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Echolab Overture Satisfies Overflow Crowds at Singapore's Cornerstone Community Church
Cornerstone Community Church, located in Singapore and part of the Zion Ministerial Fellowship, has added an Echolab Overture1 SD switcher to enhance and simplify live, multi-screen production of its worship services, which draw a crowd of about 3,000 people every Sunday.
Cornerstone Community Church instituted IMAG and multi-screen viewing for parishioners in its sanctuary in 2004, but the legacy switcher system's effects were limited to simple cuts and dissolves. This year, the church's production team selected the Overture1 SD system to improve image quality and production values for screens within the sanctuary as well as improving the overall worship experience for parishioners viewing screens in overflow facilities elsewhere in the church. "Echolab has not only provided us with a reliable, easy-to-use, and powerful video switcher, it has also given us outstanding local engineering and sales support," says Justin Luo, Cornerstone Community Church technical director. "Overall, the Overture system has enabled us to take our production quality to a much more sophisticated level."
At Cornerstone Community Church, the Overture system works in conjunction with a matrix-scaler to handle all visuals for the service. Besides serving the IMAG function, the Overture also feeds footage from the main sanctuary to screens in the overflow facilities, and the mix-down is recorded to DVD for distribution by Cornerstone's resource ministry.
Cornerstone Community Church's selection of the Overture switcher was based on the flexibility that the system provides, making it possible to route multiple sources, including legacy analog sources, as needed to different outputs. Additionally, the switcher's ease of operation has enabled the Cornerstone professional staff to run sophisticated, live production with minimal training.
Cornerstone parishioners watching the service from outside the sanctuary particularly appreciate the more dynamic and informative graphics that result from Overture's ability to create multiple layers. This is accomplished through the use of Overture's SuperBox module, which acts as a multiviewer and integrates into the Overture's SuperSource crosspoint key to enable as many as six windows to be displayed with no reduction in the switcher's DVE capabilities.
"Cornerstone Community Church is like many religious institutions that have recognized the power of audiovisual technology to help teach and inspire," adds Ankit Patel, Echolab senior product manager. "With its comprehensive mix of features, its reliability, and its ability to integrate into a legacy system, the Overture is a great fit not only for broadcast but for houses of worship, schools, government, and similar venues all over the world."
For more information, visit www.echolab.com. |
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STUFF YOU MIGHT WANT TO KNOW ...
Evangelical Covenant Church Takes Delivery of First Soundcraft Si3 Digital Console Sold to a House of Worship
In a significant audio upgrade project at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the first Soundcraft Si3 digital console sold to a house of worship. The console was recently installed to help deliver better quality sound for the 750 worshippers who attend services and participate in ministries every week.
 The church, founded in 1979, decided to upgrade the audio system after their original analog system started to deteriorate; a 48-channel analog mixing console was originally installed in the church, the digital Si3 replaced it with minimal infrastructure changes, immediately providing 64 input channels.
"There were a lot of factors that we needed to decide upon prior to purchasing a digital console, however we knew we wanted to upgrade to digital," says Rick LaPorte, Sound Engineer, LP Consulting Services LLC. "We were very comfortable on analog desks, but our church required a digital console. For us there were three vendors, but Soundcraft had the best price point, ease of installation, convenient user layout, programmability and availability."
LaPorte and the other engineers at the church are extremely satisfied with the Si3 and have taken advantage of its ability to store presets from previous sessions. This capability, along with cue and recall settings, are an integral part to any event at the church. It also helps eliminate sound variances between individual sound technicians preferences and allows flexibility to their FOH engineers to quickly restore audio order if the church service does not follow script.
"We purchased the Si3 console a few weeks before our biggest production of the year," continues LaPorte. "Once we had the initial programming and audio adjustments for the sanctuary set, we began to program the services and show. Les Ruster, our senior technician, created a different cue for each of the 45 different scenes in the production. On the night of the show, all he had to do was press the next cue button to jump seamlessly between the many different settings that the acts required. These features really made this show our best show ever from a technical perspective," LaPorte adds.
The console is user-friendly and takes minimal time to transition from an analog desk to a digital. "I play drums in the church's praise band and since the installation of the new console, I finally have a tight, clean and full sound of everything I need to hear," states LaPorte. "I have had more joy in playing thanks to the capabilities of the new Si3 console."
For more information, visit www.harman.com.
Turning Point Adds SSL C200 HD Digital Projection Console to New HD Remote Production Truck
Turning Point, the radio and television division of the ministry of Dr. David Jeremiah and the Shadow Mountain Community Church, recently completed a new 45-foot remote truck that offers full HD production capabilities. The audio mission was accomplished through a 128-input, 32-fader Solid State Logic C200 HD Digital Production Console with two SSL Delta Link MADI HD units providing the pathway to the resident Pro Tools HD system and three 48-input SSL C-SB stage boxes for remote microphone control.
