Lone Star State Multi-Media Integration System Upgrade

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Church.Design

Under the leadership of Senior Pastor Dr. Tony Evans, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, is dedicated to demonstrating the power of life-changing discipleship. With a Worship Center that accommodates a congregation of over 10,000 members, a total redesign and upgrade of the church’s multi-media integration system was necessary to enhance and maximize the worship experience for both the church and Dr. Evans’ national radio and television broadcast ministry that impacts lives worldwide.  As they wanted to renovate the technical design behind their worship services, the church worked with the AVL integration specialists at Clair Solutions who installed two FlexTour 3.9mm LED video walls from PixelFlex. 

The upgrade process

“This was our first time working with Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, and we were brought in to handle both the design and systems installation on the project, as part of a full lighting, audio and video renovation,” says Seth Morth, engineering manager with Clair Solutions. “On the video side, they had been using two 16-foot wide, 4:3 Standard Definition, rear projection systems in the sanctuary. Since they had already been through several iterations of projection equipment, we went in and modernized almost every facet of their AVL technology including the installation of the FlexTour LED video walls.”

A robust, high-definition and curve-able LED video display, FlexTour is designed specifically for the rigorous demands of live entertainment productions. With its unique rigging capabilities that allow for traditional and off-set configurations, each 500mmx500mm tile is fully front-serviceable and its integrated climbing ladder allows for quick access to displays flown high overhead. Built with the highest standard in components including the new NovaStar A8s receiving card, FlexTour is completely flicker-free making it one of the premier LED video design solutions available today. 

Morth continues, “From a worship standpoint, they wanted to make it easier for technology to tell their story without changing the architecture of the space and making it unfamiliar to their congregation. Since they have worked closely with Dr. Evans’ national broadcast ministry for a number of years, video is very important to them. They did go back and forth a bit on whether to use another projection system, but in the end, we decided on an LED video solution with many more live switching capabilities to create a new experience for their congregation.”

When looking at the video solutions available, Morth knew that the church would be relying on the use of live IMAG as a primary component in their worship services. With very specific product requirements and standards that would make this possible, he found the design specifications of the FlexTour LED video to be exactly what they needed.  

“When doing live IMAG, we always strive for as little latency as possible, and it’s about who can give us a raster that is pixel-for-pixel for what is coming out of any camera switcher,” admitts Morth. “It’s not really about background graphics, but more about making sure the video is fast to reduce lip-sync between what the audience sees on video and what they hear. When we started looking at the technology out there, it really came down to product performance and budget, and the PixelFLEX technology fit both the project requirements and the mindset of the customer.”

Ready to now begin the LED video installation, the new system would consist of two walls measuring approximately 21-feet wide and 12-feet high. By using revitalized infrastructure of the church to support the video panels, the retrofitted design would easily be able to benefit from the high-resolution performance of a FlexTour system.

“For the install, we used the PixelFlex rigging headers to clamp to a 1.5-inch pipe that is dead hung from the ceiling,” Morth explains. “We were easily able to hang the weight of the LED video walls from above, and from a service standpoint, it also allows us to get a little bit further off the wall just in case we need to get behind the system for any reason. The two walls are identical in size and composition, and it looks great.”

End-user prowess

Utilizing an experienced technical crew, it was time for the modern technical design at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship to highlight the new worship environment. In a design created specifically to feature the message of the pastor and other worship leaders, the LED video walls became a part of a state-of-the-art production facility.   

“At the church, they have been blessed with talented full-time and part-time technical staff members who have all worked inside the live broadcast and production industry,” adds Morth. “For the services, they are using a total of six cameras with a Ross Ultrix Router, two Ross Carbonite Switchers, and a Clear-Com IP-based intercom system. They now have a very advanced video broadcast production system, with two rows of control and a monitor wall for visibility into their signal path at any point for all content.”

With the retrofitted production design at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship now fully complete, the church is taking full advantage of their updated capabilities. Having been dissatisfied by the maintenance costs of their outdated projection system, the durability and robust performance of the a FlexTour LED video system is a significant improvement.

“When the technical staff saw the new system, they started to see what LED video could do,” Morth concludes. “Having grown tired of servicing and maintaining the old projection system, and it simply wouldn’t work in this new, modern space. Over time, the return on investment in LED video simply makes it a winner compared to traditional projection systems, especially in a large house of worship installation.”