Worship AVL September–October 2024

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Editor’s Letter

Place of worship or tourist attraction? With the rise in projection mapping – and rapid developments in projection technology –churches and cathedrals are the obvious setting given their amazing architecture and history. Take a look at two events that have been held recently in France on page 10. But do these events blur the lines of the intended purpose of these venues – to worship? A silent disco at Canterbury Cathedral earlier this year drew significant media attention – with critics saying that the event belittled the sanctity of the cathedral. However, if even just one person who attended the event decided

As the dean of the cathedral explained, “whether people choose to come to Canterbury Cathedral primarily as worshippers, sightseers or attendees at our events, it’s always joyous to see them discover this incredible place anew and on their own terms”. Please also welcome our latest contributor, Guy Bugg, audio engineer at Green Acres Baptist Church. You may recognise the name –it’s home to our regular video expert Casey Hawkins. On page 30, Guy talks about mixing with headphones and whether there’s a right or wrong time to do so. I hope you enjoy the issue.

Richard Lawn General manager rlawn@worshipavl.com

Nick Smith Digital media manager nsmith@worshipavl.com

Sue Gould

director sgould@worshipavl.com

Chris Yardley Video editor cyardley@worshipavl.com

Carolyn Valliere Sales associate cvalliere@worshipavl.com

Jack Stennulat Digital content creator jstennulat@worshipavl.com

Simon Luckhurst

Adrian Baker Production editor abaker@worshipavl.com

Caroline Moss Contributing

cmoss@worshipavl.com

Jo Pughjones

jpj@worshipavl.com

Bea Meikle

bmeikle@worshipavl.com

Marne Mittelmann Circulation manager circulation@worshipavl.com

LICENCES: Singapore: MICA (P) 060/04/2024 PPS 1644/05/2013(022954)

CIRCULATION: circulation@worshipavl.com

Because everyone matters Engaging the congregation

Robert Soo turns his attention to the congregation and how to provide that next level of engagement during services

IT IS INTERESTING THAT HOW

we operate and set up audio, video and lighting systems has such a great impact on various groups of people within the church worship community. The previous article in this series centred on the unsung heroes behind every church service – the AV crew –and now, I’m turning my attention to the most significant group in the sanctuary – the congregation. The primary objective behind every effort to eradicate technical issues, improve the delivery of AV and lighting systems and to become better systems operators, is really to provide the congregation with the most conducive environment to have that deep engagement in worship and in the Word within the short time span spent in church each Sunday. Having explored many good technical solutions in my earlier articles, would there possibly be anything else that can lead the congregation to the next level of engagement?

Immersive sound – a significant development in audio technology that makes stereo mixes seem rather lacklustre – is drawing more interest, particularly from larger churches. Instead of just a typical left-right loudspeaker system configuration, it involves a much more extensive setup with a powerful DSP engine driving multiple loudspeaker locations lining the front of the stage (usually no less than five lines or clusters) as well as around, behind and even over the seating areas. During its introduction here, I was asked for my initial thoughts on immersive audio which I put across very simply as this – think of surround sound technology used in movie theatres being brought into a live sound reinforcement application. The fundamental concept is the same, where the sound experience becomes larger, more localised and engaging, except that in a live environment, sound sources are dynamic and happen in real time, and the sound needs to tie in with live subjects onstage and sometimes around the listener. It is certainly costlier

to implement and more challenging to operate compared to a standard stereo setup, but it brings the aural engagement to an entirely new level as it’s no longer a simple frontal experience but one than envelops the congregation.

Then there are electronically adjustable room acoustic systems

a “regenerative approach” that requires arrays of ambient sensing microphones to be positioned around the hall to capture ambient sound and replicate the effect of natural reflective surfaces through advanced digital signal processing, and a system of loudspeakers. But how is this relevant for churches?

that were actually introduced many years ago but, till today, the take-up rate has been low and slow among houses of worship, possibly due to the lack of awareness among churches, as well as the complex and high cost of implementation, very similar to an immersive audio setup. Such systems control the reverberation of a space via

One common issue faced in many modern worship venues today is that they’re not designed to (acoustically) reinforce congregation singing, which is actually vital for corporate worship. Such electronic acoustic systems have been demonstrated to enhance congregational singing and encourage participation and interaction by converting small or

it more visually engaging for the congregation. Another consideration for further enhancing visual engagement is the incorporation of Environmental Projection (EP), where the interior walls and surfaces of a worship space act as giant screens and multiple video projectors project onto them to create a digital canvas of still or moving images (or simply just mood lighting). Throughout its history, churches have always relied on clear messaging and a vibrant storytelling approach to capture the attention of the congregation. Ever noticed how old church buildings and cathedrals are lined with powerful visuals that portray stories about God on stained glass, tapestries and even the ceiling? With the aid of EP systems, turning a modern worship space into a visually immersive and narrative experience helps engage the worshippers by bringing a story to life like never before.

Such systems, however, do require certain conditions before they can be effectively implemented. For example, are there sufficient and appropriate surfaces to project onto and are the surface colours suitable for projection? Since EP systems do not perform well under

An example of an electronically adjustable acoustic setup in a house of worship

An immersive sound solution in a church application

strong lighting, can the room or ambient lighting be controlled? Once these are established, the next thing to consider is the hardware requirements, such as the type and number of projectors and whether edge blending is needed (depending on wall surfaces and intersections), multi-screen management devices and so forth. The type of images or videos projected – and whether text overlays or other added effects are needed – will determine the software requirements. The next big challenge is the alignment, masking and cropping of images because, unlike proper screens, walls and surfaces are often odd shapes and angles, and part of the projected image can end up on the ceiling and other undesired areas.

In congregations with elderly worshippers, a handful of them may not even be able to enjoy a basic sound production because of agerelated hearing loss or due to some other underlying health reasons. Sadly, it has also become more prevalent among the less elderly to suffer from some form of hearing loss. In fact, just recently, a young man in my seminar who stood up to raise a concern about high SPLs in church worship services, admitted he suffers from hearing loss and is

worried about how this is affecting the congregation (this will be an interesting topic for another day!).

Regardless of age, church attendees with a hearing impairment are disadvantaged from fully engaging in the worship services, and therefore we should find solutions to meet their

needs – because everyone matters. Implementing Assistive Listening Systems – or ALSs – can be such a solution, as it provides an amplified audio to the user via personal Assistive Listening Devices or ALDs. There are three common types of ALSs to consider:

Induction loops or audio frequency induction loop systems (AFILS) consist of a copper wire placed within the sanctuary floor and connected via a special loop “driver” to a sound system. Sound is then wirelessly transmitted into the telecoil of hearing aids, cochlear implants or telecoil receivers.

Radio frequency ALSs transmit wireless, low-power FM frequency radio transmission from a sound system to FM receivers. Everyone using the system needs a receiver with either headphones or a neck loop, which will eliminate the need for headphones for those who have telecoil-equipped hearing aids.

● Infrared systems (IR) use invisible infrared light waves to transmit audio from a sound system to an IR receiver. However, this technology is line-of-sight and cannot be used in direct sunlight.

Seeing church members and visitors blessed and ministered at the end of a worship service is the ultimate motivation for me to press on and do what I can to make the sanctuary a conducive place of worship. There are lots more to share and talk about, so do look out for the next article which will be my last one for this year (time flies!). Till then, take care and God Bless.

Understanding intermodulation interference

Don Boomer discusses Intermodulation Distortion (IMD) and the free computer programs that will help you to get the best frequency assignments for your radios

THERE ARE TWO BASIC elements for achieving reliable performance from wireless mics and IEMs. We have to get the RF signal from our transmitters to our receivers and, secondly, we have to tune our systems to a relatively clear and clean frequency. We will be looking into the second one in this article.

There is always some amount of non-intentional RF energy virtually everywhere on the planet. We call this the “RF Noise Floor”. It is primarily caused by every radio and TV broadcast on the planet plus local interference from videowalls, cell phones, motors, etc. There is not much we can do about this except to use bandpass filters to block it from entering into our radio systems. But the second element to this noise floor is instigated by the interaction of all of the radio devices in your venue.

The actual cause of IMD is when multiple radio signals mix through less than perfect electronics. So every time you are using two or more wireless mics, you are creating some additional new interference that wasn’t present before you turned on those mics. Simply put, IMD is caused when multiple radio signals pass through non-linear active circuitry (which means any active circuitry). The amount produced

and the specific frequencies it is produced at is the result of the frequencies of your intended RF transmitters, the power levels of those signals and the proximity of your transmitters to each other. Imagine Romeo and Juliet singing their love ballad. When they are arm in arm and their wireless transmitters are 15cm apart, they will be creating some very powerful sidebands. If you were to look at a scanner, you would see some very large peaks of RF energy. Again, the frequencies at which the transmitters are operating and the power of the transmitters are relevant. If you haven’t carefully constructed a very good RF coordination for all of your

The good news is there are now numerous free computer programs that will help you to get the best frequency assignments for your radios and in your venue. Popular ones include Wireless Workbench, Sound Bridge and RF Venue’s own Wireless System Builder. Basically, you upload an RF scan of your venue (with the transmitters turned off) and a list of your devices (brand, model and frequency block) and the program will return a list of the best frequencies available. These programs all use the same

onstage radios, you will risk the heavy interaction caused by their close proximity knocking some of your other wireless mics (or IEMs) off the air.

Now when they finish their song and they separate, those particular IMD spikes will lessen in power as they walk away from each other. But inevitably they will be walking closer to some other performers on your stage, in which case a whole new batch of IMD sidebands will become more powerful and more likely to cause problems. Using any combination of eight wireless mics and ears will result in over 40k predictable IMD frequencies – 16 devices will produce more than two billion. Fortunately for us, almost all of them will be very, very low in power. However, as we see in the above example, which ones will become problematic is a very dynamic dance.

methods for their calculations but provide different user interfaces in which you can add additional requirements.

With modern wireless systems that are networkable, you can use one of the receivers to scan the venue. However, the use of a receiver to do the scanning is limited because the receiver can only measure the frequencies it can tune to, ignoring everything else. So these scans will not notify the program of any out-ofband interference such as from cell phones and videowalls. The best way to get data is to use a dedicated scanner and scan with about 50mHz above and below any frequency range you plan to operate in.

It should also be said that choosing distros and combiners with high dynamic range will lower the severity of the IMD produced, giving more open frequencies available.

www.rfvenue.com

Six transmitters combined with high dynamic

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Transcendent church sound

From traditional liturgical spaces to megachurches, it’s all about using the right tools for the job

THE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

for a sound system in a modern, evangelical church are broadly similar to those in a live music venue. A line array and subs with plenty of power and headroom are typically installed to deliver a music-centred celebration that can be felt as well as heard.

But what are the options available to system designers working in traditional liturgical settings, often in historic buildings, where the spoken word and a choir form much of the service? And where the brief requires that the congregation should be almost unaware of the presence of sound reinforcement, both audibly and visually, while enjoying perfect speech intelligibility and exceptional clarity of choral singing wherever they are in the building?

At Mount Angel Abbey monastery, established 140 years ago in St Benedict, Oregon, monks called upon Salem-based Alpha Sound to design and install a new system with just such a set of performance criteria.

“The brief at Mount Angel Abbey was to amplify the spoken word and choral singing throughout the abbey with the

exact same sonic character and timbre as that of the unamplified choir, while also providing pristine audio capture for the livestreaming of choral music,” reports Alpha Sound lead engineer, Devin Sheets. “And, of course, the system had to be as unobtrusive as possible in such a historic building.”

With line array clusters and delays deemed inappropriate, thoughts turned quickly to NEXO’s ID84 column speaker. “In a highly reverberant space with up to 5 seconds of decay, it’s difficult enough to understand speech at 4.5m, let alone 45m away at the back of the abbey,” says Sheets. “The sound of the ID84 is amazingly smooth and natural, and it fires like a laser beam to deliver total clarity right to the back. It’s just perfect for this type of application.

“We refer to the NEXO ID84 as a column speaker, but it’s really a totally unique loudspeaker in concept. It provides the coverage characteristics of a small line array with the smooth HF response that brings extraordinary clarity to the spoken word, all in a form factor that fits perfectly into these types of spaces.”

Uniquely, NEXO’s revolutionary ID84 column speaker uses eight 4-inch drivers and an array of dome tweeters on a curved baffle in a lightweight aluminium cabinet with a rigid steel spine. The choice of dome tweeters over a conventional HF compression driver results in particularly low levels of distortion and contributes to a “hi-fi” performance that has made the ID84 a particularly popular choice for installations in traditional houses of worship.

Over in Greenville, South Carolina, another Alpha Sound NEXO ID Series installation has brought a dramatic improvement in sound quality, this time to the Rosary Catholic Church, where a pair of ID84s shoot down the length of the church and similarly voiced, compact ID14s and ID24s provide infills in other areas, with all cabinets custom painted to match the cream-coloured stonework.

“There was a feeling at this church that sound was always going to be a problem in a large, high-ceiling, reverberant space like theirs,” continues Devin. “Of course, it’s a challenge, but the new ID84-

NEXO’s ID84 in white

Mount Angel Abbey in Oregon

The chapel of Divina Misericordia, Acarigua, Venezuela

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Noksan Church, Seoul, South Korea

Highlighting history

Intertwining the rich history of France’s landmark churches with cutting-edge AVL technology solutions, the Luminiscence experience in Paris and Bordeaux takes visitors through a spellbinding multisensory experience

to reinvigorate grandiose religious monuments by delicately revealing their architectural details with light projections, 360° video mapping and spacialised 3D music which envelopes the listener. An integral part of the technological remit is the power behind it, which is courtesy of Modulo Pi’s media servers.

Luminiscence first debuted at the Cathedral of St Andrew of Bordeaux last year and, due to success and demand, it was extended to 2024 and has drawn in over 96,000 spectators. Merging Gothic and Romanesque architecture, the 12th-century cathedral is the largest religious building in Bordeaux and also a registered UNESCO World Heritage site. Due to the size of the structure, Luminiscence could accommodate 1,800 people in total across two 900-capacity evening performances. Furthermore, being almost equivalent to the size of a football pitch, the cathedral offered a projection area of over 90m x 30m x 20m (LxHxW).

In collaboration with Lyon-based entertainment agency Ateliers BK, Lotchi created a 35-minute show to highlight the intricate details of the Gothic edifice, while telling its story. Thirty-three Barco G100-W22 video projectors displayed the imagery, strategically positioned within the cathedral’s passageways on custombuilt supports, transforming the

devices involved originated from the Modulo Players.

Following on from the success of the Bordeaux installation, Lotchi took Luminiscence to the Church of SaintEustache in the heart of the historic district of Les Halles in Paris’s 1st arrondissement. Dubbed as “NotreDame’s little sister”, the 16th-century church boasts a unique architectural blend of Gothic and Renaissance styles and is the second largest church in the city, rising to over 30m in height. “We wanted to roll out an experience in Paris quickly,” notes Danna. “After seeing the show in Bordeaux, the Church of SaintEustache was convinced.”

structure into a captivating canvas of light. The 360° video mapping offered visitors an immersive journey into the core of the history of the cathedral by highlighting its sublime architecture with an enchanting play of lights casting over the vast walls and stained-glass windows.

The projectors were powered by eight Modulo Pi Modulo Player media servers, equipped with four and six outputs, resulting in an image spanning over 24,000x6,000 pixels. Olivier Danna, co-founder and production director at Lotchi, notes that Modulo Player’s warping tools enabled them to map the nave, arcades and ribbed vault typical of the structure’s Gothic style. Furthermore, the technical teams relied on the media server’s X-Map function which provided a 2D workflow

to handle warping areas independently of each other. “The powerful warping capabilities of Modulo Player allowed us to easily distort our media so that they perfectly fit the architecture,” confirms Danna.

