Lakepointe Church in Texas has implemented one of the largest SMPTE ST 2110 systems in a house of worship to date, built on Imagine Communications’ Selenio Network Processor (SNP) and Magellan Control System. Deployed by Oklahoma City-based Skylark, the new IP system is designed to allow Lakepointe to grow and scale into new ministry opportunities, while ensuring the reliability and day-to-day flexibility that the multi-campus church requires.
“Lakepointe Church is a great showcase for how ST 2110 is enabling future-focused media operations in multiple market segments to pursue new opportunities that are vital to their unique mission,” says Kyle Luther, vice president, Americas Sales, for Imagine Communications. “IP technology is no longer limited to big-budget, tier 1 broadcast operations — it’s mature, proven and driving success across the industry.”
With six locations across Texas and an online platform, Lakepointe Church engages nearly 35,000 people each week through its services in English and Spanish. The church had previously relied on an aging system at its Rockwall headquarters to disseminate its message across various buildings, dispersed campuses, and the internet. When an upgrade became necessary, the decision was made to bring Lakepointe up to speed with the latest technology.
“After meeting with Lakepointe leaders to discuss their objectives, it was clear that deploying an ST 2110 system would be the best way to meet their current and future requirements,” says Chris Winnie, senior systems engineer at Skylark. “In house of worship environments, where it’s not uncommon to have an event every day of the week, implementing a 2110 system that offers flexibility at literally a click of a button is game-changing in how efficiently the production team can transition between events and configurations.”
Winnie continues, “Key considerations in choosing components for the Lakepointe system were multiviewer image quality and user-friendly control capable of effectively managing SDI and IP routing. Imagine Communications was the clear choice to fulfill these requirements — offering a cohesive, adaptable and efficient ecosystem.”
At the heart of Lakepointe Church’s new system is Imagine’s SNP media processing platform, which can be reconfigured with different functionality by enabling the appropriate features. In the current setup, 12 SNPs serve entirely as IP gateways — one backstage, one in the baptism suite and 10 in the main control room — enabling the church to seamlessly integrate its existing SDI hardware and ensure a cost-efficient implementation. Another five SNPs in the control room are configured with the SNP-MV personality, which provides a scalable multiviewer system optimized for low-latency production workflows. In addition, one SNP in the online campus suite and one located at front of house are flexibly configured as half IP gateway and half multiviewer. The operator-centric Magellan Control System is designed to simplify management and operation of the entire workflow and deliver SDI/IP and PiP routing through user-friendly, highly customizable control interfaces and panels.
“The decentralized SNPs allow us to have the efficiency of IP-based connectivity across our facility, with fewer cable runs and connection points, while the Magellan Control System brings everything together in one place for ease of routing and management across the SMPTE ST 2110 network,” says JJ Ammons, senior technical director at Lakepointe Church. “Across the board, the new system has been very well received — from our leadership to our nontechnical weekend volunteers. The clarity of the images on our SNP multiviewers is outstanding, and the system’s flexibility allows for easy adjustments to accommodate various events, and even permits customization to suit the unique preferences of different directors and staff.”
Ammons adds, “As we encounter new opportunities for ministry, we’re poised to extend our infrastructure to support them — which wasn’t always possible with the limitations of our previous system. Now, we’re equipped with a modern starting point, and I’m eager to see the growth and new directions it will enable for us.”
2024 NAB Show attendees can visit the Imagine booth (W2467) for a hands-on demonstration of the SNP and Magellan Control System — a winning combination that can support customers navigating any technology transition, including providing an on-ramp to the cloud.
To connect with Skylark, contact them on Instagram @SkylarkAV
