Case Study: Smart Design Allows Jackson Chapel to Update Their Video Projection System Beyond Their Expectations!
When the church’s aging projection system began to fail, the decision was made to purchase a new replacement system. Several requirements were placed on the design including a desire to do live video capture and recording, as well as, include future capabilities to add “live” video streaming. One constraint loomed large over the project, the new system was under a very, very tight budget.
The Goals:
Jackson Chapel, a small, rural, Maryland church has a rather bold and progressive dream. Located in the town of Frederick, a portion of the state that is under unprecedented growth and expansion, Jackson Chapel sees a tremendous potential for growth as well. Everywhere you look around the area, you see new communities of homes, town houses, condominiums. New shopping centers, hotels, restaurants and office buildings seem to pop up overnight. Jackson Chapel senses this is the time to set goals to prepare for their own growth and expansion.
To accomplish their goals, the church realized that they needed to upgrade several of their underlying technologies, specifically the video and sound equipment. In all of their planning, Jackson Chapel focused on how to upgrade economically, making the most with what they had to spend on the projects. To assist the church, they turned to Audio-Video Group, a well-established, local Frederick company known for their success and excellence in working with Houses of Worship.
Audio-Video Group gladly took on the challenge to design a new, economical replacement system with all the required future capabilities. As Audio-Video Group’s design staff worked through the requirements it became apparent that a large screen, video projection system, would be a great solution. The church was growing excited to see their dream unfold.
The Approach:
The benefits of using a well-seasoned and professional audio-video system company became apparent as our designers were able to incorporate some of the existing equipment to the new system, helping to keep the overall costs down. The designers carefully researched the current equipment specifications and based on their experiences assembled a design that met and even exceeded the church’s requirements.
Some of the New Capabilities:
By repurposing the existing main projector from the front to the back wall, the designers were able to add a “confidence” monitor at reduced cost. A new, more than 50% brighter, replacement video projector was installed as the main projector. Dual HD robotic cameras were added to capture the services and events, as well as, to record video to an Apple MAC-Mini Computer which in turn was used to burn DVD’s.
System operators have the capability to send live video feeds to the Narthex and Fellowship Hall to handle overflow crowds. Separate large flat screens handle the video feeds. Even small details were not overlooked such as a wall plate with a series of video inputs was installed in the Fellowship Hall to support small meetings needing video support.
As a potential future capability, the system is ready to stream video to the Internet with either the installation of an appliance or subscription to a service provider. This capability is important because it expands the church’s capabilities to reach a larger community including the elderly, shut-ins, hospitalized, and even members away from the immediate area such as college students and military. In either case, the capability exists and as soon as the operators are comfortable with the new video camera equipment they plan to add the streaming service.
The Results:
The church is very pleased with the price, quality and functionality of the new system. They have expressed gratitude to the Audio-Video Group team for their willingness to work within the budget and still deliver a high quality system that will continue to grow with the church. The church’s appointed “Communication Team” was overjoyed with the training provided by Audio-Video Group and felt empowered to provide quality video production for the church’s services.
As a final note on appreciation, the church is so pleased, they are now working with Audio-Video Group on a sound upgrade. That alone speaks for itself.
The Pieces:
Along with some of the existing equipment, the designers used two (2) Vaddio PTZ cameras with a controller, a Blackmagic Design ATEM switcher running off an Apple MAC Mini and a new Kramer video switcher. A well thought out mixture of integrated technology giving high quality video production at a reasonable price.
Next Steps:
All things considered, a high quality projection system, with video distribution and streaming capabilities in a tight budget that exceeded customer’s expectations. Exactly the type of project Audio-Video Group of Frederick, Maryland is known for and is waiting to do the same for you. Call today and let’s start planning your next system upgrade and let us show you what is possible! (800)668-4988.