Similarly to the rest of the project, the sound dimension for the Bordeaux Cathedral spectacle was also carefully considered. To fully immerse the senses, 24 K-array speakers and subwoofers provided 3D spatial sound, while 50 Colorzoom projectors from OXO light, as well as eight Sharpy and four Arolla projectors from Claypaky, bathed the structure with light. Control for the lighting was provided by a grandMA3 console from MA Lighting. All the images, soundtracks and control timecode for the various

The Saint-Eustache church Luminiscence experience guides visitors through the splendor of the structure, with haunting melodies of the great organ playing in the background. In the heart of the chapel is a mixture of classical art pieces by Rubens, Baltard and Pigalle which coexist with the creations of contemporary artists such as Keith Haring and Billie Thanner. The aim of the 360° experience is to fuse video, sound and light to reveal the secrets of Saint-Eustache’s nave, vaults and choir, revealing the hidden treasures of the architectural gem. Incorporating 24 Barco G100-W22 video projectors, a mammoth projection measuring 61m x 13m x 30m (LxWxH) illuminates the building, serving as a tribute to art and history. The imagery is powered by seven Modulo Player media servers, which Danna says allowed for easy mapping of the church’s flamboyant Gothic, Renaissance and classical styles of architecture. Just like in Bordeaux, the media server also controls the lighting equipment in the show.

In response to its success, since its inception earlier this year, over 70,000 people have gone to experience the 360° show in Paris and it has been extended to run on longer than its initial three-month stint.

www.ateliers-bk.com www.barco.com www.claypaky.it www.k-array.com www.lotchi.fr www.malighting.com www.modulo-pi.com www.oxolight.com

The Cathedral of St Andrew of Bordeaux

The Church of Saint-Eustache

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SARA heads to San Antonio

Westover Hills Church has received a DAS Audio makeover to replace its ageing sound system

FOUNDED IN 1986, WESTOVER Hills Church in San Antonio has grown to become one of the area’s largest congregations, offering multiple services, social groups and community services on its ever-growing campus. The church’s 2,200-seat Worship Center first opened its doors in 2014, and while the congregation hasn’t outgrown it yet, after a decade of use, its ageing sound system was in need of modernisation.

“We had been having some system failures, some amps blowing out and it became more and more clear that the system had served its purpose, but it was time for an update,” notes Westover Hills technical director, Carlos Peña. Phoenix-based 5 Words Media, which specialises in worship systems design and installation, was engaged for the project. In collaboration with DAS Audio’s VP of sales and business development for pro sound, Michael Palmer, and the DAS audio application engineering crew, the team designed a full audio makeover featuring the manufacturer’s ARA Series of powered compact line arrays.

The audio system comprises four hangs of four SARA-100 boxes, with three hangs of SARA-SUB 18-inch compact powered cardioid subwoofers. For low-end reinforcement, an additional four LARA-SUB triple 18-inch powered

cardioid subwoofers are strategically positioned in purpose-built bunkers beneath the stage.

Peña notes the logistical challenges posed by the room: “It’s a very wide room but very shallow, with a wraparound balcony. A traditional line array would create unacceptable line-of-sight issues with our video systems. The SARA system’s unique compact footprint allowed us to go with a line array system that covered every seat in the auditorium while still giving us great sound.”

To combat the height restrictions and to facilitate the worship centre’s balcony, the team implemented upper balcony fills, including nine ARA P28.74 symmetrical point source enclosures, reportedly marking the first US installation of the systems.

“The P28.74 uses the same highfrequency driver as the ARA series, which gave us a perfect seamless transition to the upper balcony areas,” adds Palmer.

Additionally, 10 ARTEC-506A active 6.5-inch two-way enclosures are located beneath the stage lip to provide front fill and at the outer wings of the audience seating to provide coverage to two outer shaded areas of the auditorium, with external processing handled by a DAS Audio INTEGRAL-M88 Danteenabled DSP. The manufacturer’s ALMA ecosystem control software remotely controls and monitors the

Peña observes. “DAS Audio gave me that ability with its networking capabilities.”

Both Palmer and Peña have expressed their thanks to the 5 Words Media team: “From the planning to the installation to commissioning the system, the 5 Words Media team have been such a pleasure to work with. They’re consummate professionals, and the ARA systems were the perfect fit for

new AV systems from staff and congregation alike have been nothing but enthusiastic. “We absolutely love that we have such a full-sounding PA in such a small footprint,” concludes Peña. “The SARA system gives us clear, crisp highs, full midrange and a robust low end with power to spare. We absolutely love this new system.”

www.dasaudio.com

www.westoverhills.church

Man on a mission

With

the church open to the public on weekdays, Pastor Hwang is hoping to attract the next generation of worshippers through

the doors of New Grace Community Church

FIRST IMPRESSIONS CAN BE powerful enough to make an impact. Upon entering the First Presbyterian Church of Kangbuk in the role of senior pastor, Hyongtaek Hwang immediately presented a bold, broader vision to rename the north Seoul suburb church. New Grace Community Church continues to welcome regular worshippers together with curious new members, courtesy of an open-door policy. Extending his vision, a highly bespoke audiovisual solution is further extending the appeal of the church within the artistic community.

“When I arrived as a senior pastor in 2005, my vision was to raise the next generation through the gospel and for the church to play a more central role within the community,” confirms Pastor Hwang. “By renaming the First Presbyterian Church of Kangbuk to New Grace Community Church, we removed that conception of an exclusive territorial boundary. This simple change served as a catalyst to invest and physically construct cafeterias together with a venue for hosting the performance arts and music.”

Below the main 3,000-capacity sanctuary, two cafeterias welcome locals and passers-by. While sipping teas and caffè lattes, the guests are attracted to the posters and marketing promoting events taking place in the third-level chapel. “Our first goal is for our regular church members to worship the Lord in a more focused, concentrated way,” asserts Pastor Hwang. “However, with the church being at the centre of the community, I felt we should open our doors to the public during the weekdays. The church is underutilised, so I persuaded our elders and church members that we should host wedding ceremonies, arts programmes and classical music concerts.”

Pastor Hwang’s wish when he retires is to leave the church in good hands for the next generation. Worried that traditional churches could attract fewer next-generation worshippers, he recognised the need to entertain a younger audience. The other elders agreed to his proposal, and a phased refurbishment was approved to create a more comfortable

environment for the entire congregation. Commissioned to convert the chapel into a multipurpose venue, Sadakdari

S & D assumed the roles of architect, interior designer and general construction company for the project. Gwacheon-based acoustic, AVL and digital signage specialist Aimed was commissioned to convert the chapel into a multipurpose venue.

In essence, the intimate 538seat chapel would need to entice a younger, tech-savvy generation, but not at the risk of alienating its traditional and somewhat older worshippers. Today, an eye-catching, full-length LED screen at the rear of the stage symbolises Pastor Hwang’s vision. In addition to providing highresolution, sharp, 800-nit brightness, the screen can be retracted into the stage left and stage right wings at the touch of a button.

“I challenged Aimed to create a stage that would combine multimedia and traditional-style worship services in addition to maximising the room’s use for the wider community,” explains Pastor Hwang. “When the LED is divided and retracted from view, a stone wall background appeals to the older generation. However, the younger generation can enjoy an audiovisual, multimedia-style service when the LED is combined.”

To deliver the ambitious solution, a return to the drawing board was required as Aimed team leader EunOh Cho (Dean) recalls. “We had to fully understand the pastor’s vision before we could propose an integrated solution. The church wanted to blend traditional with multimedia, contemporary services, but without alienating either audience. In addition to being a house of worship, it is also a performance venue for the wider community.”

Adding to the technical barriers, Pastor Hwang also requested that the 40m2 LED be curved. Taking inspiration from several houses of worship in North America, Aimed proposed a split 2.5mm pixel pitch display following the creation of 3D architectural design simulations.

L–R: Aimed CEO Kim Yeonwoo with New Grace Community Church senior pastor Hyongtaek Hwang

an automated electrified rail system. Once the left and right frameworks had been created, the individual 640mm x 480mm (WxH) surfacemount LED modules were fixed into position. The resultant 9.6m x 4.14m (WxH) visual display is connected to a Novastar H5 video splicing processor and controller loaded with HDMI and 6G-SDI input cards in addition to two 20 RJ45 Ethernet output cards. Creating an added dimension, curtains measuring 14m x 5.5m (LxH)

can be drawn around the LED display. Having designed a curved, divisible LED display for the church, Aimed had to ensure that the lighting quality would not compromise the LED brightness. “Once again, we had to conduct a lot of research with regards to colour, output and intensity so that it would not distract the rear display and vice versa,” furthers EunOh Cho.

A total of three 8–10m-long and two 3m-wide ceiling battens have been fixed above the stage. The combination of moving LED fixtures including Vader Pro700 profiles, Blizzard (Daisy) spots and MH Group M-L300J spots with barn doors proved to be the best combination for the dilemma initially facing Aimed. “We are really happy with the results as the LED display and lighting technologies work in harmony with one another.”

An MA Lighting grandMA3 lighting console with fader wing, together with an MA monitor loaded with software, provides full control. Finally, six floormounted Favolite 420W four-in-one RGBW moving heads add a touch of showbiz when required.

Between the stage lip and the front row seats, a total of four Smartview 65-inch displays face the left and right sides of the stage. Added to prompt the singers with lyrics and worship leaders with their speeches, the four HDR displays receive their HDMI signals from a Blackmagic ATEM 4 M/E Constellation 4K switcher. The production area serving the visual monitors relies on a suite of Blackmagic Design technology including an ATEM 1 M/E control panel together with a Videohub 40x40 12G matrix and controller.

In addition to several video sources including a Blu-ray player and Apple Macs, the church has invested in two Sony camera systems. A block camera setup integrates one Sony ILME-FX6 and two FX3 Cinema Line cameras

The stage-wide LED screen attracts a younger audience

Aimed project manager EunOh Cho recalls an audio preset on the Midas HD96-24 console

Sony PTZ cameras include two SRG-A40 models

monitored from Blackmagic SmartView and SmartScope 4K 15.6-inch QC displays. A Sony PTZ line-up combines a single FR7 with two SRG-A40 models that can be controlled from an RM-IP500 PTZ controller. Seamless picture quality is enabled with the addition of Blackmagic Teranex Mini SD to audio 12G converters together with an 12G-SDI distributor.

A d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system was specified for the chapel’s wide-ranging audio requirements. “The low ceiling height and relative intimacy of the venue were the major factors behind this design,” explains EunOh Cho. “Ultimately, the d&b audiotechnik speakers enhance clear speech, yet they can stage a high SPL rock concert when required.”

their own Soundsation stage monitors for the musicians onstage, including two Checkline-10A and two Checkline-12A.

Powered by two 30D amplifiers and directing their energies towards the audience area, three-per-side ALi60 two-way enclosures augmented by separately suspended single Vi-SUB subwoofers constitute the FOH L-R system. Fixed vertically on flying adapters, each ALi60 augmented array combines a dual 10-inch cabinet to individually produce a 60° x 30° dispersion. Adjacent to each array, single d&b audiotechnik Vi-SUB cardioid subwoofers extend the lower frequencies down to 37Hz (–5dB) during musical performances. Each bass-reflex Vi-SUB houses an 18-inch long-excursion neodymium driver at the front with a 12-inch driver radiating to the rear. This offsets the bass flowing into the stage, providing a clear stage sound. A further four d&b audiotechnik

As an option to traditional wedges, some musicians prefer to monitor their performances using Behringer P16-M personal mixers. Front of house audio mixing is monitored on Genelec 8330A speakers within the rear central production area. A Midas Heritage-D HD96-24 digital console with a 21-inch touchscreen can accept up to 144 input channels. Offering up to 16 inputs for the creation of numerous talk systems with 12 dedicated outputs, the Shout Mixer feature allows complex communication groups to be created and stored. Receiving digital microphone signals over Cat6 SFTP cabling infrastructure via DL-251 24-in/24-out and DL-155 active microphone splitters, up to 64 channels of converted Dante and AES50 signals are transmitted from

broadcast mixing. Audio recording is conducted on an Apple iMac loaded with a Waves SuperRack Performer software suite featuring native and DVS plugins.

A DPA Microphone setup was selected for accuracy and clarity of speech.

In addition to two suspended 2011C condensers serving the choir, the main pastor enjoys freedom of hand movements onstage with a 4288-DC-F headset paired with a Sennheiser EW-DX bodypack transmitter. Four Core 4098 supercardioids are utilised by the singers and a 4018 18-inch gooseneck has been installed into the lectern for sermons and speeches.

As fully utilised in the main church sanctuary, the proven Sennheiser EW-DX wireless microphone system was specified to provide compatibility. The inventory of 10 e 835 and e 965 handheld models are transmitted via UHF antenna distributors and boosters to the five EW-DX EM2 dual receivers.

The ambience of the audience is captured with a pair of Audio-Technica AT-875R line and gradient condensers. A variety of Radial stereo, mono and USB DI boxes convert the unbalanced, high-impedance signal outputs of the musical instruments to balanced, low-impedance, mic-level signals. The addition of two SAC PC-10 power conditioners provide stable electricity to digital equipment.

Having struck the right balance between two very different audiences, EunOh Cho declares that a compromise in the audio setup was not an option. “The clarity of speech is excellent and so the regular congregants are satisfied. However, the midrange of the d&b ALi series speakers project great vocal intelligibility. The younger guests and congregants appreciate the low-end frequencies emitted from the Vi-SUB subwoofers.”

Liaising directly with the church and further communicating with the interior designer, the Aimed design team and their appointed team of systems integrators faced many challenges during installation. “At the time, there were many other contractors in the room working on various aspects of the interior design, including the room acoustics. It was a crowded space. Fixing the LEDs to the moving wall was the main obstacle. Ultimately, we drew a height on the stage and ensured our contractor installed it as detailed in the plans.”

That attention to detail and months of solid preparation by the Aimed team ultimately succeeded. Given the room’s versatility, the chapel can be transformed quickly and easily from a worship venue to a theatre for different groups to enjoy. “It is so pleasing to see the new generation hosting highly musical and technologically visual elements,” concludes Pastor Hwang. “Additionally, our new flock of disciples is actively enrolling in the production of music, playing instruments and other activities. This is a culturally underserved area, so by hosting events here, the community no longer needs to travel to Gangnam.”

With the expert design touch applied by Aimed, Pastor Hwang’s seemingly over-ambitious vision has been fully projected within the chapel of New Grace Community Church. Captivated audiences, growing church numbers and a fully utilised venue have ensured that the forward-thinking pastor enters retirement feeling content and fulfilled, knowing his mission has been completed.

www.aimed.or.kr www.newgrace.co.kr

Stage monitors include d&b audiotechnik MAX2 wedges

The view of the stage from the production area

Let there be sound

After a series of regular technical audio problems, St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church sought a solution that would revive its services

SITUATED IN SEATTLE,

Washington, St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church was officially founded as a parish in 1910 and has daily services for its parishioners, serving a predominantly Polish community. The church building is relatively small, seating 250 congregants. For a while, the church was experiencing sound issues involving persistent microphone dropouts and troublesome feedback on a weekly basis, pulling attention

integrator has a strong background in house of worship installations, as Fraser Brearley, sales and systems associate at Morgan Sound, shares: “Around 70% of our installs are for the house of worship market. We have a lot of experience particularly with liturgical churches because we have worked with the Archdiocese of Seattle for a very long time, which covers the entire Washington state. Not all Catholic churches

practical requirements of these types

seen in other denominations, there are some with a Latino or Filipino background that are more inclined to have a modern spin on their services. We’ve installed some pretty modern audio systems into a range of Catholic churches.”

After getting the call for help from St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church, Brearley met with the church’s priest and deacon and proposed a solution consisting of JBL line array column speakers, a Crown DCi2x1250N amplifier, a Symetrix Prism 8x8 mixer/processor, an Audio-Technica DFINW Diversity Fin antenna along with Shure and DPA microphones. But there were some difficult moments. Brearley says figuring out how to install the wire paths was especially challenging. “It’s an old building so getting wire from A to B was very difficult,” he explains. “To get the wiring installed, we had to go above.” With all

aesthetic work needing to be signed off by the Archdiocese of Seattle, Brearley and the team decided to keep all of the devices in the sacristy, with the only equipment installed into the main worship space being the JBL CBT 70J-1-WH speakers and the directional antenna to guarantee the signal doesn’t cut out. “We had four wires that we needed to get out into the room – all the other wiring was done in the rack that houses the wireless receivers and the DSP. We mounted the touchpanel in the sacristy as well.

