The Chapel in Akron is a large church located on-campus at The University of Akron in Ohio. Their old video system consisted of 13-year-old cameras and a video switcher, all running 720p. The goal was to get the church’s system running on 1080p, while staying within budget. The church's leadership hired live streaming and lighting solutions provider MediaNet AV.
Zac Novak, Founder and CEO, MediaNet AV
Based in Akron, Ohio, Medianet AV was founded in 2010 by Zac Novak, who had been the director of media and production at Christ Community Chapel in Hudson, Ohio for nine years. In the early days, he would help media teams at neighboring churches set up and train on equipment, which inspired him to turn his service into a full-time business. The company now installs and supplies production services and equipment to a variety of organizations, most commonly churches, throughout Ohio and the surrounding areas.
After reviewing several manufacturers, the Medianet AV team decided JVC’s GY-HC900 cameras were the best choice for The Chapel in Akron. Also installed behind the scenes were the JVC Connected Cam Studio and accompanying JVC monitors. “The JVC equipment not only provided the same quality as other leading manufacturers, but it did so at a much lower price point, which was beneficial to the church,” explains Medianet AV Owner Zac Novak.
Novak says the updated production equipment in place has provided The Chapel in Akron with greater flexibility and higher quality video without difficulty. “Some of the favorite additions for the Chapel include CCU control, tally and the ability to record to an SD card. These were a huge advancement, something they’ve never experienced before.”
The pandemic showed churches the necessity of video production and livestreaming equipment and in the early days of lockdowns, houses of worship turned to any available equipment to livestream including everything from existing, aging gear to off-the-shelf solutions from big box stores. More recently, however, Novak says he has seen an increase in the number of churches willing to invest in more professional equipment to improve this aspect of their production.
“After the first year or so, these venues began to realize their livestreams weren’t great and decided to upgrade to something better,” explains Novak. “We have been really focused on helping our customers replace consumer-level hardware to something more professional. One of our most important jobs as church integrators is to not only address the current requirements of our clients, who often work with tight budgets, but also project how their needs might evolve in the coming years. When it comes to cameras, JVC is always at the top of our list of recommendations for our clients.”
MediaNet AV integrates JVC for dozens of projects each year. Novak says the company’s goal when serving churches is to maximize the technology budgets. “Churches want to ensure their productions are on-par with the streaming services we’re all accustomed to today,” he says. “Most do not have full-time production professionals to manage a broadcast-style studio facility, so in these instances, we usually recommend integrating a system with PTZ cameras, which will allow churches to capture/stream video content in an easy and approachable manner.”
Medianet AV has also been spec’ing JVC KY-PZ100 PTZ cameras for several years and “We were happy to incorporate the KY-PZ200 and KY-PZ400 solutions into our inventory when they were launched last year. Though we’ve not yet had a chance to work with the forthcoming KY-PZ510 solutions, we’re excited to begin incorporating those into future installs as well.”
In addition to churches, Medianet AV also assists with the AV needs of schools and corporations throughout Ohio and surrounding states, such as Pennsylvania and Michigan.
