The 2022 Capture Summit takes place July 25-27 at The John Maxwell Leadership Center at 12Stone Church in Atlanta. The three-day conference for church filmmakers and content creators features 40+ sessions on filmmaking, streaming, IMAG and video production. One of our Capture sponsors is US Broadcast, a leading distributor of broadcast, media and streaming products. We talked with US Broadcast Chief Technology Officer Eric Pratt about the company’s plans for Capture.
Capture: What does US Broadcast do?
Pratt: US Broadcast Distribution is a value-added distributor of live broadcast production and audiovisual products. We specialize in finding and distributing products that make creating live content easier and more affordable.
Capture: What makes US Broadcast a good fit for churches?
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Meet the US Broadcast team at Capture Summit 2022, along with over 500+ of your fellow church filmmakers, techs and creatives. This transformative three-day conference is designed to elevate your team’s game, from filmmaking and streaming to IMAG and video production.
Pratt Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic we had found some success selling our products to churches who wanted to bring their sermons to an online audience. Then when the pandemic hit, most churches who were not already streaming were forced to quickly come up with solutions. We found that what already made us a good fit – especial our PTZ cameras, streaming systems, and video encoders – were suddenly very much in demand. That increase in sales, albeit temporary, gave us a good look into what churches needed to become hybrid traditional/online houses of worship. As we continue to grow our portfolio of solutions, we always have churches in mind because they’ve been such a big part of our growth as a company these past few years.
Capture: What will Capture attendees find when they visit the US Broadcast booth?
Pratt: As distributor we like to think that we have something for everyone! From a small congregation where a pastor is running the whole show, up to large multisite churches, they all need technology to help spread their message. Some interesting things we plan to demonstrate will be our LED video wall from Sansi, live production switchers by Switchblade Systems, HD, 4K PTZ cameras from PTZCam Solutions and control panels from Skaarhoj. Even though we carry a lot of great brands, our goal is always to show people how the various components all work together to solve a problem.
Capture: What are some of the most interesting US Broadcast church projects?
Pratt: We work mostly through local resellers and integrators, many of whom have made their living serving their community churches. They really like integrated solutions that they can bundle together. This makes their jobs easier when it comes to installation and support. They have told us that their church customers have been very happy with our PTZ cameras and controllers in particular. Being able to control multiple cameras without operators was hugely helpful during the worst days of the pandemic when most churches were limited to only a handful of staff on-site. Now that churches have reopened, they have no reason to change what they are doing. In fact, the same churches are now looking at ways to improve the quality of the online experience by adding more cameras, better graphics, and other enhancements.
Capture: What can Capture attendees learn from visiting US Broadcast at Capture?
Pratt: We hope anyone who visits our booth comes away with at least one interesting product that they can put to use in their church. It could be a camera that allows them to add a new angle to their broadcast, a control surface that makes it easier for volunteers to run productions, or even just a video converter that solves a nagging signal flow problem. Our goal is to connect people with useful technology to make their lives easier.