“Initially, we wanted to install the speakers further into the room to minimise the potential for feedback,” adds Brearley, “but they ended up being installed closer to the front due to where the wiring is. We also had to consider all the windows as well as the positioning of the Stations of the Cross where the priest moves around the sanctuary to each station, so the

system really needed to be primarily wireless. In the end, we selected two DPA lavalier microphones, which allowed us to achieve more gain before feedback.” For the priest’s mic, Morgan Sound supplied a DPA 4080 cardioid lapel microphone, as well as Shure’s QLXD14-G50 wireless series, including two SM58 vocal system handheld wireless microphones and two QLX-D bodypack systems, totalling four wireless channels.

The most important need for the church was for its congregants to hear everything that was said, even as the priest moved around the church. As well as intelligibility, the church wanted a system that was easy to use with a simple on/off switch and virtual sliders for each of the microphones.

“Acoustically, the space wasn’t as as bad as some bigger cathedralstyle churches where there is a much

longer decay time for the reverb,” reports Brearley. “The space here was pretty live but we were able to focus the energy onto the listeners and cut down on reflections. The JBL speakers are great in applications like this where it is primarily speech so we can get consistent coverage from the front pew to the back of the room. This was my first time using the 70Js so we could get a bit more directionality with the low/mid frequencies. We install a lot of JBL install series boxes – and JBL line arrays or column arrays when it’s the right tool for the job – as it was at St Margaret’s.”

The DPA lavaliers have given the church more gain before feedback than Brearley’s been able to achieve in the past using other cardioid-type lavalier microphones. “We’re trying to standardise the DPA lavaliers for our Catholic church installations because they give us the ability to have more gain before feedback,” he continues. “Catholic priests generally don’t like using headset microphones – the DPA 4080 has been a great tool for us to achieve the next level of sound clarity as well as performance in highly reverberant spaces. We also favour the Shure QLX-Ds – with the priests wearing the bodypacks under their vestments, the on/off switch is much easier to reach than anything else on the market.”

The majority of the equipment –including the rack – is tucked away in the sacristy

Following the installation, Brearley returned to the church to conduct

training on the new system, only to find the church members had already turned the system on, worked with it and even wandered out of the church to test the wireless strength. “They even walked into the courtyard and said to me, ‘we know how to use it!’ So, with no training necessary, we’ve begun talking with them about the next steps. The church hopes to add some outdoor speakers as well as microphones for the courtyard. They have two areas outdoors with statues of the late Pope John Paul II and a second statue of Saint Mary. We are hoping to provide them with further directional wireless microphone antennas – the same ones that they’re using inside the church. This will allow them to use any mic anywhere around the periphery of the building.”

The choir loft at the back of the church – which is currently running its own audio system – is another area of potential upgrade for the church. “The Prism 8x8 mixer has got the capacity to grow to 64x64 with Dante so if we wanted to tie in the whole system then we can do that with Dante just by running a Cat6 cable instead of copper wire everywhere. There’s are a variety of things we can do to the audio setup at St Margaret of Scotland Catholic Church as the congregation continues to grow.”

www.morgansound.com www.st-margaret-church.org

Ray-On in Royan

SITUATED ON THE COAST IN THE

west of France, the United Protestant Church of Royan L’Océan is a modern structure built in the 1950s after the city was heavily bombed towards the end of World War II and has a very specific concrete architecture. When the church’s previous point source system – which had been in place for nearly 30 years – started to show its age, the church turned to Active Audio to provide a solution that would deliver clear music and speech.

“The church was previously equipped with a very old and simple sound system with speakers installed at various positions in the sanctuary,” says Eric Grandmougin, marketing and sales director France for Arbane Groupe, parent company of Active Audio. “This was leading to problems with the quality of the music and voice intelligibility. They wanted to find a solution that would provide both intelligibility and musicality.”

The Église Protestante Unie de France (EPUdF) is the union of the Église Réformée de France and the Église Évangélique Luthérienne de France. Jean-François Baudet is digital project manager for the EPUdF West, which covers the west of France including cities such as Le Mans, Nantes, La Rochelle and Vannes. A collaboration between the EPUdF West and Active Audio has been wellestablished for several years. Each time a church in the diocese submits an application for an AV upgrade, the EPUdF West supplies Active Audio with

photos and plans for each installation, after which the manufacturer conducts an acoustic study to define the type, quantity and placement of columns. Before installation, members of each church are able to listen to a demonstration of Active Audio’s products at either the manufacturer’s premises or, in the case of the United Protestant Church, during a celebration in a church in Nantes where a demo system was especially installed.

Following EASE 3D modelling of the United Protestant Church of Royan L’Océan, Active Audio proposed a solution consisting of just one Ray-On R70 and two Ray-On R110 column loudspeakers mounted on the wall with a floor-mounted iS110 10-inch passive subwoofer. “The new sound system offers the church several advantages,” explains Baudet. “First, it provides an impressive listening experience. The low frequencies are very clear for music, and the voice is very rich. The Ray-On R110 columns have optimised the overall sound, ensuring excellent listening quality on the audience area. The system is powered by an Active Audio MPA 4350 amplifier which includes both delays for system time alignment and EQ presets. Shure SM58 wireless and CVG18 gooseneck microphones – along with Sennheiser EW DP ME4 lavalier models – were chosen for their cardioid directivity to reduce the risk of feedback.

“A second advantage is the use of the SoundCraft UI24R digital mixing console, which can be controlled

“The benefit of this Ray-On setup is that it can be easily adjusted for every size of venue, whether it’s small, medium or large,” adds Grandmougin. “It can be easily duplicated, even if the architecture and layout of the church is different. Jean-François [Baudet] has years of experience working as an AV consultant and there are multiple advantages to having every installation managed centrally through the EPUdF.”

In terms of video projection, the United Protestant Church of Royan L’Océan has also undergone significant renovation and now features a fixed Epson laser projector with a very short throw, which projects a 3m-wide, bright (4,100 ANSI lumens) image in a 16:9 aspect ratio onto the wall. The Epson EB 770 F projector replaces the church’s former projector and a mobile, retractable screen on a tripod which proved to be somewhat of an eyesore on the stage. In addition, the church is now equipped with Sony FDJ AX700 cameras and a Blackmagic

The solution consists of one Ray-On R70 and two Ray-On R110 column loudspeakers

of the new sound system means that instruments like guitars or a digital piano can be easily integrated into the audio setup.”

each system’s settings are always appreciated by the client.”

www.arbane-groupe.com

The United Protestant Church of Royan L’Océan has upgraded its sound system with Active Audio Ray-On column speakers

Joining the dots

A complex Dante network designed by Fares Technology is tying together all the large courtyards and worship spaces

at Imam Reza Shrine

AS ONE OF IRAN’S MOST religious buildings and given the fact that the site sprawls across a huge complex spanning nearly 600,000m it’s not surprising that the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad has been a regular client for Iranian systems integrator Fares Technology KISH over the last decade or more.

The largest mosque in the world by overall area, the Islamic shrine contains the remains of Imam Reza, the eighth Imam in Twelverism. According to Shia history, there were 12 Imams that followed the Prophet Muhammad. The first was Hazrat Ali and the eighth was Imam Reza. The 12th and final was Hazrat Mehdi, who tradition says is still alive and will come back into the world just before the apocalypse.

Contained within the sizable complex are the Goharshad Mosque, a library and museum, as well as the mausoleum of Imam Reza. Often described as “the heart of Shia Iran”, the site is a huge draw for tourism, attracting upwards of 25 million visitors each year. The shrine itself covers an area of 267,079m2, while the courtyards which surround it span a further 331,578m2

In a bid to provide sound reinforcement during prayers across these many mosques and courtyards, Fares first started working its AV magic on the site many years ago with the installation of hundreds of point source, line array and steerable array speakers from a number of brands, 71 brands

in total positioned throughout the various areas where prayers are regularly held. Despite constant upgrades and expansions in the years that followed, there was still one element of the complex-wide AV solution that the systems integrator felt was lacking.

Fares Technology’s Mohammad Reza Modarres, who’s been overseeing the project since day one, takes up the story. “This project has been particularly challenging due to the huge number of audio inputs and outputs involved,” he explains. “During the last major upgrade phase, everything was connected via analogue cabling. At that time, we weren’t that familiar with different routing systems and didn’t truly know how important the audio routing is on such a huge project as this. Later, some of our engineers

visited a well-known German audio manufacturer where they were educated on the virtues of digital networking and all the benefits it can provide for audio distribution. It’s a complex topic and one that the management at the shrine also did not really understand.”

Fares initially explored an upgrade to the signal infrastructure using that manufacturer’s own proprietary platform, but given the vast array of different brands of products already in use at the site, Dante ultimately made the more sensible choice. “For this reason, we suggested the Dante protocol at Imam Reza,” says Fares CEO Amir Mosleh. “There are several major advantages to a networked system, one of which is the ability to control equipment from any location, as any input can be connected to any output. The site is also massive,

and long analogue cable runs brought problems with interference and unwanted noise. Furthermore, activities at the shrine are always expanding, and by running everything over Dante, the audio system can also easily grow to meet future requirements. This is not possible with analogue. Previously, as everything was connected back to a very large analogue mixing desk located in a central control room, it required three or more people to operate and offered no flexibility for changes to the programme. With Dante, everything can be managed automatically, while with analogue it would take weeks of preparation and recabling.”

Having been given the green light, Fares opted to completely rework the existing cabling infrastructure, designing and implementing dedicated AV racks housed in each courtyard, 32 in total. “Each group of racks houses a Symetrix Radius NX12x8 processor which is connected via nine VLANs to processors in the other racks over Dante,” explains the project manager. “All of them work in sync and control of the entire system can be achieved using Audinate’s Dante Domain Manager Platinum.”

During the noon prayer, for example, it’s not uncommon to have up to 33 prayers happening simultaneously in various areas and courtyards (there are 130 possible locations prayers can be delivered from). Each Imam has a microphone, whose signals are sent back to the

There are several beautiful courtyards that make up the shrineManaging the system from the main control room

Fares project manager Mohammad Reza Modarres educating the shrine’s management on its networking proposal

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manager. “Switching out the old amplifiers for new Powersoft units was all that was required.”

Bringing the existing microphones on the digital network, Fares integrated over 100 Attero Tech UNDIO2X2 Dante I/O modules across the courtyards. “This project has about 290 inputs and 350 outputs, and potentially upwards

are controlling and everything has to be done using software. I don’t think we will see another project of this calibre in Iran again for some time.”

www.instagram.com/ farestechnology www.powersoft.com www.symetrix.co

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The beauty of broadcast

Prestonwood

Baptist Church has chosen MRMC to provide camera robotics to expand its reach in the community

FROM ITS MODEST BEGINNINGS in 1977, Prestonwood Baptist Church today is a thriving community of more than 59,000 members between two campuses. Prestonwood’s central mission of introducing Jesus Christ as Lord to as many people as possible has guided every decision and initiative undertaken by the church since its inception, including its journey into broadcast production. Central to this is the work of PowerPoint Ministries, the radio and television broadcast ministry of Dr Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church. In 1999, with the completion of the Plano campus auditorium, the church began broadcasting its services to local and global audiences under the banner of PowerPoint Ministries, laying the groundwork for what would become a cornerstone of its outreach efforts. While Prestonwood’s commitment to broadcast and streaming was unwavering, the technology at their disposal needed an upgrade. The pre-existing setup – comprised

of outdated robotics and limited camera capabilities – hindered the church’s ability to fully realise its vision for dynamic and immersive broadcasts. With several services filmed each week and 15,000 weekly online viewers, Prestonwood chose to invest in MRMC Broadcast robotics to allow it to efficiently deliver the beauty of its services in a way that also benefits volunteers and the community.

Bryan Bailey, director of media at Prestonwood, joined the team after serving at First Baptist Dallas as the minister of media for six years. During this time, Bailey has developed a desire to train volunteers to operate technology at the highest levels of excellence. Working alongside Armando Escobedo, who has overseen systems and staffing at the church for 17 years, William Schaefer, the team’s engineer, plus Craig Harper from Sony Faith, a longtime member and on the board of PowerPoint Ministries, the team worked on

an updated, tailored design that would meet Prestonwood’s specific needs. They also consulted with MRMC’s US sales representative Tom Landsmann on the best choice of robotics.

Camera positions

“Our previous setup included nine cameras, so we were familiar with the kinds of angles we could capture and how to build this into a traditional broadcast workflow,” explains Bailey. “The current setup was one-to-one operator to the camera. During the pandemic, when we had the opportunity to shoot with no hinderances, we realised just how much the setup limited our camera angles. The flexibility and dynamic movement provided by the MRMC robotics energises the content we create and our viewers at home feel more engaged. Tom really helped us to capture our vision and provided invaluable advice on the kinds of shots that could be captured

The church has a mix of track and pedestal

with the solutions MRMC was proposing. The partnership between Prestonwood and MRMC extended beyond the installation, collaborating closely to fine-tune the system and explore its capabilities.”

Pushing boundaries

The new setup now has 18 cameras, including 15 dedicated to broadcast and three for point-of-

view shots. The installation is a mix of track and pedestal robotics placed in asymmetric positions within the pews. An MRMC QRS-1 Quiet Rail System with a Sony FR-7 PTZ adds gentle motion to wide shots. There is also an FR-7 mounted on an LLS-1 Lift System next to two Ulti-Heads mounted on SLH-1 Lifts that provide tight followshots using large broadcast cameras. Three TRH-1 Track Robotic Heads with PTA-2 Robotic Arms provide multiple angles and height options around the auditorium.

“This installation timeline was very short,” adds Landsmann. “All cameras needed to be moved from manual controls to an automated shared control platform in less than five days. This included new redundant servers and the three operator stations. This transition from the legacy system to MRMC robotics happened on schedule, with detailed integration management from Broadcast Technical Service [BTS] based in Houston. All the data, video, tally and power tie-ins were in place before we arrived. Detailed systems integration is an underappreciated necessity to meet tight timelines. BTS’s support was critical, ensuring the system was fully activated in less than five days from start to finish. We started the build on Monday and the volunteer operators

started training on Friday for the upcoming Sunday telecast.”

Bailey reports that one of the standout features of the MRMC system is its support of live performances, where unpredictability is the norm. With the addition of MRMC robotics, Prestonwood can now capture every angle and moment of its services with precision, clarity and, importantly, subtly. “We are amazed

by how much more discreet the robotics are compared to having a camera operator in the pews,” he says. “Our operators can now control the cameras from a different location, providing them with more creative freedom. They feel more confident knowing that they aren’t going to disturb anyone when moving the camera into different positions.”

A profound impact

It should be noted that what Prestonwood and PowerPoint Ministries have achieved would not be possible without the church’s volunteers. The volunteer operators come from various backgrounds, ages and experience. The desire to provide them with better tools and an improved experience was another critical factor in their decision to move to camera robotics.

“The impact of MRMC robotics on Prestonwood’s broadcast producers and operators has been immediate and profound,” continues Bailey.

“From a directorial standpoint, the new setup delivers on multiple levels – tighter followshots, improved scheduling and cross-training opportunities, all contributing to enhanced production quality and efficiencies. We have also developed a training programme to onboard all those involved in the new technology and processes, comprised of a mix of online lessons and in-person, hands-on sessions. The training programme has been well received and all 21 of our volunteer camera ops have successfully converted to the new system.”

Camera robotics can require a shift in mindset when considering their potential within a traditional

broadcast setup, and there is often a steep learning curve, mainly for more advanced operators, as there are habits that need to be broken and new reflexes to learn. The production process differs from news or studio broadcast, where everything is scripted and planned.

