most fans of Christian music need no introduction to Lincoln Brewster. One of the hottest singer/guitarist/worship leaders in the genre, Brewster has six award-winning solo albums on the Integrity Music record label and has worked with many of Christian music's finest talents, including Michael W. Smith and Darrell Evans. An accomplished recording/mixing engineer and producer, Brewster recorded his most recent three solo albums, as well as many songs featured on Christian compilation albums, in his home studio, using PreSonus gear.

"I recorded every single track of my last three albums through the DigiMax 96k," says Brewster. "All of my vocals, guitars, drums, bass-everything. The DigiMax 96k gives me pristine audio quality and everything I need. I love having a limiter on every channel to prevent any possibility of clipping. It just sounds great."

PreSonus's Central Station is another Brewster favorite. "The thing I love about the Central Station is that it is completely transparent," he explains. "The audio quality is fabulous. In addition to using my Central Station with the control-room speakers, I ran one set of outputs to my garage so that I can hook my system up to my car stereo, because to me that is the ultimate test."

Currently in residence as a worship pastor at Bayside Church in Sacramento, California, Brewster's latest release on Integrity Music, "Today is the Day," reached #1 in the Christian and Gospel genre on iTunes in September 2008. You can listen to "Today is the Day" and enjoy an interview with Lincoln Brewster in the Professional Users section of PreSonus's Web site at: www.presonus.com/artists/professionalusers/Detail.aspx?artistID=164.

For more detailed information on PreSonus and their family of products visit www.presonus.com.

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In Memory of James E. Cowan: October 23, 1956-November 5, 2008

James Cowan, president of Neutrik USA, passed away on November 5, 2008 due to cancer at the age of 52. Jim worked for Neutrik for 20 years, starting out as general manager, then vice president and was named president in March of 2000 and was well-known and widely liked by the pro audio industry.

Werner Bachman, CEO of Neutrik AG and a friend for 20 years, says, "Jim was a wonderful leader with just the right combination of business skills and personal qualities. But more than that, he was an industry icon and a genuinely caring person who touched everyone with his kindness. He would always take time out to ask how you or your family were doing and looked you in the eye with a true look of concern. He was sincere and never took himself too seriously. No matter how busy Jim was he always made the time to talk to you, especially at trade shows. He never  missed  a show until recently. I know he will be sorely missed by an industry he so significantly impacted."

In addition to running a company, Jim was also concerned for others and was instrumental in Neutrik's numerous donation efforts, offering the company's equipment to such organizations and schools as Brookfield Academy, La Sierra University and Michigan State University. Jim was also a proud member of PAMA (Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance), an organization for senior executives leading the companies that manufacture professional audio products.

Beyond those organizations with ties to the professional audio community, Jim was a philanthropic benefactor to organizations such as Oceans of Love, which provides help for children with cancer, ALS Association (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, aka "Lou Gehrig's Disease"), the Food Bank of New Jersey, among others.

Prior to joining Neutrik, Jim held various positions with such companies as Texas Instruments, Panduit Corp. and Dialight-Kulka-Smith. He received a bachelor of science in marketing and economics as well as a master's degree in marketing from Monmouth University in New Jersey.

In addition to his role as company president, Jim was also the proud father of his two sons Gregory and Dan, and the loving husband to wife Kate. Following the example set by his grandfather to work hard and never give up, Jim believed in the values of giving and keeping your word to others, respecting others for their opinions, listening, and not forgetting the roots in which you started from in life and in business. 

November 5, 2008
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Ocean of Love, 1709 Highway 37 E., Toms River, NJ 08753.  Or by visiting their website at http://ocean-of-love.org/.

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Guitar Center Professional Announces Systems and Products Installation Initiative

In a move that brings a new level of service to the professional audio, live sound and fixed installation market sectors, Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, has begun a new initiative to allow customers to obtain customized installation of the products and systems that it sells. Along with GC Pro's industry-leading depth of product and technology/design consultation, customers will now be able to access experienced installation and integration of products and systems purchased through GC Pro. This move serves to offer turnkey solutions for a range of professional user needs, from home and commercial recording studios to post production suites to live sound venues and fixed AV installations like houses of worship, theaters and clubs. GC Pro expects that this service initially will become available in several key GC Pro markets, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle.

GC Pro has kicked off this new initiative in response to customer demand and as part of its ongoing strategy to be the one-stop resource for the widest range of pro audio clients. A key component in the launch of this new effort will be the selection of experienced localized systems installers and integrators in the markets where GC Pro has a presence. In the next several months, GC Pro intends to begin the process of interviewing the systems integrators that will become providers for GC Pro customers and who will be available to install most products and systems that GC Pro sells.

A GC Pro account manager will guide the purchaser through the proper combination of technologies, help design the best configuration to maximize their productivity, and load and activate appropriate software where applicable. At the same time, the customer will have the ability to select a contractor to install the system into the customer's workspace, ensuring that all components are fully integrated and functional.

