Systems design consultants create custom equipment racks for church applications, ranging from installation projects to portable racks for mobile churches. Image: CCI Solutions.
Churches are renowned for having tight AV budgets, plus only wanting to build what they absolutely need right now and nothing more. Unfortunately, church teams that follow this philosophy run into issues when their AV system can’t support everything they want to connect to it. These churches also have trouble updating their AV systems down the road, because they’ve left no room for growth in their infrastructure.
Having this knowledge allows church technical leaders to be their own best allies--to make sure their facilities and infrastructures are ready for the systems they'll need down the road.
It is also the duty of AV designers and integrators to advise and protect their church clients, helping prepare them by building headroom into AV systems to support special events and future expansions.
CPM spoke with two church AV experts and asked them for future-proofing advice for cash-conscious church clients. Here's what they had to report.
1-Consider space for special events
Churches with packed AV systems typically experience pain at Christmas and Easter. This is when they want to add extra microphones, cameras and speakers to their services, but physically can’t do so due to a full board and a lack of available cable runs.
To keep this from happening, Velocity Pro Systems’ "Maker of Magic" Mike Sessler helps church clients figure out their maximum production needs before construction begins. Velocity Pro Systems has offices in Los Angeles and Nashville, Tenn.
"If ... budget is tight, we don’t even need to finish out the entire system, but simply include the infrastructure.” Mike Sessler, "Maker of Magic," Velocity Pro Systems
“We ask about the normal weekend needs--number of inputs and outputs, monitors and personal mixers, camera locations, monitors, lighting instruments and locations,” Sessler says. “But then we also ask about what they do for bigger events. Often Vacation Bible School will be of larger production value than Christmas, but in any case we find out how they scale–or want to scale–their production to the larger services.”
Armed with this information, Velocity Pro Systems designs the infrastructure and backbone to be able to accommodate the largest production the church can think of. “This usually adds only nominal cost to the overall system as we’re talking about up-sizing conduit, possibly adding a few boxes and attachment points for lighting pipes and extra inputs to floor boxes and wall plates,” he says. “If their budget is tight, we don’t even need to finish out the entire system, but simply include the infrastructure.”
2-Leave room for future expansion
When it comes to building headroom for growth into new church AV systems, CCI Solutions (offices in Seattle and Los Angeles), “we are generally thinking about ensuring audio consoles and video switchers have more inputs and outputs than they think they initially need, and that lighting systems have plenty of additional DMX channels (and maybe universes) available,” says Duke DeJong, the company’s vice president of sales and integration.
[A proactive approach] provides the church with room to grow in 5-10 years’ time, even if they can’t imagine such expansion ever taking place.
This approach provides the church with room to grow in 5-10 years’ time, even if they can’t imagine such expansion ever taking place. “Oftentimes churches don't have the budget to add more cameras, mics, or lighting fixtures than they need when they move into their facility,” DeJong notes. “Still, ensuring their control systems have capacity to add more down the road is key.”
3-Be sure to provide extra pathways
One way to future-proof church AV systems is to install extra pathways during initial construction–above and beyond what a client says they’ll ever need for their largest productions.
“Adding connection paths to any place you can think you might want one down the road gives you a ton of flexibility to adjust as your programming adjusts – and you really can't have enough network paths back to a central location.” Duke DeJong, Vice President of Sales and Integration, CCI Solutions
“Providing headroom definitely not only means ensuring consoles and control systems have room for expansion, but ensuring the infrastructure has additional room for growth as well,” said DeJong. “Adding connection paths to any place you can think you might want one down the road gives you a ton of flexibility to adjust as your programming adjusts – and you really can't have enough network paths back to a central location.”
After all, “conduit will never be cheaper than it is before the concrete is poured,” Sessler observed. “So whenever we’re working on a new build or major renovation, we’ll often add a few runs of conduit and open boxes in places that make sense. These conduits don’t need to have wire in them on Day One, but if you don’t have them three years later when you want to expand, you’re in a pickle.”
4-Add headroom to existing AV systems
Of course, many churches don’t have headroom built into their AV systems–which is why they call their local designer/integrator for help. According to DeJong and Sessler, some fixes are available–but they’re not always easy.
“Adding space to a full system can be a challenge, [because] it generally means significant upgrades to your consoles or control systems." Duke DeJong, Vice President of Sales and Integration, CCI Solutions
“Adding space to a full system can be a challenge, [because] it generally means significant upgrades to your consoles or control systems,” says DeJong. “But it definitely can be done with some planning and effort. The bigger challenge is adding additional wire path and connection points, [since] that can be a bit messier if your space didn't have enough conduit or conduit destinations.”
Sessler notes, “If the equipment is old and nearing end of life, it may be best to simply replace it. In other cases, you may have to get creative and sub-mix things in. For example, if the audio console is nearly full every weekend but another 12 inputs are needed for Christmas, a second mixer can be rented or brought in from another room and sub-mixed into the main mixer.”
The bottom line
Building headroom into church AV systems allows them to cope with special events and future expansions, including the addition of multi-camera production and live streaming of services. These are capacities that your cash-conscious congregation may say they don’t want, but are vital for designers and integrators to include as a service to churches.