“Throughout our production, we use a lot of on-the-fly moves to capture dynamic shots of the live service,” describes Bailey. “Scripted songs are occasional – for those, we use scripted shots. But what makes the MRMC system so great is that it caters to both scenarios. It is the software that is the game-changer for us. As we continue to learn the full capabilities, it just keeps opening up more options, in the best

possible way. We can build pre-defined shots to capture spontaneous, yet common, actions and quickly adjust

Bailey adds that reliability was also a deciding factor when choosing MRMC. “It’s scary to fully commit to an unconventional workflow. If the system goes down, we’re toast. There’s no backup. I’ve worked in situations where the systems would crash and glitch. The hardware and software for this installation had to be solid and, so far, MRMC has exceeded expectations. After five weeks of hard testing, the system hasn’t crashed. When we test this scenario, a reboot

Bailey and his team are so impressed with the robotics that they are looking at ways automation solutions can further elevate their productions. One of these options is to install MRMC’s automated tracking software, Polymotion Chat, to help with the unpredictability of presenters and performances. “The system’s smoothness and ability to set up a camera with a head-to-toe shot and have this run automatically will free up the operators to focus on other things – a great choice for when we are short-staffed.”

Overall, Prestonwood’s decision to update its setup with advanced robotics represents a significant investment of time, resources and faith in the potential of new technology. Bailey, his team and MRMC are delighted with the results of this project and hope it will help light the way for other churches that are also looking to expand the ways in which they can spread their faith and vision.

www.mrmoco.com www.prestonwood.org

robotics

The MRMC robotics allow Prestonwood to capture every angle and moment of its services

There are 15 cameras dedicated to broadcast and three for pointof-view shots

Building a community brick by brick

Suwon Full Gospel Church has turned to Meyer Sound LEOPARD and ULTRA-X40 speakers to draw the community closer together

of its 1,200-capacity sanctuary in 2022. Looking ahead to the next 50 years, Suwon Full Gospel Church commissioned Ingang Audio to design and supply a Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeaker system as part of the renovation.

Church audio engineer Chun Taw Hyun confirmed that the pastor preferred the Californian brand from the outset. “He was open minded to other brands but he loves the quality and clarity of Meyer Sound loudspeakers.” Following a successful demonstration in mono, an L-R stereo line array comprising eight dual 9-inch LEOPARD compact linear line array loudspeakers and dual 900-LFC low-frequency 18-inch subwoofers per side now fulfil the sound reinforcement requirements in the main sanctuary.

All loudspeaker management including stored presets are controlled by a networked Galileo Galaxy 816 processor. Ensuring a coherent summation when matching phase characteristics, an alignment tool combines all the loudspeaker elements, and a summing matrix assigns gain. The balcony on the upper tier is catered for by the line array system, but MAPP 3D confirmed that the seating below required further reinforcement. This has been added in the form of four ceiling-fixed Meyer Sound ULTRA-X40 compact loudspeakers.

L-R arrays combine eight Meyer Sound LEOPARD modules with dual 900-LFC low-frequency control elements

Having adopted Meyer Sound’s MAPP 3D software programming, Ingang Audio’s senior director Il Hwan Park specified the resultant speaker placements. The three-dimensional renderings of predicted sound system performance were plotted within wire-

Similarly, further ULTRA-X40 units have also been applied as a monitoring system for the 70-seat choir located to the right of the stage. On the stage itself, the singers, band and leaders all benefit from an extensive Meyer Sound inventory, including dual 8-inch MJF-208 and larger MJF-210 high-power stage monitors.

Finally, the pastor can monitor his own speech from the main lectern courtesy of two fixed MM-4XP

L–R: Audio engineer Chun Taw Hyun with Ingang Audio’s senior director Il Hwan Park

PROJECTS

speakers. Housed in aluminium, the 4-inch unit has rightly attained the coveted title of industry standard in the years that followed. Following its initial launch prior to the millennium, the self-powered miniature has filled a unique niche as a front- or underbalcony-fill as well as a standalone in nearfield monitoring applications. Imitated by peers and admirers alike ever since, the wide 120Hz–18kHz operating frequency range, high intelligibility and flat frequency response have contributed to its longevity.

Located in the rear upper-level control room, audio mixing is conducted on a Midas Heritage D HD96-24 console. A total of 64 microphone inputs are routed to the console from two Midas DL-231 panels located on either side of the stage where the choir and musicians are based. Flexibility is key, with S.L. Sound AV adding a network of discreetly installed floor boxes onstage in addition to surrounding wall panels. The violinists and pianist are enhanced by DPA d:vote Core 4099 condensers.

Four Neumann KM184 capsules are suspended from the ceiling on pulleys to capture the choir area, while several Røde NT55, Neumann KM185 and Shure Beta models serve other musicians, including the shielded percussionist. An extensive Shure

wireless system continues to faithfully transfer the UHF frequencies via the UA874 antenna boosters located on the lip of the balcony.

In addition to the four Sunday services, YouTube transmissions continue to play a major part in relaying Suwon Full Gospel Church’s message. The broadcasting capabilities have been further enhanced with the insertion of

a Klark Teknik audio card within the Midas Heritage D HD96-24 console. The resultant 64-channel Dante network is converted through DN9680 over fibreoptic cabling, providing low-latency, high channel count connectivity to two Midas DL231 and one DL153 units. Enhancing the room acoustics, 13m-long ceiling-to-floor curtains form a key component of the overall

refurbishment in the 30m x 42m (WxL) room. Additionally, diffusers and absorbers added to the rear wall and ceiling have contributed to a low RT. The building contractor also added three new lighting bars to the ceiling above the stage which host an assortment of LED fixtures. A Pearl Tiger control surface has been loaded with presets for various scenes and specific services.

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The curved LED screen further enhances the worship experience

13.25m x 3m (LxH) LED adds to the worship experience. As the main visual output in the church, the 2.5mm pixel pitch display receives its content from the Blackmagic Design ATEM 4 M/E broadcast studio set up in the main production room. Furthermore, the cry room, lobby and back of house areas are visually connected by networked HD displays.

amplifier and VP-791 presentation switcher ensure a reliable HDMI signal from PCs and Macs. An Openstack MPEG2 encoder compresses audio and video inputs through HDMI and SDI into the H.264 video codec, before converting into a format suitable for digital transmission. Visual inputs to the ATEM 4 M/E switcher include two Blackmagic HD 4K cameras in addition to four Panasonic

RP150 controller.

The upper-level control room is a hive of activity during Sunday services where a team of five experienced technicians oversee audio, lighting and production. To maintain a quiet working environment, the automatic voltage regulator was relocated to an adjacent room. In addition to preventing surge protection, a Leem

NS-85 power sequencer has been added to the rack for simplified onetouch on/off operation.

The highly charismatic services are currently punching below their weight as Chun confirms. “The sanctuary was renovated in phases, but we could continue to host reduced services. Prior to the LEOPARD line array system being commissioned, we simply reinforced the services in the sanctuary with a pair of ULTRA-X40 compact loudspeakers. For a dual 8-inch point source, I was amazed by the power this cabinet produced.”

Chun admits that the congregation is slowly growing again following the pandemic but, like other churches in South Korea, the numbers remain down. As a result, the upgraded audio system is not fulfilling its full potential currently.

“We are only outputting the Meyer Sound system at 50% of its total power,” confirms Chun. However, it is just a matter of time before the distinguished red brick landmark is serenading packed congregations with clear speech and full-range music.

Just as each brick forms a symbolic part of the 50-year foundations of this presbyterian church, all the AV components play a role in drawing the community closer together.

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Two Blackmagic 4K cameras are routed to the ATEM 4 M/E switcher for output

Headphone wars

Green Acres Baptist Church’s audio engineer Guy Bugg – the audio version of our regular video contributor Casey Hawkins – talks about mixing on headphones – and when it’s the right time to do so

THE REALITY OF HEADPHONES

is that they have come a long, long way over the years. I started using them back in high school in the late 1960s and at the time we took what we could get as far as tone quality. Since then, headphones have evolved into popular brand names that are advertised like tennis shoes. Now, the big question all audio engineers are asking, “why mix with headphones at all?”

Back when I started my studio, there was a very limited number of affordable studio monitors to choose from. Today, everybody has their own studio and, to supply the market need, there are just as many affordable studio monitors and headphones. So to start, let’s talk about when you should mix with headphones. There is a reason to mix with them on a live event, but only one reason. I’ve been in situations where my normal FOH position was not available because the event was not a standard setup but a wedding, for example, with tables and a dancefloor that prevented me from being out front where I could hear the sound system. My only option was to set

up on the side of the stage and use headphones. The way you accomplish this is by having a pair of headphones that either closely match the sound of your system (highs, mids, lows) or at least can be equalised to do so. You also need to set your headphone level so that it resembles the volume level of the sound system, and then leave the volume knob alone. This way, you might have a grasp of what you are mixing to the sound system as far as trying to maintain a constant volume level. When it comes to a live event, the only other time to use headphones at the FOH position is to isolate problems with individual vocals or instruments. So many times I have seen a young engineer actually tweak the mix with them. The tone and volume of your headphones are not the same as the house sound system, so the only time to use them is when you are chasing down an issue with something, be it finding a hum, buzz, checking a routing or something else.

Now let’s talk about the other use of mixing with headphones in the studio. In a perfect world, you might

Your choice of heaphone depends on the style of sound you want to achieve

have a perfectly constructed and treated room that sounds perfect. But, like so many of us, we might be in a small office room that doesn’t allow for a good sound from studio monitors. Each week I take the multitrack recordings and do a complete remix for the broadcast television service that is aired the following week. I like to use my

live studio monitors to do basic preliminary editing to tracks – just to save my ears from headphone fatigue for a few hours – but when it comes down to the “mix”, I turn off the live monitors and do it all with my headphones.

So which headphones should you buy? That depends on what style of sound you are wanting to achieve.

Different styles have different amounts of bass, mids and highs. No matter what style of music you are mixing, your headphones need to give you a correct sound that translates to the speaker systems that the listeners are using. Whether it be thumping bass, punching midrange of the guitars or clear highs of the vocals, your headphones need to give you a true representation of where your mix is going to be heard. Once I am happy with it, I give the finished stereo audio file to the video editor and then wait until the following Sunday’s television broadcast of our service to make sure that my mix sounds good on the TV feed.

I went through several pairs of headphones before I finally decided on the ones to judge my mix with. I soon realised that if your headphones have a lot of bass to them, then your final product will be lacking the amount of bass that you’re expecting. This opposite effect is true with the mids and highs. Why? Because if your headphones automatically emphasise a certain frequency, then you will not feel the need to put that much in your mix.

I first tried some Audio-Technica ATH-M50X headphones that I love. They work great for musicians

onstage, handle a lot of wattage and have a good strong bass response, but that extra bass response was fooling me in my studio mix down. I then tried the ATH-M70 headphones and they were just the opposite – hardly any bass – so I put a lot of bass in the mix to make them sound good and, guess what – the final mix had too much bass. I am now using a pair of Focal Clear Mg open ear reference headphones. Now before you run out and buy a pair, they have a very flat and dry sound, but

this is exactly what you need when you want your mix to translate to the real world. Remember, it’s okay to check your mix on another source several times before you consider that it’s finished. One last thing – avoid ear fatigue. Few people realise that your ears get tired after several minutes and they will “compress”, just like a compressor plugin on your recordings when things get too loud. What happens is that the sound becomes dull over time as your ears get tired of the volume

level and try to protect themselves by shutting down.

One last thing – I am also blessed (cursed?) with doing the livestream mix at my church. GABC has a seating capacity of about 3,500 plus 300 in the choir and we are doing modern worship music at around 90dB. Needless to say, we have a very large and expensive sound system. I’m positioned at FOH on an SSL 500 Live console, which is good because I can see what’s happening on the stage, and I can see the IMAG screen to see what is being emphasised so I can accommodate the audio to match. Back before Covid, the 500 Live was just the monitor console, with a matching one for the room audio. The pandemic made us realise that we needed to start livestreaming, so the only way I could mix under these conditions was by not wearing “headphones” but custom-molded in-ear monitors. The ones I wear block out 20dB and I also put 30dB sound reduction cups over them. This isn’t perfect but it makes the job workable.

Finally: you may ask, how do I get that perfect mix? Well, we can save that for the next article.

Ears can get tired after several minutes

Seven tips for taking your coverage to the next level

IP video solutions provider LiveU looks at livestreaming and how to take you production to the next level

THE PANDEMIC ACCELERATED the need for houses of worship to embrace livestreaming, connect with the congregation, relay news and updates, spread their messages and expand their reach. HOW leaders worked with technical teams or individuals to quickly get online – streaming to social media outlets and Over the Top (OTT) platforms like Facebook and YouTube to maintain continuity. Some turned to cell phones, while others invested in larger production setups to get the job done. What happened because of this rush to go live was that it turned into an opportunity to grow and expand thanks to cutting-edge technology and the power of video. Livestreaming helps the HOW market share moments to build community and deliver content in a way that drives engagement. Now, houses of worship are livestreaming their services as well as special events beyond the walls of the building on a regular basis. Here are seven tips for taking HOW coverage to the next level.

Livestreaming helps drive engagement

1. Confirm your goals

What are your streaming goals? Is it once a week, once a month or for special events? How will you measure your success? Do you want to only stream your weekly service or multiple events in and outside your church? What about special events in the community, or outreach activities? What is most important to your

congregation and how do you want to reach out to your community?

2. Devise a plan

Outline your goals for the production, take inventory of current products and solutions you are using and contact a local audiovisual integrator to devise a plan to suit your individual goals. Identify the most relevant social

media sites and other digital platforms for your audiences.

3. Communicate

Don’t assume everyone knows what they should be doing. Communicating with your team and potential new volunteers will ensure your production stays top notch.

4. Getting the gear

We all struggle with the endless amounts of technology out there. With tight budgets, think about what you want to do and how you can accomplish it. There may be a few tech components you need to get started and as you get more comfortable with producing live content, you can enhance and upgrade your setup. But first, consult with an expert in production. We recommend reaching out to an audiovisual integrator or product reseller. Do you have a bigger budget or want to do a special collection to fund the technology infrastructure overhaul? Think about cellular bonded technology. This will boost your

livestreams with high-quality, reliable streaming from anywhere – inside your church and beyond. Affordable solutions are at your fingertips.

5. Look for ways to grow and improve

Now that you are streaming, what kind of viewership are you experiencing? Is your content engaging? How can you get home viewers as engaged as the in-person crowd? Features like graphics, surveys, donation

buttons, live Q&As, streamed sermons just for the homebound, community outreach events and much more can enhance your production, attract new members and increase engagement.

6. Invest in the future

Technology changes so quickly these days that it’s tough to keep up with it. If your budget allows, you should consider futureproofing whenever possible. For example, if you can invest in technology with 5G, do it

now. Even if it’s not available this minute in your location today, it soon will be, and you’ll be glad you have it when it is. The same goes for getting the best cameras you can afford. High-definition is the norm now – and a necessity. And 4K and HDR are growing in popularity. Most cameras can produce an HD signal, and it looks great even when compressed and sent to a site like YouTube or Facebook. Also, remember audio is just as important as video. High-quality microphones and speakers are a must to capture audio with the best quality so your congregation online and in the

church pews can understand clearly what you are saying.

7. Final thoughts

Now that you’ve streamed your house of worship services or special events, there’s no turning back. There will always be a need to communicate to a large audience online. And there are a host of benefits. Remote production solutions make it possible to deliver video content, wherever you are, to engage your audiences.

www.liveu.tv

Audio is just as important as video quality

Using graphics can incease participation and attract new members

Scripting your service with lighting cues

John Black looks at lighting cues and provides a step-by-step process to script your service

IN THE LAST ARTICLE, WE looked at how you can use different colours of light to create mood and atmosphere in your service. Colours of light can be used to enhance and reinforce the message of a particular song or a particular theme being communicated. It is important that your lighting enhances and doesn’t distract from the message that is being communicated.

Just as your service is probably scripted from beginning to end to tell a story and share a message, so lighting can be scripted and fluctuate throughout the service to help carry and support that

story. In the lighting world, this script is written as lighting cues –recorded memories of particular lighting looks that are recalled or played back in a predetermined order. Using lighting cues not only adds flow and consistency to the worship experience, but it also provides a support structure for less experienced lighting volunteers often found at smaller houses of worship.

Let’s look at some of the ways that scripting a service with lighting cues can have a positive impact on your service, as well as some steps and thought processes that I go through

when planning and building lighting cues for my events.

