There was a surprise waiting for the installation crew at dB Audio & Video when they started to hang the supports for lighting poles at Shiloh Baptist. Removing the panels from the ceiling grid at the historic church, which was founded by former slaves in 1869, the crew discovered there was 11' of extra space to the roof deck. However, as so often happens when unexpected curves are thrown into plans, this discovery provided an opportunity for the crew to excel. Rather than wait for an electrician and lift to be put in place for the new higher ceiling, the crew pre-hung and pre-wired the Chauvet Professional Ovation E-190WW LED ellipsoidal fixtures they were using to light the church's stage.
“We were able to do this because the Ovation ellipsoidals are LED fixtures with their own power,” says Brad Lyons, Systems Advisor for dB Audio & Video, “There were still delays waiting for an electrician and lift, but pre-hanging and pre-wiring saved us a lot of time. Everything was ready for the electrician to come in and run two 20-amp circuits.”
The time saved in the installation process was only the beginning of advantages that the Ovation LED fixtures would bring to Shiloh Baptist. As the church leaders expected, switching to LED has significantly improved energy efficiency. “Now we are running six fixtures per 20-amp circuit,” says Lyons. “The first fixture on each circuit has three additional fixtures chained via PowerCon. Then we have two additional fixtures on the second outlet. So the whole configuration is very energy efficient.”
"The first fixture on each circuit has three additional fixtures chained via PowerCon. Then we have two additional fixtures on the second outlet. So the whole configuration is very energy efficient."
Brad Lyons
Systems Advisor, dB Audio & Video.
Of course to worshippers at Shiloh Baptist, the most noticeable advantage of the new LED fixtures isn't their easy-install features or their energy efficiency, but the dramatic improvement they've made in the church's stage lighting for live and videoed services. The church installed the Ovation fixtures as part of an audio, video and lighting upgrade for live stream services and events.
“There was an appreciation on the church's part that new stage lighting was a must if they were going expand their video ministry,” says Lyons. “The church knew the value of going with LEDs. They wanted to convert the house and stage lighting to all LED, but budget allowed for only part of the upgrade right now, so they correctly chose to start with stage lighting because of its importance to the visual presentation, and then go back and do the choir loft and house lights later.”
Based on the results, of the new LED stage rig, the church hasn't been disappointed. “The improvement in stage lighting that's resulted from the installation of the Ovation E-190WW has been significant,” says Lyons. “Previously the church's video system was standard definition so the quality already had issues, but with a new HD system those problems would have been amplified. The Ovation ellipsoidals provide great face lighting, eliminating shadows. Combined with the new video switcher and laser projectors, the ellipsoidals are giving the church stunning looks on its 16' x 9' projection screen.”
Led by Bill Johnson, dB Audio & Video's lighting engineer, the crew installed 12 Ovation E-190WW fixtures, positioning them roughly 25' up and 25' out from the stage on three 10' aluminum poles using wrap-around clamps suspended from the ceiling. Johnson used 26° lenses on the fixtures and had warm temperatures set as the default.
“Bill did an excellent job positioning the fixtures to give us maximum coverage on stage with flat event fields of light, and our installation crew did a great job in final positioning and focusing on-site,” says Lyons. “As far as output goes, the Ovations are so bright that we need to run them only at 50% to achieve excellent HD picture quality. Our crew also loves these fixtures, because as LEDs they don't get hot and burn their hands – plus as we discovered at Shiloh, they also give us the flexibility to work around the unexpected.”