"When we first looked at the options available for a console, we really liked the ergonomic layout of the C200," says Ric Seaberg, chief audio engineer and producer for Turning Point. "The C200 allows the engineers to stay in the sweet spot of the mix and still have control of level, EQ and dynamics because we can pull up any bank of eight strips and assign them to the center bank section. We regularly record a 30- to 40-piece orchestra supporting a 125- to 175-voice choir and we needed a console that would let us record live audio to video with automation. The C200 console easily accomplishes this and sounds simply great."
Turning Point produces programs that run nationally and world-wide, with radio programs routinely running over 2,000 times a day, while the television productions are carried to every country in the world via five different satellite networks. Several programs have won Emmy Awards. With this level of production, the move into HD was essential, making high quality and ease of use paramount considerations when specifying the C200.
"We needed to upgrade to HD and the only sensible way to do this was with a truck," Seaberg explains. "Turning Point has its own facility in Lakeside, California, so the truck runs between the production facility and the Shadow Mountain Community Church 10-miles away to capture Saturday and Sunday services. The truck, which was integrated by Diversified Systems, is the HD part of our facility, so during the week we connect it up to our network and use it as our HD suite.
"The C200 gives us the power to deliver excellent mixes to video during live capture, while elegantly performing laybacks for any posting that needs to be done," Seaberg continues. "The SSL is the only processing we use, because everything is right on the console and sounds great, leaving the Pro Tools system to capture raw direct audio, so latency is not a problem. We are very happy with our experience with the staff at Solid State Logic, the support we have received and, of course, the C200."
For more information, please visit: www.solid-state-logic.com.
Clair Brothers Opens Chicago Office
"As business builds for Clair Brothers, opening branch offices allows us to support different key areas with specialized sales engineers," says Gene Pelland, executive vice president of sales at Clair Brothers. "With the addition of designers and project managers to that mix we are able to design, install and support new projects as well as existing installations. Keith Neubert will head up sales and management in the territory and Jim Johnson will handle systems designs and project management."
Neubert adds, "I am very excited to join the Clair Brothers team and expand the business in the Midwestern region. I have been an admirer of Clair Brothers approach to business for many years, and look forward to building upon their success locally through integration projects in the house of worship, performing arts center, stadium, arena and corporate conference facility markets."
Keith Neubert has been previously held the following positions; Willow Creek Community as church technical director, SPL-Integrated Solutions (now AVI-SPL) senior sales engineer/project manager and Harvest Bible Chapel as director of production.
For more information, visit www.clairsystems.com/.
| NEW PRODUCTS |
| 01. |
American Audio XSP Series Powered Loudspeakers |
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The new XSP series of high-power professional speakers from American Audio are versatile, rugged, affordable. Available in four sizes, the models include the XSP-8A (eight-inch), XSP-10A (10-inch), XSP-12A (12-inch), and the XSP-15A (15-inch), each with built-in amplifiers.
Featuring an "invisible" full-grill design, and flyable and floor-mount options, the XSP speakers are great for installations too. Add to this their wide range of sizes, and they offer a perfect array of choices for DJs, bands, clubs, houses of worship and more.
Time-aligned crossovers and phase alignment, give them greater mid-range presence. Another premium feature found on the two larger units, the XSP-12A and XSP-15A, are Neodymium components providing 6-dB greater output than the magnetic structures typically found in speakers at comparable price points.
All four speakers in the series can be used as stand mounts, are flyable, and can be wall or truss mounted (using optional metal brackets). The ABS nylon fiber cabinet and full grille is heavy-duty enough to hold up to the rigors of set-up and tear-down.
For more information, visit www.americanaudio.us.
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| 02. |
Extron USP 507 Universal Signal Processor |
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Extron Electronics introduces the USP 507, a Universal Signal Processor that provides video scaling, transcoding, as well as analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog video conversion in a single product. The new USP 507 features a seven-input switcher that supports all common analog and digital video formats, from composite video to DVI, RGBHV and optional SDI/HD-SDI. Advanced video processing automatically detects the input video format and applies high-performance scaling. Two RGBHV outputs are standard, plus an Extron MTP Twisted Pair output that significantly enhances integration flexibility. In addition, optional output boards are available for scan-converted video, DVI, and HD-SDI. The USP 507 is ideal for applications that require universal compatibility to accept any input video format and produce high quality video for display.
"The integration of analog and digital sources within a single system design is one of the everyday challenges faced by A/V integrators," says Lee Dodson, Vice President of Marketing for Extron. "The USP 507, a major update to our popular USP 405, provides a simple, cost-effective solution for these mixed-signal applications, with the signal conversion and advanced image processing for which Extron is best known."