Flow

Programming lighting cues is more than just creating a lighting look onstage and storing it for later recall. Lighting cues can contain information for fade times, linking to other cues, timings for individual parameters such as movement or colour, and more. Lighting cues contain all of the information that has been programmed into palettes, presets and effects, and then brings them together into a sequence with transitions that can be crafted to enhance the flow from one service element to another.

This is one of the benefits of using cues to execute lighting during a service. Think about how you would feel waking up in the morning, sitting up in bed in a pitch-black room when suddenly your toddler flips on the light switch. It’s an uncomfortable feeling! Changing lighting states abruptly during a worship service can be uncomfortable and distracting and cause viewers to lose focus from the worship experience.

Instead, lighting cues can be programmed to create flow from one element to another in a way that encourages and promotes focus and the progression of the worship experience through the entire service.

Consistency

Many houses of worship host multiple worship services throughout the week. Some may be of a different style or service order, while others may be repeat programmes to suit time needs of various groups of worshippers. Using lighting cues builds consistency into the worship experience because the cues will play back exactly as they have been designed, programmed and rehearsed, time and time again until a change is made. This means that programmed elements can be well-thought through and designed in the rehearsal phase of creating the service programme, and then executed as expected during the actual service regardless of the experience level of the person operating the lighting console.

Image courtesy of Tajmia Loiacono

Using lighting cues can also achieve consistency across shifting volunteer technical team members who may change from service to service. It is not always possible to involve all technical team members in the programming and/or rehearsal process for a service – by using lighting cues, an operator can come in and either follow a programme order or script, or execute a lighting cue when directed by a technical director, and the result will be as planned.

Recycling

Did you like the lighting for a particular song during a worship set two months ago and want to use it again? No problem! When lighting is done on the fly, it isn’t possible to recreate it exactly over and over. When lighting is created and recorded as cues and then played back, those same cues can be copied between services so that you can re-use lighting sequences from service elements when desired.

included in the service for which you are programming. Is there a worship band playing a worship set? What songs will they be leading and how many? Is there a drama sketch? In what order will the various service elements be happening? These

This also helps to cut down on the programming time needed when repeating service elements, especially if you have a large rig to program.

Building cues

Given those benefits, let’s walk through a simple, step-by-step process that you can use to script your service with lighting cues.

Step 1: understand the service

Before beginning to plan the actual lighting cues, and certainly before sitting at the console to begin programming, the first step is to know what service elements will be

questions will help you understand the service “road map”.

In addition to understanding the road map for the service, discussions should be had about what general moods or tones should be set throughout the service. Is the general feeling and mood of the service going to be uplifting? Is the pastor’s message one of celebration? Is the service mood going to be more introspective? These questions will give you a lot of information as to how you can create those transitions along the service road map to help you support and reinforce the desired mood or tone of the service (hint hint – recall the use of coloured lighting and other techniques).

All of these questions can be asked and should be answered during any pre-service planning meeting(s) that may be had by those involved in the service. This planning meeting, what I would call a pre-production meeting, will be the launch pad for the next steps as you script the service with lighting cues.

Step 2: cue structuring

The next step that I go through is to plan out the cue structure that I will program. This will be different from person to person, and also based on the lighting console that you have in your particular facility. The consoles that I work with allow me to program a number of cue lists, as opposed to a single cue list. I like to separate the lighting cues for more complicated service elements in order to allow for better organisation as well as quick restructuring if needs be. For example, I might create a main cue list for the major service elements, such as pre-service, offering, baptism, message, etc. I then might create a separate cue list for each song led by the worship band, as well as a separate cue list for a drama sketch or other special service element. The main cue list links to the other cue lists according to the event map. Or, if the console is so equipped, I might operate them using playback faders mapped to those cue lists.

Why would I structure cues this way?

One reason is that if the worship band leader decides to change the setlist order 10 minutes prior to the service starting, it doesn’t mean I have to add or change cue links within the cue list to bounce back and forth in the new order. It’s important to remember that cue lists are chronological unless you add in links to jump around, which can

get messy. Another reason is that if a worship leader decides to do a song again at the end of a service, instead of having to find the cue number that a particular song began on, I can just play back that song’s cue list. Another reason that I like to program this way is that these cue lists can then be saved and reused in other services when a particular song or other performance is desired. For example, if your church holds three services on a weekend of different styles, and of the five-song worship set at each service there are two songs being sung at all three services, you only have to program the lighting cues for those two songs one time. That same cue list can then be recalled and played back at each service without having to copy-andpaste those cues into three different service cue lists. This saves a lot of programming time.

Step 3: programming cues

Once you understand the service you are programming for and have a clear, organised structure to program, then you can begin to build your cues. You may, or may not, already have all of the looks built that you want to use. There are many programming styles and methods that you can take prior to actually recording your lighting cues. For the purposes of this article, however, when programming cues, pay particular attention to the transitions from cue to cue. It doesn’t matter if the transition exists within a single song, or between two different service elements. Think about, test and design the fade times and the visual way that one cue transitions into another. It can be a very simple crossfade or a multi-part fade that transitions different programmable elements at different rates over an extended period of time.

Many churches will plan technical rehearsals prior to services to allow for the technical teams to test their equipment and ensure that everything is set up correctly and performing as desired or expected. Use these rehearsal times to play back the lighting cues and determine if the effect of the transitions supports the mood or message desired for the service. Remember that the lighting cues are helping to take worshippers through the worship experience and are an important part of sharing the message. There is no single right way to script lighting cues, but approaching them in an organised, intentional manner will help you craft the lighting script in a way that enhances rather than detracts.

Lighting cues can achieve consistency if volunteers change from week to week

Lighting cues can be used to transition from one service element to another

Six reasons why you should switch your wireless microphone from analogue to digital

Sennheiser has put together a checklist of the benefits of switching to digital, and how it can improve your performance

OF COURSE, AUDIBLE SOUND IS ANALOGUE, but that doesn’t mean you and your audience should have to forego the many benefits of digital wireless microphones. In some environments, it may even be crucial to finally make the switch from analogue to digital. Here are the top six reasons for making the change.

1. The audio will sound better and cleaner

As you may have heard, digital systems do not require a compander (a combined compressor/ expander). In analogue wireless microphones, a compander compresses the audio signal, lifting it above the noise floor of the RF transmission,

and expands it again in the receiver to recreate the original audio signal. Unfortunately, this noise reduction is not a noiseless process in itself, and you may hear your compander pumping, breathing or hissing. A companderless digital system will not only massively improve the audio quality for your audience, but will also help you to hear your performance more clearly through your monitoring system.

2. Intelligent switching diversity

With features like intelligent switching diversity, digital wireless can work some magic for you. A phenomenon called “fading” is the natural enemy

of any wireless microphone transmission. This means that the microphone signal can be strong in one spot, but then extremely weak in another, where reflected signals cancel out the direct signal between the wireless microphone and its receiver. When you’re really pushing your boundaries, a good digital microphone system can work some magic to help you stay “on air”: intelligent switching diversity, an RF channel equaliser, error correction and even error concealment will keep your signal intact and your confidence high.

3. Intermodulation products

The wirel ess spectrum is a shared and shrinking resource and very densely populated – not just by microphones but by many other production tools, too. At a festival or venue, the frequency manager is responsible for handling all frequency matters. When you show up with an analogue microphone system, it’ll add to the frequency manager’s workload, because they need to calculate “intermodulation products”. These are basically useless emissions that occur when multiple wireless microphones are used onstage. Did you know that 32 channels of analogue wireless can create 16,000 possible intermodulation products or noise sources? When, for example, available frequencies at a larger event are really scarce, the frequency

manager may not be able to fit your analogue equipment in, and your energetic stage show might find itself tied down by a cabled microphone.

A good digital wireless microphone, however, makes the job of the frequency manager easier. It will emit its carrier frequency only – and no disturbing intermodulation products that occupy

additional spectrum. Transmission frequencies can simply be placed next to each other at regular intervals, whereas with analogue wireless, the frequency manager must work around all the intermodulation frequencies that the microphones produce. Therefore, digital wireless frees up spectrum for additional audio links or other wireless production equipment – and this space is just what the frequency manager needs most.

4. Setting up a digital system is as easy as us ing an app

If you double up as the sound engineer of your band, you’ll know it can be painful to get the audio going. With digital systems, an intuitive app guides you through a few easy steps and you’re ready to perform in a snap – on professional TV-UHF frequencies. But beware: your band members’ awe of your seemingly

magical abilities may diminish ever so slightly if you show them how easy this actually is!

5. Select a free channel

You can simply select a free channel without the worry of interfering with other performers. “But if a frequency is free, why should I worry about disturbing other bands’ gear?” some may ask. The reason for worrying is called intermodulation products. Very simply put: if there is more than a single analogue wireless microphone onstage, the wireless microphones will emit several RF

These additional and essentially useless frequencies are called intermodulation products. They can interfere with other wireless microphones, or in-ears for that matter, and they eat up spectrum space. With analogue microphones, and unfortunately also many digital microphones, you will always have the issue of intermodulation products.

However, some advanced digital systems don’t emit intermodulation products. This makes it very simple when it comes to your performance: you or the venue technician can simply select a free channel and you don’t need to worry about anything. No intermodulation products, no interference – and you have saved valuable spectrum space, too.

setting up a wireless microphone. In setting the gain, you determine how sensitive your mic is. If you scream into the mic and the gain is too high, you will sound horrible and the audio will clip. If you have a soft voice and the gain is too low, nobody will hear you amidst your powerful backline. Sennheiser’s Evolution Wireless

Digital has an input dynamic range of a full 134dB, so you can pick up everything from a soft whisper to a plane engine without having to adjust the transmitter gain.

Making the switch to a good digital wireless microphone can help improve your performance

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Planning for repair

Casey Hawkins recommends replacing equipment when you can, rather than waiting for it to start failing – or fail completely

ONE OF THE THINGS I HAVE learned over the years of working for a church is that spending money to replace ageing or broken equipment can mean a lot of red tape. Most organisations that are in expensive equipment-based operations have budgets that allow for expensive equipment replacement without a lot of red tape because the success of their operation usually depends on that equipment, and most forprofit corporations tend to have more expendable funds for those scenarios.

But here at my church anyway, there is some red tape involved if amounts reach a certain threshold. The Broadcast Ministry staff can make single purchases up to US$10,000 without any outside

approval. From $10,000 to $25,000, it needs the Broadcast Ministry committee’s approval before we can spend that. From $25,000 to $50,000, it needs approval from the Broadcast Ministry committee as well as the Finance committee. From $50,000 to $100,000, the Broadcast and Finance committees as well as the Deacon have to approve the purchase. Over $100,000 and it needs approval from the Broadcast and Finance committees, the Deacon and a vote by the church members to pass. Depending on when these groups meet, it can take months to get certain amounts through all those layers. However, in emergencies, we have been able to get things pushed through in a

California and later at Green Acres in Tyler, he spent the past 25 years in broadcast television working for multiple television stations in the US. He has worked as a broadcast technician for a major telecoms company, managing national and international television broadcast signals over a switched fibre optic network. He also owned and operated an independent video production firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma for 10 years before returning to Tyler in 2016.

matter of a day or two since these groups can review and approve –or deny – with emails and other technological in-person meeting replacements available that day. Our church is very blessed with a congregation and leadership who value our broadcast technology. They always support us very well. But, in return, they expect superior performance, and we provide that. So, how do I manage to keep things working here around the clock and not seem to be on these groups’ agendas all the time? It is simple, really.

First, I acquire supplies and other basic equipment ($500 or less items) during projects around the campus. I can acquire replacement items as part of a project to build setups for other ministries in the church. In other words, anything not used in the actual build and deployment of any system on campus, I get to keep. This could be an install of a TV for IMAG, building an audio or video rack for a classroom, etc. These are usually small things like cables, adapters, maybe rack shelves that have broken or even power supplies, tools and things of that nature. This ends up working out in the long run because, daily, I am replacing these kinds of items all over campus for all ministries, so it comes back to them collectively anyway.

Second, as the year goes by and I haven’t spent much money and it is just collecting in the annual budget, I will randomly purchase things I know I will need soon or just as a part of life down the road. These are usually $500–1,500 items like HDMI-to-SDI adapters, audio embedders, etc. I always get a Decimator whenever I see one available. I am always keeping a mental inventory of converters and adapters in my backbone and around campus that always seem to lose a power supply after a few years in full-time service, so I try to keep spare units like that in stock. Third, at the end of the year when I usually have money left over in the budget and I know I will not need it for its initially intended use, or if I was just lucky and didn’t have any major expenses that year, I can use those funds, or I will lose them going into the next calendar and fiscal year. This can and often does allow me to grab some items I know I will need, like an AJA video recorder or a frame sync or two. I love having test equipment around and those are often hard to justify earlier in the year but, in November and December, I might be able to pick one up.

That is how I build up what I call my critical spares collection –equipment that I need, and often in a pinch like a Sunday morning,

Casey Hawkins

when I can’t order one and wait a week for delivery. It takes a few years, but when you do this following the methods I have listed, then eventually you will have an impressive arsenal of backup devices for almost any occasion. I have included a picture of some of this collection.

Obviously, you can’t have backup routers, video switchers, cameras, etc. because of their larger cost. But by purchasing these smaller items over time so that eventually, you aren’t buying them year-round, then you will have more annual budget for some of those lower-end, big-ticket items.

For example, I know eventually I will need to replace the Blackmagic ATEM switcher we have over in our CrossWalk Conference Center. It is a less than $5,000 item that I will buy when the current one either shows signs of failing, or just fails. I can buy that under all the red tape layers easily. But if that happens, that will still eat up a nice chunk of my annual budget. So, it would be undesirable to have that expense while also needing several of those $500 items all at

building up for what I know will be a year of big-ticket items that will need to be replaced in the coming years.

Now let’s talk about those bigticket items. How do I prepare for the replacement of those? I am going to use our camera upgrade in 2018 as an example. The quote for that system with installation and integration came to about

Get the things you know you will need when you can get them.

wait

$800,000. That is never going to fit within my annual budget. Those kinds of purchases will always need to go through the red tape

But how can I help myself and the Broadcast Ministry successfully pass the chain of approvals? The answer is the Long-Range Planning Committee. We have a committee whose sole purpose is preparing funds for big-ticket items that various ministries of the church make them aware of. For instance, maintenance has major air chillers for the Worship Center on the list. That is about $1,000,000. I am about to submit an item for our Worship Center backbone replacement following its normal industry standard life span expectancy of 15 years. This is where my previous articles come into play, where I recommend always purchasing the best level of equipment you can afford. The closer to the “broadcast” level you can get, the longer you can expect it to last. I am reaching 10 years on that system. That includes my main HD-SDI router (Harris Platinum 64x64 router), both Ross Carbonite switchers, patch fields, master clock and black DA shelf and cards, up/down/cross-converters and with an upgrade to 4k compatible gear, all new cabling, monitors, graphics

still working on the numbers, which can be tricky when you are providing numbers for five years from now, when you expect the church to be making these purchases. But at least I can get on their schedule for the million dollars now so then when I need the money in five years, it isn’t a surprise, and the church can better handle the financial load. Also, in a first-come, first-served argument, being on the list for a few years really helps the win. The point I am trying to make is, get the things you know you will need when you can get them. Don’t wait for them to fail if possible. Emergencies are harder to work through than planned replacements. Talk with your church leadership and keep them aware of what you see coming down the road in a few years. Let them know what will be needed and why. Ask them to save up for it starting now. Chances are, they will respect you more for that and they should be more inclined to support you – especially if you make it clear that when this or that happens, there will be no sound, or no video or no lights during church services – it helps them visualise

An array of choices Getting the most out of your LEDs

ETC’s Desire D22 combines up to seven LED colours into one unit

In the first of three articles, ETC’s Declan Randall (outreach and training specialist II) and Wendy Luedtke (product technology specialist II) consider why your choice of LED is more critical than ever

IMAGINE HAVING THE POWER to manipulate colour on the fly – quickly and easily being able to tweak and adjust your fixtures to make your production really come to life or add just a little more warmth into skin tones. Now you can. It is a wonderfully exciting time to be working in lighting. Technology is such that we can do amazing things with light.

