The 2024 edition of NAB Show just concluded its annual event in Las Vegas. Despite the antiquated word broadcast in its name, the event has transformed in recent years into a technology event for content creators – and a large segment of that includes churches.
Although it’s still not back to its pre-Covid footprint, it’s still a massive show. While 2024 numbers have not yet been released, it seemed it bit larger than the 2023 event, which officially attracted over 65,000 attendees and 1,200 exhibitors.
One thing that did seem to increase in 2024 vs 2023 was the number of churches in attendance. Nearly every exhibitor that the Church Production team visited said they had already been visited by numerous churches during the show.
Also, a growing number of exhibitors included churches or houses of worship on their booths or stands with signage, photos and video of worship environments.
With over a thousand exhibitors, and tens of thousands of products on display, narrowing our annual “Top 5…” to just five products is a painfully difficult process. With out further adieu, here are the “Top 5 Products for Churches from NAB 2024.”
Blackmagic's new Pyxis 6K digital film camera offers a cube design, and is available in three different models that can accept L-Mount, EF or PL lenses.
Blackmagic Design Pyxis 6K Digital Film Camera
Blackmagic Design’s pre-NAB press event was nearly two-and-a-half hours long, and packed full of new product announcements --- many of which apply to the church market. But considering that video production and content creation are the reason people go to NAB, and that “Capture” was this year’s official show theme, it makes sense to recognize this affordable (Price: $2,995) cinema box camera, that Blackmagic is promoting as “the world’s most riggable, full frame digital film camera: the Blackmagic Pyxis 6K. It’s available in three models that accept L-Mount, EF or PL lenses, shoots at up to 6K/36fps or 120fps in 1080HD. Learn more here.
BZBGear's BG-QuadFusion-JR is designed to allow users to transition between multiple HDMI video sources and features inbuilt special effects.
BZBGear BG-QuadFusion-JR 1080p FHD Video Switcher
AT NAB 2024, we got our hands on the Quadfusion Jr HDMI switcher for live streaming from BZBGear, and it offers an incredible value (Price: $749) for small to medium-sized churches, or for streaming from smaller venues in larger churches. The control surface is super compact, but easy to maneuver. The controls are back-lit, and the T-bar feels robust. It’s got all the connectors a smaller environment could need, offers a record option to Micro SD. As long as you only need to stream in 1080p, this little unit could be ideal for a huge segment of the church market. Learn more here.
Magewell's Director Mini is a complete, portable production and streaming system that combines multi-input switching, graphics, streaming, recording and monitoring in one compact device
Magewell Director Mini All-in-One Production and Streaming System
We’ve seen all-in-one streaming systems before, but nothing this small, full-featured and affordable. While technically not a new product, the new version 2.4 firmware update to the Magewell Director Mini All-in-one Production and Streaming System (Price: $1,299) essentially reinvents this little unit, and makes it a perfect addition to small and medium sized churches. The over two dozen new features include support for HTML graphics platforms, network bonding for faster streaming uploads and more. This in addition the existing features that combine multi-input switching, graphics, streaming, recording and monitoring in one compact device. Learn more here.
PTZOptics Hive Cloud-Based Camera Control System
PTZOptics Hive is a cloud-based camera control solution designed to change the way professionals manage and control PTZ cameras remotely.
It's hard to imagine an environment that would not benefit from the new PTZOptics Hive cloud-based camera control solution. Imagine being able to view, control, switch and trouble-shoot your PTZ cameras from anywhere. Technical directors or volunteers at single-site churches with multiple venues (chapel, gymnasium, main auditorium etc) can operate cameras from their office or even from home. Multi-site churches with cameras at their satellite locations could access, control and record all of those cameras and feeds from the main or broadcast location. It’s a subscription-based platform, starting at $270 per year, but it’s compatible with over 400 camera models making the list of possibilities virtually endless. Learn more here.
Sony Electronics BRC-AM7 4K 60p Pan-Tilt-Zoom Camera with AI-based Auto Framing
PTZ cameras were front and center at Sony’s NAB booth, the perfect location for showing the company’s new flagship 4K/60p PTZ camera, the BRC-AM7 (Price: $12,000). The AI-based auto-tracking and auto-framing technology is truly remarkable, as it continually learns various characteristics and tendencies of the person it's tracking, making it less and less likely to lose them in the shot, while also makes the PTZ’s camera movements significantly smoother and more natural. We saw some excellent auto-tracking demonstrations at other manufacturer’s booths, but the movement we saw at Sony’s was perhaps the best. Combined with Sony’s Exmor RS CMOS image sensor, and Sony’s amazing color science, the new BRC-AM7 offers 4K HDR imagery with a 20x optical zoom. However, with the company’s Clear Image Zoom, the unit is capable of 30x zoom in 4K or 40x soom in HD. This is not your typical digital zoom. Learn more here.
