The Morrisville, NC campus is one of two video-venue/satellite locations of Raleigh-based Hope Community Church. Photo courtesy of Jim Kumorek, Spreading Flames Media.
Quality video and audio systems are important to churches that practice contemporary worship. For churches with multi-site or satellite campuses, those systems are absolutely vital. Worshipers in a live setting can count on their senses to 'fill in the blanks' if the video is slightly sub-standard. They have the live experience in which to fully engage. But satellite locations rely almost entirely on the quality of their A/V systems, especially video. As more churches reach beyond their walls to remote sites, the demand for better quality projection and video hardware increases. In fact, for a growing church, quality video at the remote site may play a more important role than video on the main campus. Yet, remote venues are often handicapped with repurposed or low-end equipment and operators isolated from the church's regular technical staff.
In a society where high-definition images and video have become the norm, the technology choices for your house of worship are more important than ever. Especially for churches that are expanding, determining how—and how much—to invest in video technology for remote and satellite campuses becomes a challenge. Michael Bridwell, vice president of marketing and home entertainment at Digital Projection that manufactures and distributes ultra high-performance projection systems, cautions churches that are planning for remote sites to consider what is at stake. “The goal is to focus on the message,” he says, “and not the person on stage. You want to invest in quality video projection to help worshipers receive the message, not have them be distracted by a less-than-perfect image.”
Bridwell has seen the increase in church expansion in recent years and, while some remote installations are very effective, others fall short. “You are really using technology to create an immersive experience,” he says. “Especially at remote campuses, you need all you can get; better technology and projectors with high processing power that can prevent distractions like stutter and delay that can detract from the worship experience.” Bridwell notes that projection brightness also plays an important role with the demand for larger screens. “You used to have to pay a premium for the brightness to light up a large screen,” he says, “but, today, churches have many more affordable choices.”
For churches that are expanding, Bridwell suggests that while projection technology is important, it's not just about hardware. “A good infrastructure is really key,” he cautions, “especially where there is not a live human on the stage.” In addition to a quality image, good content and solid programming, he notes, must keep people engaged.
Craig Harper is a church technology expert who manages Sony's Faith Based Technology Solutions organization of Sony's Professional Solutions of America business group. He works with churches of all sizes and many churches that support multiple campuses. He argues that the video technology employed at remote sites should be more reliable. “The technology at remote sites should be bulletproof,” he says. “In many ways, you should have a better system there than your main campus since you may not have your regular staff there. Video technology is frequently critical to the success of multi-campus missions.”
For the video venue concept to be credible, the technology must by invisible.
In Harper's experience, many times churches 'downstream' their old equipment. “Then,” he says, “they find that they have just put problems in the field from the start. This can have the effect of setting up the new campus and its technical staff for failure.”
Harper acknowledges that price is important to many churches that are expanding, but cautions technology leaders to not look past the 'true cost of ownership' for better projection systems and video. “Lower prices for projection technology,” he agrees, “can be enticing, but there is more to it.” Harper points to recent developments in laser projectors as an example. “With as many as 20,000 hours of expected usage, laser lights are ideal for church projection needs,” he notes. “The initial price tag for laser projector is higher, but they are less expensive to own over the long haul than projectors with traditional lamps that are subject to failure and need to be replaced much more frequently.”
“With both projector and camera technology,” says Harper, “it's important to see the difference for yourself.” He encourages churches to “test drive” equipment before purchase and arrange for “shoot outs” to facilitate side-by-side comparisons of products in the working conditions of your environment.
Video switchers are a core component for church video systems and need to be both high-quality and versatile according to Rob Read, marketing communications manager for Roland's Professional AV division. “Limited budgets present challenges for many churches that operate with legacy video input,” notes Read. “Having a quality switcher that can do HD, but also handle other formats allows technical directors and engineers a seamless and easy way to mix any content presented to them.” As an example of how a versatile switcher can help, Read offers how scaling features on inputs can easily allow multiple formats, including iPad, computer, and cameras of various types to be cleanly matched to outputs. Having a versatile switcher do this work makes for easier operation, more seamless productions and reduces the need for external devices.
According to Read, investing in user-friendly systems is key for churches to conquer the day-to-day technical challenges of growth and those presented by more complex environments with multiple screens, broadcast output, etc. “Having an intuitive interface,” says Read, “not only makes it easier for volunteers, but makes it possible to accomplish more.” As an example, he offers the use of presets that can be loaded from flash memory and the ability to control the switcher through software running on multiple devices, including customizable iPad apps. “Options for external control make a switcher more flexible,” Read points out, “and it can logically divide control tasks, say, to control video for broadcast, mix audio and control a live presentation.”
Another important feature of a quality switcher is its ability to facilitate high-quality streaming and recording. “Switchers that have the ability to record easily with USB 3 output,” notes Read, “can go directly into a computer for high-quality recording or stream to a content delivery network (CDN). These are key features for today's video campuses, whether you have just one satellite or many.”
Planning can be key to insure the success of systems to enhance worship according to Ed Capp, VP of sales and marketing for Sound Devices, LLC. “When thinking about investing in new hardware or adding to an existing system,” he says, “a technology leader should be thinking with the end in mind. Who will be operating this system, volunteers or a trained staff? What will be the application of the final recording, replay for remote locations, broadcast or web streaming?” The answers to questions like these, Capp suggests, can help in selecting the best equipment and features for your users rather than force them to adapt their workflow to the equipment. “If you work backwards and think of how you want to work and what you want to do with your recordings,” he says, “it will make it much easier to ensure you are getting the best system for your needs.”
Capp's list of key features for growing churches to look for in recording and playback equipment includes robust network connectivity and the ability to do multi-drive recording for simultaneous recording to another drive for backup. “Multi-drive ability also offers the benefit of speed,” says Capp, “to quickly deliver a copy of the recording to another campus without waiting for hours to copy files.” Additionally, Capp suggests taking a close look at what media a recorder requires, its cost and availability, as well as what type of file protection is offered.
For many churches, a video recorder will also serve as a multi-track audio recorder. “A video recorder can easily create a single multi-track audio and video file,” notes Capp. “It can also allow a church to remix the audio live at a remote campus or provide the option to use the voice of a local pastor over the image.” These powerful features along with audio-over-ethernet abilities, like the Dante protocol, allow the video recorder to function as part of a network to streamline installation and create a flexible and readily expandable system.
While nothing replaces the experience of being there in person, quality video systems are the next best thing for remote locations. Experts agree that if a video venue concept is to be credible, it needs to meet demanding quality expectations, be implemented seamlessly and the technology must be 'invisible'. “At the end of the day,” says Digital Projection's Michael Bridwell, “quality video allows us to deliver an experience. Video projection, when done well, pulls people forward and into the message. That's really what people come—and come back—for.”