Tungsten has been a stable and consistent light source for more than 60 years. It is certainly the light that we grew up with and is still a yardstick by which we often measure and compare different light sources. We love the warmth, its three-dimensionality and the way it envelops and sculpts a subject. But more than that, we like knowing exactly what we’ll get. Comfortable. Familiar. Dependable. Tungsten is an old friend we’ve known for years. LEDs, on the other hand, have opened up a world of possibility and creativity that were simply not possible with tungsten. Not long ago at all, LEDs were the new kid on the block. Like any newcomer to the neighbourhood, they were trying to fit in. After some hesitancy and reluctance on our part, the lighting community welcomed them and, like any young child, it’s been fun watching them grow up.

If we cast our minds back to the arrival of the high-intensity LED in the marketplace, we started with the

simplest array – RGB. The common red, green, blue array seemed to be a good starting point as it made use of the three primary colours of light and introduced additive colour mixing into our world, bringing with it the advantages over the more conventional subtractive mixing we were all so familiar with. This system was not without its pitfalls, of course, and it wasn’t long before the RGB array was being expanded to include white, amber, lime and a host of other emitters too.

But first things first. Let’s look at the LEDs that are commonly found in modern luminaires, why they are there and how each of those different colours contributes to the overall

spectrum and colour rendering properties of the light. In this first article, we’ll talk about narrow-band emitters: red, green and blue.

First, it’s important to clarify at this point that the ‘B’ in RGB is not actually blue. It is, in fact, indigo, a much richer and more saturated colour. The industry has widely elected to refer to this as blue although, technically, this is incorrect.

The technical bit: the indigo emitter typically has a frequency of 450nm and is a very efficient LED. It is this saturated indigo that enables us to mix the wonderfully rich magenta tones that only LED fixtures can deliver. The major drawback with an RGI(B) array is that all the LEDs are narrow-band

emitters. The red (630–640nm), green (530–550nm) and indigo (440–450nm) are designed to emit light in specific frequency bands. So, while in theory it is possible to achieve any colour by mixing these colours additively, the reality is different.

The arty bit: if we were only projecting light onto a white surface, the RGI mix would suffice as these three colours provide enough spectral information to trick our eyes and brains into filling in the gaps. When it comes to lighting a cyclorama, an RGI fixture works, provided you are not too demanding on the precision of your colour. Of course, we tend to light surfaces and objects of complex colour, and the RGI(B) LEDs are simply not capable of rendering these colours correctly due to the missing portions of the visible spectrum.

While it appears that we are able to produce almost any colour, it is how this colour will render the lit objects that we should be concerned with – and the missing portions of the spectrum have a huge impact on how the light will be perceived.

In order to get the larger picture, we need to take a closer look at broadband emitters. In the next edition, we dive into a larger library of coloured emitters and what they each mean for colour perception in lighting design.

www.etcconnect.com

ETC’s fos/4 Fresnel

RGB chart highlighting the common red, green and blue array

PROFESSIONAL

THE INTEGRATIVE LINE ARRAY COSMO

HK Audio’s COSMO line array system combines state-of-the-art audio quality with ingeniously simple handling, utmost utility and remarkable economy to provide an extremely flexible, easily configurable PA for professionals.

COSMO raises the performance bar for line arrays, setting a whole new standard for productivity and efficiency. Integrative and versatile by design, it delivers measurably higher effective SPL in the HF range than comparable systems.

With horizontal directivities of 100°, 80° and 60°, this formidable family of ultra flexible systems provides the bandwidth needed to cover the most diverse live scenarios.

Inner fulfilment

Starting out as a 16-year-old volunteer at his local temple, Hamanshu Patel is now using his years of experience to pass on his knowledge to others

PROJECT MANAGER FOR Universal Pixels and freelance camera operator/video tech, Hamanshu Patel began his AV career at the age of 16 at his local congregation, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden, London. Fast-forward 20 years and he has worked on numerous large-scale worship AV projects, including the opening of the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi and the televised mass celebrations in India for his late Guru, HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj’s birthday. Patel’s AV journey began at the Neasden Temple where his family are members of the congregation. His father, who is part of the sanctuary’s AV team, would bring Patel to help with weekly assemblies, including setting up mics, as well as laptops and projectors for presentations. “I would always tag along with my dad

engineer for that. I was just the kid on the side, running a battery down to a cameraman or passing a cable – I was just helping out. But, as I got older and there was more to do, I thought, I actually quite like this.”

A few years later, Patel’s Guru came to visit the Neasden Temple. Patel notes that he shares a personal connection with the Guru and that the Guru named him as per his parents’ request. For the Guru’s visit, Patel

temple for the week to help the AV team by setting up projectors and assisting the cameramen. “I just observed and watched them operate the cameras,” he says. “Over the week they would slowly teach me how everything worked – that was my first experience of operating cameras. I thought, ‘this camera is worth loads of money, I shouldn’t even be allowed to touch it’ – but it was the feeling of being a part of something bigger.

learnt all of my AV knowledge from my volunteer experience – it wasn’t from a job or a broadcasting degree. I’d learnt all my skills entirely from the temple.”

Now, Patel is the project manager for video rental company Universal Pixels which works primarily in the music and touring sectors. However, he still finds time to work on freelance worship projects, such as the “Birth Centenary” celebrations for his late Guru which ran consecutively over the course of five years. “My late Guru passed away in 2016 at the age of 94,” notes Patel. “To honour the impact he had on millions of people across the world, and as a fitting tribute, HH Mahant Swami Maharaj, his successor, guided us to organise annual celebrations from his 95th birth anniversary, leading up the grand centennial celebration.”

Each December from 2016–2022, a large group of the Neasden temple AV team, as well as followers from India and America, would travel to India to form a part of the broadcasting team for the Guru’s celebrations. Patel notes it was “basically a giant festival”, that would typically run over one day, apart from the Guru’s grand centennial celebration which took place over a month. Around a quarter of a million people would come together for the mammoth celebration which would

Hamanshu Patel

The celebrations for HH Pramukh Swami Maharaj in India

on screens at the event, as well as on local Indian TV networks and a dedicated webcast channel. As part of the broadcast team, Patel was there to facilitate onscreen, operating a camera which broadcast the celebrations onto LED screens for the live crowd, as well as the broadcast for the millions of people tuning in from home.

Patel says that since the event, the Neasden temple’s broadcast team get called out regularly to work on large projects such as festivals, temple openings or celebrations in the region. “For us, it’s an opportunity to be a part of something much bigger than ourselves, but also it’s a way for us to give back to the organisation too because, for me in particular, and I know most of my colleagues probably feel the same, we’ve learnt so much from the experience and I think we’ve become better human beings because of it,” he adds.

Another significant worship AV project that Patel has worked on was the opening of the first traditional Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, the BAPS Hindu Mandir. The event incorporated around 28 manned broadcast cameras and approximately 35 robotic PTZ cameras. Patel was there as a camera operator as well as to supervise the team. “When I was

operating one of the cameras, I was on the temple steps on a pedestal and I was standing less than a metre away from HH Mahant Swami Maharaj. It was the moment where he met the Indian Prime Minister which is quite an iconic moment because it’s the spiritual leader meeting the Prime Minister for the first time on the day of the opening ceremony. To be a part of it and to witness that piece of history was incredible – there are no words to describe it.”

When asked how working with his dad at the temple aged 16 has led to where he is now, Patel notes: “It has had a massive impact. That experience really shaped me and I would say it directly led me to my first broadcast job which then taught me the skills to become a camera operator. I try to take back what I have learnt from my career to the temple to help them make it better.”

With a notable list of projects on his résumé, Patel shares what always draws him back to the worship jobs:

“One of the reasons is the inner fulfilment I get when I’ve been a part of one of the bigger celebrations. For the 100 years celebrations of my Guru, there were over 100,000 people in the crowd who were all completely ecstatic and elated. It was euphoric to witness that and to know it’s all for one person who has made a massive difference to a lot of people. I have been a part of that community since birth so that personal connection is what drives me to still be a part of it in any way I can.”

Got Sauce?

The BAPS Hindu Mandir in Abu Dhabi

NEWPRODUCTS

Fair warnings from RCF

Available in two-, four- and six-zone versions, RCF has launched the MXR 4500 amplifier master unit as part of the DXT 4000 voice alarm system

DEDICATED TO small and medium-sized applications where an EN 54-16 certified system is required, the 4U rack-mountable unit is equipped with Class-D power amplifiers. Providing up to 500W of total power, a spare power amplifier is available. Maximising voice intelligibility and BGM performance, onboard DSP allows environmental equalisation to be optimised. With the natively included IE 3008 board, up to eight units can be connected in a master-slave configuration. In addition, BM 3804, BM 3804FM and ME 3801 emergency microphone consoles, together with BE 3806 button extensions, can be added to enable live announcement functionality. In addition to the integrated MP3 player, external audio sources can be connected via a 3.5mm input on the front panel and an SD card slot allows emergency messages to be stored and monitored.

With the DXT 3000 Planner, RCF has developed new system software, for the configuration of small to medium voice alarm systems using EN 54-24 loudspeakers and RCF DXT 3000 Series electronics. The software enables designers to optimise

the installation of loudspeakers across multiple zones. Windowscompatible, other features include a 100V line calculator and automatic document creation.

and-drop hot-plug device discovery and a function to simulate EQ

Combining system control, line array design and detailed audio measurements, the RDNet management and monitoring software platform has been updated with an improved interface. With RDNet version 5.0, seamless workflow and grouping of self- and externally powered systems are now available. Further features include optimised drag-

remotely.

The Italian manufacturer has also boosted its range of installation subwoofers with the addition of the S19 and S29 models. Incorporating RCF’s latest transducer technology, the company says that both subs’ 19-inch cone size inherits the best characteristics of the traditional high-speed 18-inch and the slower

21-inch models. With lightweight aluminium core coils, high-damping cellulose cone material, composite spiders and a four-layer insideoutside voice coil, the ultra-long excursion moving mass (2.5-inch safe peak-to-peak) gains high power with fast acceleration. Handling up to 1,500W, the S19 features a single 19-inch subwoofer suitable for RCF installed sound systems. The bass-reflex design ensures an efficient acoustic response down to 30Hz and delivers 139dB max SPL. Meanwhile, with up to 3,000W power handling, the S29 is a double 19-inch subwoofer ensuring an acoustic response down to 25Hz. It is capable of delivering 143dB max SPL. Both cabinets are finished with a black, heavy-duty polyurea coating which provides waterproofing and corrosion protection, and a powder-coated metal grille. Both also have a recessed input panel with two speakON NL4 connectors, a M20 pole-mount adaptor on top of the cabinet and handles on both sides. The subs can be ground-stacked and are cardioid-arrayable for improved rear rejection.

MXR

3000 Ser ies Net work Syste ms Scan, Plan, Deploy and Monitor

• Class-leading, extremely wide 60 MHz UHF tuning bandwidth for maximum versatility

• Unique multifunction button on the handheld and body-pack transmitters can be used to switch to a backup frequency should interference be encountered

• Automatically adjusts squelch setting to maximize range while minimizing interference

• Optional network transmitter charging docks

• Frequency scan and IR sync for ease of setup Handheld transmitter offers industry-standard thread mount for use with six interchangeable A-T microphone capsules, as well as other compatible capsules •

1 Sound elevates to

COMBINING HIGH power with a minimal footprint for live performances, 1 Sound has designed the CM38 cardioid floor monitor. Measuring 200mm high, the birch plywood enclosure can produce a maximum SPL of 130dB down to 60dB bandwidth. Comprising three 8-inch drivers, one of which is a coaxial with a proprietary progressive horn design, the three-way passive loudspeaker can musically cancel approximately 8dB of mid/low frequencies in its off-axis response to the sides and rear of the speaker. This creates a diffusion pattern that goes from 80° for a listener standing near or above the monitor, down to 40° as it throws far across the stage. By reducing stage spill and directing the energy where required, the bi-

the monitor and more pronounced high frequencies towards the sides. A progressive horn design has been included to control the frequency equalisation in the field and maintain higher frequencies over distance. Featuring two M6 points

Isolde for live sound and installation

BELGIAN LOUDSPEAKER

manufacturer Audiofocus has announced the launch of its Isolde AP108 range of two-way, 8-inch point source loudspeakers for live sound and installation. Designed to deliver high sound pressure levels in a small footprint, the Isolde AP108 mounts an 8-inch LF transducer incorporating Tetracoil voice coil technology to achieve a peak SPL of 129dB. The neodymium magnet 1.4-inch exit HF transducer has a 2.4-inch voice coil and is from the same family as the drivers employed in the company’s recent column PA and constant curvature series, ensuring a uniform audio signature across the Audiofocus range. The AP108’s

vertically or horizontally or placed onstage as a wedge monitor. A bespoke 3D printed waveguide ensures rigid 90° x 60° coverage and can be quickly rotated according to the application. The Isolde AP108 is offered in selfpowered and passive live versions with integral grab handles and bi-angled pole mounts.

The Isolde AP108ix two-way speaker is a dedicated installation variant compatible with leading ceiling mounts and can be wallmounted with the aid of a horizontal or vertical bracket. The AP108ix is designed for integrators working in worship and other applications that demand a compact and visually unobtrusive package. The cabinet

in various colours and includes a hidden bracket for flush ceiling or wall mounting in other applications. Utilising hardware integrated into the cabinet, the full-range monitor is also available as a loudspeaker, with the L38 marking the first stop

of the Level Series. The low-profile, triple 8-inch design displays the same passive cardioid behaviour as the CM38, whereby the central coaxial woofer incorporates a proprietary progressive horn. Adding to its multipurpose credentials, the Level L38 can be flush-mounted onto a ceiling or 2.5–5m up on a wall, which covers approximately 90° below the loudspeaker. This is ideal for listeners directly underneath, whereas the cardioid behaviour minimises low-/mid-frequency reflections onto the ceiling. Like the CM38, the Level L38 is available in various colours and finishes and operates within a 65Hz–18kHz (–6dB) frequency range.

www.1-sound.com

Perform ANNYwhere with LD Systems

ALL THE world’s a stage with the battery-powered ANNY PA system from LD Systems. Designed for

Also available as a set with up to two wireless microphones, the ANNY 10 has two rear slots for receiver modules with their own volume control and sync function, which can be retrofitted separately if required. Users can choose between handheld wireless microphones or headset microphones including bodypack

transmitters, or a combination of both. The ANNY 10 features a DSP Vocal mode for voice applications, while users can also specify which connected microphone should be prioritised. As soon as the selected microphone is used, ANNY ducks the volume of all other signals.

Wireless Stereo functionality allows wirelessly connect to provide powerful telescopic promote portability, connection options include two microphone/ line combo inputs, a stereo channel with 3.5mm jack and RCA inputs. The unit boasts a battery life of up to 25 hours in ECO mode or five hours at maximum volume. The ANNY 10 is available now, with the more compact ANNY 8 due to be launched later in the year.

www.ld-systems.com

Isolde AP108

punQtum streamlines with Bolero Connect

DIGITAL INTERCOM brand

punQtum has developed a direct connection to Riedel’s Bolero wireless intercom system. Operating in tandem with punQtum’s Q210 P speaker station, Bolero Connect offers a cost-effective solution for deployment across large-scale events requiring several channels of partyline.

The Bolero Connect feature works as a single network connection between punQtum’s Q210 P and Bolero. Prior to its development, should more than two channels be specified, added equipment including three speaker stations and an NSA interface were required. Expanding the communication

capabilities of large-scale events, six partyline channels can integrate from one punQtum Q210 P station to Bolero.