"The launch of this initiative brings GC Pro to the next level of customer service, one that recalls the era when all major audio systems were sold with full commissioning and installation available," observed GC Pro Director Rick Plushner. "With this added service, GC Pro has become our customers' partner in making their dreams a reality."

More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the Company's Web site at www.guitarcenter.com.

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Digital Signage Experts Group

Digital signage is one of the most exciting and fastest growing segments of the commercial audiovisual industry. It has far reaching implications and opens expansive new markets for systems designers, integrators, content creators, and end users alike. From the obvious "explosion" of the retail signage market, to the unique applications for indoor venues such as corporate communication and way finding, to education and transportation, digital signage cannot be ignored. In short, the opportunities within digital signage are significant. The problem we face with this market is that digital signage appears quite simple on the surface, but becomes a tangled web of interconnected and complex technologies that all act together in unison to produce the image we see on screen. The challenge this poses to the designers, installers, and service providers wanting to enter into this space, is one of immersion and full understanding. Many companies have parts of the technology they understand, be it displays, networking, or content… but few understand the whole "picture" of what digital signage requires.  To truly succeed in this space, a company must understand all of the disparate parts that make up the entirety of a digital signage network, and understand how to properly sell the value in those networks to the customer. 

Brawn Consulting in conjunction and cooperation with the commercial AV industry, its manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and designers, is announcing the founding of an industry wide organization, the Digital Signage Experts Group, dedicated to providing education and certification programs for the complex digital signage industry, and the technologies driving it. The heart of the organization is a one-day digital signage certification utilizing an on-site or webinar approach, the Digital Signage Certified Expert (DSCE) program.  The newly created Digital Signage Experts Group is an impartial and agnostic standards body offering the DSCE certification to the industry as a whole. A council of manufacturers, distributors, software providers, and content creators advises the DSEG. There will be a technical version and a sales version of the certification. The course will cover the following areas of concentration:

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ETC Paradigm building-control system

"A truly comprehensive lighting control system should not only be able to run scheduled events, provide local controls, and support manual overrides," says ETC's associate architectural product manager Bryan Palmer, "it should go well beyond -- to automate control functions, allow automatic overrides for events and holidays, and really adapt to individual users and use cases." ETC's new Unison Paradigm system makes it possible to master that range of functionality: activating sophisticated house-light looks with a press of a button, running moving lights and LED effects; dimming sconces and other specialty architectural fixtures; dimming lobby lights when incoming natural light is abundant, adjusting light levels to the presence or absence of people to cut back on unnecessary fixture on-time -- reacting to any space's daily lighting needs.

With Paradigm control at its heart, the new Unison system brings sophisticated and green-minded technologies to theater house and lobby lighting control as well as to rehearsal spaces, administrative offices, utility rooms, and other areas of a greater performing arts facility.

Named for a new thinking approach, the Paradigm system merges ETC's expertise in entertainment lighting control with their advances in architectural lighting control to provide the best of both worlds. Also designed from the outset with energy conservation in mind, Paradigm allows end-users to seize the benefits of daylight harvesting, occupancy sensing and time schedules for maximum electricity-budget savings.

Says Palmer, "When we talk about Paradigm's 'dramatic effects and dramatic efficiencies,' we mean that it not only provides the fundamentals of rock-solid lighting control, it brings a flexible approach to the uniqueness of lighting environments. It's not just about lighting things up, it's about the pragmatic use of lighting and automation in the new realities of any space."

Paradigm achieves effects with its software library found in LightDesigner, featuring access to all types of fixtures (conventionals, moving lights, LEDs, and more). In the past or with other-brand systems, an architectural lighting control system had only a 'press-a-button, lights-come-on' mentality and capability. To design on the spur of the moment, as is so often necessary in a busy venue, you had to use an entertainment control desk or a lighting playback controller. Paradigm LightDesigner configures the system to enable you to press a button and let the system manage complex lighting states for you automatically. Or the software and the system may be used together as if they were a desk, programming dynamic lighting. LightDesigner's palette of features simplifies the control process, from installation and configuration through lighting design and daily use, and has been engineered for high-traffic environments, with both professional and inexperienced users in mind.

According to Palmer, Paradigm is also the first such system to employ state-of-the-art ACN-enabled networking "so that different devices from different manufacturers can speak fluently to each other over the same control system."

The Paradigm family includes touchscreens and wall stations, as well as modular dimming and control enclosures and accessories. Designed to be scalable, Paradigm masters any complexity of venue – theaters, houses of worship, hotels, casinos, museums, arts and conference centers, and other multi-function venues.

For more on the power and functionality of ETC's new Unison Paradigm, go to www.etcconnect.com.

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Sony VPL-FX41 LCD Projector

Sony is adding a high-brightness model to its line of LCD business projectors for fixed network installations. The new VPL-FX41 projector is an XGA unit that produces 5,200 lumens and completes a product line-up that also includes the VPL-FX40 and VPL-FE40 models (4,000 lumens each).