The USP 507 features a high performance 30-bit scaling engine with the ability to scale standard definition, high definition, and computer-video signals up or down in resolution. It accepts computer-video signals up to 1920x1200 and HDTV 1080p/60, and outputs RGB or component video at 81 selectable output rates up to 1920x1200, as well as HDTV 1080p/60. For increased system flexibility, the USP 507 offers up to four simultaneous outputs, including two RGBHV or component video outputs, Extron MTP Twisted Pair output, and an optional output that can be ordered as DVI, HD-SDI, or scan-converted video.
For more effective, professional presentations, the USP 507 includes glitch-free switching between video and RGB inputs with selectable cut or fade to black transitions. The USP 507 also features a PIP picture-in-picture mode that allows a video source and an RGB source to be shown on one display. Front panel controls are provided for quick access to functions. Remote configuration and control are available via RS-232 serial control and IP Link(c) Ethernet Control. An RS-232 serial loop-through port is also provided, so that commands from a control system can be passed on to an Extron audio switcher.
Visit www.extron.com/usp507pr for more information. |
| 03. |
Elation Introduces Design Beam 1200C |
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Elation Professional's new Design Beam 1200C CMY moving head is a 1200W hybrid that can perform as either a spot, wash or long-throw beam projector. Despite its 1200W output, the Design Beam 1200C's is housed in a compact case more typical of a 575W fixture, so it can be installed in tight spaces and is very convenient to transport on tours and traveling productions.
Add in wireless DMX and a full range of professional design features, and the Design Beam 1200C truly is an innovative multi-purpose fixture for nightclubs, churches, rental houses, theaters, concerts, and other entertainment events. "We developed the Design Beam 1200C to be a complete 1200W DMX moving head that meets the demands of today's lighting market and challenging economy," says Eric Loader, director of sales for Elation Professional. "People are looking for ever more powerful, yet smaller fixtures. Today's designers and clients also want versatility and value, and the Design Beam 1200C delivers with its ability to do triple-duty as a wash, spot or beam projector. This multi-functionality makes the Design Beam 1200C especially great for the rental market.
"Designers also want cutting-edge features like wireless DMX, along with lots of effects and colors," added Loader. "We've included the complete 'wish list,' while keeping the price in line with the substantial dollar value that has become associated with Elation products."
Powered by a Philips MSR1200 7,500k discharge lamp, the Design Beam 1200C provides extreme light output, shooting out 107,500 lux at 25 feet, and producing a very tight 6.7° beam angle. A Variable Frost feature allows the unit to function as either a spot or wash -- simply apply varying degrees of Frost to morph the hard edge beam into a softer wash-like effect.
Equipped with a CMY color mixing system with variable CTO color correction, the Design Beam 1200C can produce a rainbow of colors with 16-bit movement and color fading. It also features eight static replaceable dichroic colors, including CTB and UV. Eye-popping effects can be created with the unit's two gobo wheels, one containing six rotating/indexing gobos, and the other with seven static replaceable gobos. A dimmer and strobe effect provide even more visual excitement.
The Design Beam 1200C can operate on 21 DMX channels standard or 30 channels in 16-bit mode. It features a built-in wireless DMX receiver that utilizes technology from world-renowned Wireless Solution Sweden AB. This allows it to receive DMX signals wirelessly from up to 3,000 feet that are sent via Elation's EWDMXT wireless DMX transmitter (sold separately) or other wireless DMX transmitters made by Wireless Solution. From the operator's standpoint, the DMX signals will flow reliably and without interruption, thanks to system's Adaptive Frequency Hopping Technology, which changes frequencies 1000 times per second to stay on channels that are not in use. "Wireless DMX technology, along with the Design Beam 1200C's compact size, make it an ideal solution for hard-to-light areas that are tight on space or where cable can't be run for one reason or another," notes Loader.
For those who prefer to stay wired, the Design Beam 1200C offers both 3-pin and 5-pin DMX connections. As standard with Elation's Design Series moving heads, it includes a DMX Record mode, which allows users to record four different shows direct from the DMX console for playback on the unit. Plus, users can adjust the DMX profile attributes manually to emulate other fixtures if a show has been programmed already with another fixture type.
With its high output and 630° or 540° Pan and 265° selectable Tilt, the Design Beam 1200C is great for producing sweeping effects and color in larger venues when a small profile fixture is required. It measures only 18.5" x 18.2" x 20.3" and weighs just 78.5 lbs., thanks in part to a lightweight electronic ballast.
The MSRP of the Design Beam 1200C is $9,199.95.
For more information, visit www.elationlighting.com. |
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