Eliminating the need for labelling, Bolero Connect includes a timesaving channel name feature in

which the software passes channel names between both systems, leading to a properly integrated, reliable communications system.

www.punqtum.com www.riedel.net

Performance out of the GH8 Fantastic four for FOH

DESIGNED FOR live performances, events or installations, the GH8 slim array element from Italian speaker specialist KGEAR is a passive loudspeaker that the company says performs even in challenging acoustic environments. Featuring an 8-inch fullrange driver with dual-cone, the GH8 has a frequency response of 120Hz–18kHz (–6dB), a max SPL of 128dB peak and a power handling of 200W. The compact 220mm x 220mm x 160mm enclosure is said to offer a unique cabinet design that delivers a much lower emission on the backside of the speaker to improve sound control and prevent loss of energy,

and is also IP64-rated to ensure durability. The company says that multiple GH8s can be joined together with dedicated joining hardware to obtain even higher performance.

CODA Audio launches more craft into Space

CODA AUDIO has expanded its Space by CODA range with the addition of the SB12 (Space Bass) subwoofer. The German brand’s Space by CODA technology transforms spaces with highly discreet audio using innovative ultra-flat modules positioned within art and projection screens, complemented by subwoofers in the form of display pedestals. Offering the same art and sound pedestal appearance as the range’s existing sensor controlled SCX 18-inch subwoofer, the omni-directional SB12 is a more compact 12-inch version for applications requiring a smaller footprint. Without sensor control and tuned to operate with the single-channel Linus 6.4 amplifier, the 16.3kg subwoofer incorporates a neodymium woofer within a 330mm x 700mm x 300mm cabinet. Operating within

a frequency response range from 30–150Hz (–6dB), the 1,500W (AES) rated SB12 can be optimised using the Space Designer software tool

STUDIOMASTER HAS widened its FOH loudspeaker portfolio with the addition of four active loudspeaker series. Designed for small bands and houses of worship, the DIRECT MX series is an all-in-one column array PA with a 2,000W built-in amplifier. Available in two system configurations, the DIRECT MX series is a 6x 3-inch mid-frequency/1x highfrequency 1-inch compression unit-armed column array. It can be paired with a compact 10-inch reflex sub enclosure to create the DIRECT 101MX or a 12-inch reflex sub enclosure for the DIRECT 121MX. With a complement of onboard power and control features, the DIRECT MX series can function as standalone sound reinforcement independent of outboard equipment. The mixer has two mic/line inputs with discrete gain and reverb controls, one Hi-Z instrument jack input and a stereo input on L-R phono connectors or Bluetooth 5.0 for external playback sources. A 24-bit DSP with a onecontrol encoder offers three pre-configured operating modes, a three-band master EQ, gain control, high-pass filter, dual-channel limiter and recallable user-programmable presets. An XLR mix output operates in combination with a digital delay line of up to 100m to provide time-aligned configuration of several DIRECT MX column arrays within larger venue spaces.

An independent sub level control is also included. Meanwhile, the VORTEX series is Studiomaster’s latest iteration of the active two-way, mid/top portable PA format. Its latest V-series active line array systems are the V26, comprising the V26A horizontal array

compact 15-inch sub, and the V6A. The V26A is loaded with two vertically aligned 6.5-inch MF drivers and a waveguide-mounted multidrive HF array of eight 1-inch transducers. It delivers 120° x 8° (HxV) coverage and its narrow form factor provides coverage for smaller venues or spaces presenting challenging in-fill requirements. Integrated amplification delivers 400W MF and 150W HF power, making the cabinet capable of up to 129dB SPL. The A26SA has a 1,200W power amplifier with a near identical SPL and LF response down to

Alternatively, the V6A presents a more conventional line array element profile with two 6.5-inch MF drivers loaded on either side of a 3-inch HF unit. Combined with its 2,000W powered V6SA compact 15-inch sub, its 550W onboard two-way power amplification and 132dB max SPL make it suitable for small and medium-sized venues and events.

www.studiomaster.com

PRODUCTS

Small is beautiful – and waterproof

CLAIMING TO be the smallest transmitter with an IP57 rating and a removable battery, the DSSM from Lectrosonics is a water-resistant digital bodypack transmitter that provides protection from dust and prevents water ingress for at least 30 minutes while immersed in water up to 1m. The all-metal unit has a removable antenna with an SMA mount and a standard miniature three-pin locking input connector, and is available in three frequency tuning ranges: A1B1 (470–614MHz), B1C1 (537–691MHz) and 941 (941–960MHz). It uses the Lectrosonics LB-50 rechargeable LiOn battery from the IFBR1B and SSM product lines, which makes it compatible with existing charging bays like the CHS12LB50, CHS12LB50a and 40117 dual USB charger. Using the same menu structure as the DBSM family of transmitters, it also boasts a USB jack inside the battery compartment for firmware updates in the field. It is compatible with DSQD, DCHR, M2Ra, DSR, DSR4 and DCR822 receivers and is available

individually with antennas, reversible belt clip, battery and zippered pouch. It is also available in “ZS” kits with the dual-battery USB charger (PN#40117).

Introduced at the same time, the CHSDSSM four-bay charging dock can be used with any variant of the DSSM. This bay charges any mix of four units and/or LB-50 batteries, and can be connected to three additional bays so that up to 16 batteries or units in any combination can be charged from a single DCR5/9AU power supply.

Available on both Mac and PC and boasting a range of additional features, the V2.1 Wireless Designer software from Lectrosonics aims to make life easier for people working within the Lectrosonics portable receiver ecosystem. With recent updates to the Lectrosonics DCR822, DSR and DSR4 portable digital multichannel receivers allowing users to create, edit and share Tuning Groups with named entries, Wireless Designer V2.1 now offers the ability create, import, edit, save and export these Tuning Groups.

Tuning Groups can be created, edited and saved in offline mode, giving users the ability to prepare these lists in advance. Once connected, the lists can be deployed to the system hardware via network or USB, and then shared via infrared or microSD card with bodyworn units.

Wireless Designer V2.1 also provides the ability to drag and drop frames (receivers or transmitters) within the session system stack in the tree view, and allows quick and easy re-ordering of the l s within a system and how they are displayed onscreen. Finally, the upgrade adds the ability to import and export scan files in .CSV format to make Wireless Designer more widely compatible with RF spectrum scanners and other frequency management software packages.

www.lectrosonics.com

Tascam unleashes IF-ST2110 broadcast expansion card

TASCAM HAS LAUNCHED its IF-ST2110 expansion card to

AES-EBU, analogue input and output, additional Dante capability and a

Sennheiser streamlines its headsets

PRODUCED FOR broadcast applications, Sennheiser has designed a portfolio of streamlined headsets with a choice of five

IF-ST2110 expansion card, further AV network connectivity is available. The IF-ST2110 complements the existing range of Tascam expansion slot option cards that include MADI,

the monitor screen. The system is equipped with media stream and independent control ports.

www.tascam.com

active noise reduction. The closed HMD 300 ActiveGard headset used for backstage communications has been upgraded with a new

Two becomes one for Nexadyne

DESCRIBED AS ushering in “a new era of vocal precision”, Shure has launched the Nexadyne dynamic microphone platform, a series of vocal mics that integrate dual

as they work together to provide a greater range of acoustic optimisation, maximising specific frequencies while minimising unwanted noise, especially handling noise. By wiring the two capsules out of phase, the mic is able to cancel

transducers inside the capsule is said to provide several benefits

removing selfnoise and the need for a traditional

noise out of the equation

capsules can be optimised solely for acoustics, with the manufacturer

the amount of signal processing opportunity. It also allows for the summing of certain frequencies

impact the polar pattern across a range of frequencies. According to Shure, sonically, this results in HF performance more typical of a condenser microphone, as well as a warmer and fuller midrange in the supercardioid model.

Targeted at streamers, podcasters and musicians, the manufacturer has also extended its family of hybrid XLR and USB dynamic microphones with the launch of the MV7+ podcast microphone. Sporting a sleeker design and software upgrades, the MV7+ is designed to capture broadcast-quality audio in challenging spaces. An integrated DSP engine incorporates a suite of features. Removing the requirement for a physical pop filter on the camera, a Digital Popper removes harsh plosive sounds to avoid acoustic distraction. Auto Level Mode automatically adjusts the microphone gain based on the distance, volume and room dynamics. In addition, Onboard Reverb offers a selection of plate, hall and studio reverb settings. Working in harmony with the

microphone’s Voice Isolation technology, the Real-time Denoiser eliminates background noise in compromised recording environments. Beyond the DSP, the live meter of the customisable multi-colour LED touchpanel allows the user to instantly mute the microphone. The MV7+ integrates with the Motiv Mix Desktop App for configuring all aspects of the MV7+. Shure’s latest Motiv software control interface provides multitrack recording, streaming and routing. The platform’s LED panel can be customised, offering access to up to five multitrack recording and routing channels, and gain amongst others. For recording or monitoring the livestream’s mix, the multichannel mixer controls multiple audio channels. Equipped with hybrid XLR and USB-C outputs, the MV7+ connects with a laptop or phone.

www.shure.com

PRODUCTS

A-T extends 20 Series

THE LATEST addition to AudioTechnica’s line-up of 20 Series content creation products has been revealed as the AT2020USB-XP cardioid condenser USB microphone. Designed for streamers, podcasters and content creators, the AT2020USB-XP builds on the USB AT2020USB-X condenser and includes the same silent touchsensitive mute switch, built-in headphone jack with volume control and personal mix control for monitoring in addition to USB Type-C operation. Additionally, the AT2020USB-XP includes a 24-bit/192kHz sample rate, three levels of noise reduction via a

selector switch with an LED indicator, automatic gain control, a desk stand and a clip-on pop filter.

The cardioid’s directional pickup keeps the focus on the chosen sound source and a resolution A/D converter ensures natural sound reproduction. A two-state LED indicator ring lights blue to indicate that the microphone is receiving USB power and lights red when audio is muted at the microphone. The LED indicator also blinks when peak audio level is reached.

The manufacturer has also released its A-T LINK proprietary communication protocol for digital interconnection of compatible A-T

DPA takes to the AIR1

Commercial Audio microphone and mixing solutions. A-T LINK transmits uncompressed multichannel digital audio and control information via category cables with minimal latency.

INTENDED FOR quick mounting on round, omnidirectional headset or lavalier microphones between 2.5–5.8mm in challenging broadcast applications, DPA Microphones has developed the AIR1 universal miniature fur windscreen. With its unique design, the Danish manufacturer claims that the AIR1 solves all wind-related challenges of filming outdoors to provide consistent wind protection with acoustic transparency. The fixed size of the air cavity surrounding the microphone capsule enables it to capture vocal intelligibility. Fixed handles at the windscreen opening ensure quick mounting on the microphone. The wind rejection while maintaining acoustic transparency. Secondly, range that is acoustically amplified.

Stick around with RØDE

AUSTRALIAN AUDIO

has introduced a trio of products designed to help broadcasters and content creators up their output. The Interview PRO is a broadcast-quality wireless handheld microphone designed for a wide range of applications. Utilising 2.4GHz digital transmission with a 200m line of sight range, it pairs with all RØDE Series IV wireless receivers including the Wireless ME, Wireless GO II, Wireless PRO, RØDECaster Pro II and RØDECaster Duo. It features an omnidirectional condenser capsule, 32-bit float onboard recording and intelligent GainAssist technology, while its rechargeable lithium-ion internal battery delivers up to 25 hours of operating time.

The ESM-R4180LK receiver in A-T’s Engineered Sound Wireless System also integrates with the A-T LINK protocol. Digital audio source signals delivered via A-T LINK can be individually assigned to the input channels of A-T six- or 10-channel Digital SmartMixers. In addition, the ATDM-1012DAN mixer can bridge A-T LINK audio channels to a Dante network for interoperability with third-party devices. A-T LINK also offers efficient system audio routing and control within the ATDM Mixer Web Remote.

www.audio-technica.com

The AIR1 consists of a durable, UV-stabilised hard plastic, a stainless-steel spring for gripping the microphone and elastic bands that reportedly will not snap during use or deteriorate over time. Contributing to long-lasting colour, shape memory and maintenance, the acoustic fur used on the cover consists of specially formulated fibres. In addition to being compatible with DPA’s lavaliers and headsets, the AIR1 can be used with other brands of miniature microphones. To complement most apparel, six colour options are available: black, brown, beige, white, off-white and grey.

www.dpamicrophones.com

thread for mounting to a tripod, handle or desktop arm. The RØDE Phone Cage is a magnetic mobile filmmaking cage which also features an ultra-secure magnetic mounting. Made from lightweight

3⁄8 -inch threads to enable the connection of handles and tripods. It also features built-in cable management slots.

www.rode.com

Easing ahead

PROVIDING A simplified interface function with EASE 5, d&b audiotechnik’s ArrayCalc 11.4 aims to simplify workflows for a range of users such as acoustic planners and sound engineers. As the industry’s

leading electroacoustic simulation software, EASE 5 provides users with a more efficient workflow for modelling sound systems and room acoustics. ArrayCalc 11.4 enables users to export the XLD file format with an extended set of information to facilitate the transfer of relevant data from ArrayCalc 11.4 to EASE 5, allowing users to focus more on creativity and precision. Version 11.4’s advanced XLD export feature is specifically for d&b system designs. The XLD text file includes the loudspeaker GLL type (e.g. XSL LA.gll) as well as positioning, orientation, delay and level information for each element of the sound system as configured in ArrayCalc. This enhancement streamlines the handover process with EASE 5, allowing users to import the comprehensive XLD file directly into the simulation environment. Meanwhile, for projects involving point source groups, each individual point source item within the group is also exported, ensuring accurate representation and simplifying complex simulations.

www.dbaudio.com

Audinate introduces Dante Connect additions

DANTE DEVELOPER Audinate has released additions to Dante Connect, with features including remote contribution options, native Dante software integration, cloud deployment platform options and new resellers. Dante Connect is a suite of software applications that facilitate cloudbased broadcast production. The system combines synchronisation of Dante audio with connectivity to centralised production tools running on cloud instances. Dante Connect adds WebRTC-powered remote contribution functionality to the existing uncompressed Dante audio transport streams. The remote contribution feature allows Dante sources which are connected to the internet worldwide to be captured as an audio source. This gives customers a new, lower bandwidth option to add a

using WebRTC functionality to improve quality without dedicated transmission lines. Paired with the existing remote monitoring functionality, users gain new options to monitor, contribute to and produce content remotely.

model, enabling customer flexibility to deploy audio transmission and production with Dante Connect in Google Cloud environments.

www.audinate.com

DiGiCo SD and Quantum consoles upgraded

PROVIDING QUANTUM customers with access to Pulse upgrades, DiGiCo’s latest software update also includes KLANG KOS 5.5 integration of immersive IEM mixing systems. Designed for all SD and Quantum consoles, V1742 replaces previous version V1619 as a free download.

The gateway to more control

VERSION 2.7 of Powersoft’s ArmoníaPlus system design, control and monitoring software adds support for its Verso gateway device, and allows T and X Series, Mezzo, Duecanali and Quattrocanali amplifiers to be connected to Powersoft’s MyUniverso cloud platform. MyUniverso enables users to monitor and update their systems remotely across the entire Powersoft amplifier portfolio. The update also provides users with improved

alarms and status handling for all MyUniverso supported devices.

Also included in ArmoníaPlus 2.7 is support for Dynamic Music Distribution (DMD) across the Unica series of installation amplifiers. DMD makes it simple to dynamically route music and other signal sources between different zones, and across multiple amplifiers, all independent of source location and without the need for a centralised DSP.

V1742 enables Quantum338 and Quantum225 owners to purchase DiGiCo’s optional new Pulse software extension, increasing input channels, busses, and Mustard and Nodal Processors. V1742 also provides Quantum7 and Quantum5 customers with additional Mustard processing.