Each projector is designed for networked fixed installations in education, government, corporate, house of worship, hospitality applications, and more. All three are available with optional lenses that allow them to meet a range of short- or long-throw projection needs and are ideal for high-impact multimedia presentations, even in high ambient lighting conditions.

"With their outstanding functionality, simple operation, and network capabilities, these projectors provide users with the tools to perform seamless presentations," said Jay Chung, Sony Electronics' marketing manager for LCD projectors. "These new models offer the right combinations of features and performance to help take presentations to a new level."

The VPL-FE40 offers SXGA+ resolution (1400 x 1050), while the VPL-FX41 and VPL-FX40 offer native XGA resolution (1024 x 768) for high image quality.

The projectors use a combination of imaging technologies to enhance presentation quality. Each model features 3LCD technology, which helps to make projected images bright and natural, provide high light transmission, excellent color reproduction and smooth gradients in dark areas. It can even help to prevent color break-up.

In addition, the use of Sony's BrightEra technology produces a higher aperture ratio to deliver brighter images than previous High Temperature Poly-Silicon LCD-based systems. It allows the projectors to achieve increased resolution and quieter fan noise.

BrightEra technology is based on an inorganic alignment layer that produces a stronger bonding of molecules. This makes the panel more resistant to damage from UV rays and increases light resistance. As a result, brightness and panel reliability are increased.

The projectors use 12-bit 3D Gamma Correction Circuitry for accurate gamma correction, resulting in uniform image color and brightness across the entire screen viewing surface. The 3D digital comb-filter separates Y signals from C signals with great accuracy, which emphasizes fine images and shape boundaries.

For applications where more than a standard lens is needed, the VPL-FX41L, VPL-FE40L, VPL-FX40L is also available. These models are not equipped with a lens, but any of four optional lenses are available that allow them to meet a range of needs – from long-throw projection in large auditoriums to short-throw rear projection in museums or classrooms.

The projectors can be centrally controlled and monitored via a network. Projector status can be verified and functions such as powering units on or off can be performed. Also, the system can be set up to send automatic email reports to designated recipients for scheduled maintenance, including projected lamp life and error reports.

Additionally, when the projectors are installed on a local area network, presentations can be projected from any PC on that network – whether connected wired or wirelessly. Switching between presenters is done with a mouse click and does not require the use of cables to connect each device.

Up to five projectors can be networked, with the image from a single PC projected on each of them. This is a useful feature in large venues or for when images need to be projected to various locations. Images can be projected internationally – an advantage for distance learning. Also, through the use of a built-in ID function, multiple projectors can be set-up and operated independently from a single Remote Commander unit.

The projectors' lamp is accessible from the side of the unit and the filter from the front, so replacement and cleaning does not require the projector to be disconnected. Installation is also easy due to a centered lens and power zoom, focus and shift functions. Each projector can also be ceiling-, floor- or rear-screen mounted.

The Zoom, Focus, and Horizontal and Vertical Lens Shift functions available with the projectors' supplied power-operated lens and optional lenses can be controlled both from the projector control panel and the supplied Remote Commander unit.

The VPL-FX41, VPL-FE40 and VPL-FX40 projectors can be tilted 90 degrees upwards or downwards. This flexibility allows the projectors to be used in several different ways, including in a rear projection system.

The VPL-FX41 and VPL-FX41L projectors are planned to be available in November, and the others are currently available. The following are the suggested list prices for each:

• VPL-FX41      $6,270
• VPL-FX41L    $6,000
• VPL-FE40       $6,000
• VPL-FE40L     $5,730
• VPL-FX40      $4,670
• VPL-FX40L    $4,400

For additional information go to: http://b2b.sony.com.

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TASCAM DP-004 Digital Pocketstudio

TASCAM has announced the DP-004 Digital Pocketstudio, a portable four-track digital recorder. Based on 30 years of Portastudio experience, the DP-004 retains the legendary ease-of-use of cassette-based four-track recorders but updates it with CD-quality digital recording. Instead of confounding menus and windows, the recorder uses a set of dedicated knobs and buttons for easy operation. A pair of unbalanced 1/4" inputs accept mic or line signals, or musicians can employ the built-in stereo microphone. A stereo mixdown track is also included, and tracks or mixes can be transferred to a computer using USB 2.0. Smaller than a paperback book, the DP-004 is portable enough to bring anywhere.

"TASCAM invented the field of home recording with our easy-to-operate Portastudios," said Paul Jenkins, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for TASCAM. "The DP-004 is our most portable model yet, just plug in the included AA batteries and take it anywhere. It's the perfect holiday gift for students, songwriters and musicians".

The DP-004 records to SD Card media, and a 1GB card is included. It features autopunch recording, track editing and an undo function. A metronome and tuner are built-in, and the Input A jack accepts a guitar-level signal for direct recording. The DP-004 is shipping in November 2008 with an estimated street price of $199.

For additional information, visit: www.tascam.com.

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