KLANG’s KOS 5.5 upgrade permits standalone console integration without requiring a separate KLANG control PC to run KLANG:app. Enhancements include a streamlined setup process that automatically detects the console to significantly reduce setup time. Other benefits include automatic console aux and aux node mapping/naming, together with an automatic show file load and save. The V1742 release also provides support for operating an internal Fourier Interface Card. Furthermore, the software broadens compatibilities with two immersive audio platforms, by offering native worksurface control of Meyer Sound’s Spacemap Go and Adamson’s FletcherMachine.

www.digico.biz

The update also adds support for AES67 Raw SDP and Dolby Atmos Connect patching on Duecanali DSP+, Quattrocanali DSP+ and Mezzo A+ amplifiers. This allows for easier integration

with AES67-compatible audio systems and ensures compatibility with Dolby Atmos configurations.

www.powersoft.com

PRODUCTS

Better connected with V2

DESIGNED EXCLUSIVELY

for managing JBL portable PA speakers and systems, JBL Pro Connect V2 adds a number of features aimed at simplifying control over a full suite of mixer, DSP and Bluetooth features. V2 introduces a Demo Mode for exploring the app’s capabilities without being connected to speakers, enabling users to configure and save settings and presets offline, and load up saved preferences when connected to a Pro Connect-enabled speaker. Meanwhile, Full Screen Mode enhances resolution for editing and adjusting faders, dynamics, EQ and FX sends, and Snapshot Language Support enables users to save snapshots in select local languages.

The Android and iOS app also enables users to set volume and adjust EQ, activate Lexicon reverb, effects and dbx Digital DriveRack signal processing, and customise ducking to make sure voices stand out over background music. The app also offers a choice of pre-loaded presets for accessing popular control features like input EQ, dynamics, gates, limiters and chorus delay. Mix Out Pre/Post Fader support enables users to switch their Mix Out feature

between pre- and post-fader to match their use-case scenario, while advanced Bluetooth Low Energy technology means users can connect and sync up to 10 JBL Pro Connect-enabled speakers. JBL Pro Connect V2 is currently available for JBL PRX ONE, EON ONE MK2, EON700, PRX900 and EON ONE Compact speaker systems.

www.jblpro.com

Riedel expands RiCapture

ColorBox receives free v2.1 update

V2.1 OF AJA’s ColorBox software has introduced new features that streamline 4K/UltraHD HDR work and

Additionally, the American manufacturer has announced that ColorBox and its Pomfort’s Livegrade solution have received the first joint logo product certification status by the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) for their support of ACES-based workflows.

Among the v2.1 release highlights are a new 4K/ UltraHD down-conversion feature for ColorBox’s SDI and HDMI outputs and a 4K/2K crop feature for its HDMI output, which is said to help professionals make better use of existing HD monitoring equipment on-set. The update also introduces a new ACES Pipeline for the device that enables users to load an ACES Metadata File (AMF) into ColorBox to obtain the desired transform for improved collaboration

across production stakeholders. Furthermore, support for ARRI Wireless Video Optimize (WVO) LogC4, which helps to eliminate banding introduced by wireless Tx and Rx systems, has been added.

Beyond ColorBox, the company has also released a free Stream Deck plugin for HELO Plus. The software allows streamers, AV professionals and churches to use Elgato’s Stream Deck desktop controller for hardware-based control of HELO Plus. Compatible with Elgato’s entire line of Stream Deck devices on Windows and macOS, the plugin is available at no cost to HELO Plus and Stream

Deck users on the Elgato Stream Deck Marketplace. In brief, the company has also released FS-HDR v4.3, Bridge Live v1.16, AJA Desktop Software v17.1, FS4 v3.1, HELO Plus v2.1 and Diskover Media Edition v2.2.3.

www.aja.com

RIEDEL COMMUNICATIONS has expanded the RiCapture ingest solutions line with the addition of the i8, i44 and i84. Complementing the RiCapture i4, these additions increase channel density and UHD resolution, provide 8- and 10-bit support and expand internal SSD storage.

RiCapture series can be applied for multichannel HD/UHD ingest recording and postproduction integration. The SSE control application includes selection for high-resolution DNxHD/R, H.264 or a combination of the two together with audio-mapping and down-mix audiolistening capabilities. RiCapture can also capture recorded media

HD HDR input channels, while the i44 and i84 include four UHD channels with HDR capability. On the audio side, all RiCapture products are capable of 16 channels of embedded audio per channel, in addition to 64 Dante or AES67 channels. In all configurations, RiCapture offers recording in DNxHD or DNxHR along with H.264 4:2:0

and 4:2:2 encoding to the local storage. The local recording storage offers continuous loop recording for the captured content, with options to stream manually or with a scheduler. Files can also be clipped or exported as required from the available local storage to numerous streaming destinations.

Three software add-ons are available in the form of the VDR panel, including a web-based UI with expanded multichannel control for clip playback, programme delays and monitor wall playback. The RiView application is a multiviewer UI that includes audio down-mix monitoring for synchronised review of record feeds for review, clipping and export to multiple destinations. The XDCAM add-on provides the tapeless XDCAM format for HD video acquisition and storage.

www.riedel.net

HIGH DEFINITION SOUND

HL 6 SYSTEM THE SIZE YOU REQUIRE. THE POWER YOU DON’T EXPECT.

Discover the power of the RCF HL 6, an ultra-compact speaker system designed for maximum impact in diverse settings. Alongside the HL 35-S flyable subwoofer, this lineup delivers exceptional sound across the spectrum with a minimal visual footprint. Efficiently powered by a single XPS 16K amplifier for up to 6+6 HL 6 arrays and 3+3 HL 35-S subs, it ensures seamless integration and superior audio performance in a surprisingly lightweight package. The HL 6 system adapts effortlessly to your environment, providing clarity and coverage beyond expectations for such a compact setup.

PRODUCTS

Virtuoso versatility

FEATURING A 10G Ethernet

SMPTE-2110 IP video input, Blackmagic Design has extended its range of rackmountable audio monitors with the 12G G3. The inclusion of a large audio meter with accurate ballistics, the 12G G3 is

IP, AES/EBU analogue or hi-fi audio in addition to speaker mute. The LCD also features additional status including selected input type, video standard and selected embedded audio pair from the video input. The audio meter segments integrating

for an external converter. Housed in black aluminium machined metal, the front panel contains buttons to solo each left or right channel, and offers selection between 12G-SDI, 2110

screen as a broadcast monitor. The 12G-SDI loop output also outputs the current selected video input, including the SDI or 2110 IP video inputs.

the first Ultra HD broadcast monitor with both 12G-SDI and SMPTE-2110 IP video inputs. The SmartView 4K G3 features built-in optical and copper 110 IP video connections so users can connect directly to IP-based broadcast systems. Customers also get two 12G-SDI inputs for connecting to a wide range of professional video equipment. In addition, both the 12G-SDI and 2110 video inputs can output to a 12G-SDI loop output connection.

Firing up flexibility with Pyro S

WITH ITS eye on video professionals, Hollyland has added the Pyro S to its Pyro wireless video transmission system. Joining the Pyro H and Pyro 7, the Pyro range is a wireless 4K video

mode, Pyro emphasises smooth, low-latency playback by dynamically adjusting the bitrate, achieving a steady latency of 50ms and ultra-longdistance transmission of 200m. HD

band frequency Hopping (ADH) wireless technology provides enhanced antiinterference capabilities while reducing lag and improving range. Users can optimise video monitoring performance depending on their requirements with either Smooth or HD mode. In Smooth

on both the transmitter and receiver, providing access to the user interface and quick setting selection. The Pyro 7 is a 7-inch transceiving wireless monitor.

www.hollyland.com

metal design with crisp clean lines. Because monitors are often installed at the top of equipment racks, the thin design provides a large area behind the monitor to better ventilate the whole rack and keep all the equipment cool. Along the bottom of the unit is a range of button controls that are tilted slightly so they’re easier to press. On the rear of the monitor are all the video connections, in addition to a VESA mounting point.

www.blackmagicdesign.com

Church connections

Resi

has launched two products aiming to help churches deliver more engaging experiences for their communities while on the road. Squeezing the capabilities of its streaming software and Resilient Streaming Protocol (RSP) into a compact hardware design, the Resi Mini Encoder is small enough to fit in a backpack and provides a way for mobile churches, youth rooms and travelling speakers to deliver engaging streamed experiences from anywhere. The company says the Resi Mini Encoder complements its existing hardware solutions, including server-grade encoders and decoders.

Resi has also announced the introduction of QRclick, which transforms livestreams into an opportunity for real-time engagement by changing the way people interact and connect with onscreen QR codes. QRclick allows embedded QR codes to be detected during a livestream and made clickable so that viewers can engage during an event without the need for a companion device. With almost 70% of viewers watching online videos on mobile devices, it ensures that calls-to-action can be shared with church members in real time to grow engagement.

www.resi.io

12G G3

SmartView 4K G3

ADJ HAS expanded its Jolt Series with the Jolt Bar FX2 and Jolt Panel FX2. Bringing a variety of upgrades to the original models, both units feature a central strip of 5W cool white SMD LEDs which can be combined in multiples to generate “truly intense” strobe and blinder effects. The white LEDs are surrounded on both sides by arrays of 0.5W RGB colour mixing LEDs (increased from 0.3W on the original models). A wide variety of vibrant colour options can be achieved using the RGB LEDs through individual dimming control of the independent red, green and blue elements. Used

as single-colour sources, the fixtures can generate washes that cover a large area. Alternatively,

Both models are supplied with an optional frost filter, which slides into the channel and blurs the LED output

with Aria X2 wireless transceivers built in. This reportedly provides stable wireless DMX connectivity by

controlled separately to allow for the creation of dynamic chases and other animated pattern effects.

look and a wider light spread. In addition, other filters are available as optional extras, including a black option and a curved 3D textured filter. The fixtures are also equipped

Chauvet goes lighter and brighter

CHAUVET PROFESSIONAL’S

Maverick Force 2 BeamWash luminaire promises to be a lighter, brighter and faster RGBW LED yoke wash fixture with pixel mapping and a zoom range of 3.7–44.1° for variable beam sizes. The fixture incorporates the latest LED and optical technologies to project the narrowest beams while delivering deep aerial washes via its 12 45W LEDs. It comes with a virtual colour wheel with instantaneous access to a wide variety of options, and a built-in virtual gobo wheel with background colours. The fixture

features DMX, WDMX, sACN, Art-Net and Kling-Net control for additional flexibility. Additionally, it has a True1 compatible power input and a USB-C software update port.

Another new addition to the manufacturer’s portfolio, the Maverick Force 2 SoloWash is a single source 480W LED wash which has been engineered to meet LD demands for classic stage wash looks. It features a variable CMY and CTO colour mixing system, a wide colour palette and independent colour wheel with CRI and CTB filters.

Updated Hog software

ETC HAS announced two software updates for its Hog 4 console’s operating system. The Hog 4 operating system v3.21 and v4.1 are bridging releases with export and import features to get old show files into Hog desks which are running v4.x software. Hog operating system v3.21 is required for users who wish to import or export existing show files. These can now be exported to an XML format which allows for easier transitions between software versions where show file compatibility may be limited. Section 4.12 of the Hog operating system v3.21 help manual offers users details on how to use the show import/export feature. Additional features of this software update include cloning per type palette rules for fixtures

management that provides full access to the system menu remotely via Bluetooth from a smartphone app.

www.adj.com

The fixture features an 8:1 zoom and a rotating gobo wheel with interchangeable geometric gobos, and linear five-facet prism and frost. It is housed in a compact design and calibrated to match the colours of other Force fixtures in the rig. Additionally, the fixture has DMX, WDMX, sACN and Art-Net for full flexibility of control options, as well as fail-safe Ethernet connectivity which allows for data to pass even if the fixture power is lost.

www.chauvetprofessional.com

when change type is used and a dedicated timecode frame rate option for lists. Hog operating system v4.1 can facilitate importation from exported v3.21 data into the v4.x operating system. Section 4.12 of v4.1 also has details on how to use the show import/export feature. Additionally, in v4.1, the SPD view of the physical tab in the Colour Picker Window has been simplified by removing the selected emitter info section and Locked Physical Function tray area and a new “optimise palettes” button has been added to the show manager window. Pressing this button starts a background task

which scans all the palettes in the show for repeated per fixture values and rolls them up per type rules when possible. This reportedly improves performance in editors and playback.

Maverick Force 2 BeamWash

Adjust CRI from a single fixture with TruTone

DEBUTING ON Elation’s Proteus

Odeon framing profile moving head, TruTone is the result of years of R&D development that allows lighting designers to adjust CRI from a single fixture. Moving away from traditional LED engines with fixed CRI values, the concept behind TruTone is a fusion of high and low white CRI LEDs into a single, high-density optical array that allows for CRI adjustments across a range from CRI 70–93. It delivers a system that blends light smoothly with no switching or stepping and without any visible artefacts or disruptions in colour temperature.

While exploring ways to blend high and low CRI LEDs into a single, cohesive array, Elation says it made a breakthrough when separate drivers and electronics for each set of CRI

LEDs were tested. Independent CRI engines eliminated the hard switch and allowed Elation to adjust the fixture to any CRI it wanted. Because of the efficiency differences at each CRI point, the company could achieve the right blend of output and colour spectrum while making sure that the colour temperature remained stable when moving between the different CRIs. A CRI of 70 aligns with many existing fixtures like the Elation Proteus Maximus and Lucius, while a CRI of 93 is ideal for applications where colour accuracy is essential, like keylighting and theatre. Optimal efficiency for high-performance requirements is achievable in the middle at CRI 80.

Elation says that the system allows users to shift colours from a

cold to a warm balance and create warm theatrical colours, giving designers an expanded range of colour variations by changing the spectral composition of how a colour is built. Enabling the adjustment of CRI from a single fixture, the TruTone system not only accommodates a broad spectrum of applications but eliminates the need for multiple fixture variants to achieve precise

colour representation. It means a lighting fixture can play dual roles in a single show, such as illuminating a presenter with high CRI keylight then repositioning to a rock band for fullon power looks.

Elation says the technology will be implemented into other Elation fixtures moving forwards.

www.elationlighting.com

ELIMINATING THE need to physically access individual devices, NETRON CLU is a user interface from Obsidian Control Systems designed

Further products have also been added to the NETRON range. The NETRON EP1 is a compact device that functions as an Ethernet to

to discover and manage NETRON data distribution devices across a lighting network. NETRON devices can be discovered regardless of their current IP address, and all NETRON features can be centrally configured. Its Windows-based NETRON CLU app monitors network status and indicates devices’ online or offline status on the user interface. NETRON CLU also includes integrated firmware update management, allowing users to upgrade multiple devices to the latest firmware release simultaneously and with a single click. The company says it is especially helpful when deploying networks that use multiple nodes or when working with nodes that lack integrated screens.

DMX gateway, featuring a single RDM-compatible port. Designed for integration into single-gang wall mounts, trusses or standalone setups, it offers configurability via an integrated OLED display and encoder, or via internal web remote access. With its internal network switch, the EP1 efficiently manages incoming network traffic, making it suitable for distributing sACN and Art-Net traffic throughout any type of facility or across different stage locations, from floor pockets to lighting pipes and trusses.

The NETRON EN12i is a high-density Art-Net and sACN to DMX gateway that boasts 12 RDM-compatible wire terminals or RJ45 outputs. It offers

easy configuration through integrated presets and advanced merge and routing features, making it suitable for permanent installations requiring numerous physical DMX ports. Analogue contact closures or the optional BS10 Button Station allow for recall of presets, routings, mergers or any of the internal cues.

The NETRON WP1DO/WPIDO-EU feature a five-pin DMX Output connector within a Decora insert plate for a sleek installation, along with integration flexibility with various DMX options for seamless integration into any DMX infrastructure.

options for system integration and has been designed to work with the NETRON NET Plate which provides 14 pre-machined positions.

Finally, the NETRON PCBCAT6 presents a standard D-Size locking Cat6A RJ45 output connector on a compact PCB, catering to custom integration needs. It is compatible with the NETRON NET Plate for expanded capabilities.

In brief, the manufacturer has also released ONYX 4.10. ONYX now supports the NDI network protocol, facilitating real-time transmission of audio and video signals over

The NETRON WP1CAT6/WP1CAT6-EU have been designed to simplify integration into Ethernet or DMX setups and offer a Cat6A-compliant locking RJ45 connector within a Decora insert plate for a “tidy and efficient” installation process.

The NETRON PCB5P provides a standard D-Size DMX Output connector on a small PCB. It offers flexibility with different DMX input

networks. The v4.10 update also introduces audio input, filter and analyser processors (including NDI and ASIO), enabling manipulation of graphics based on audio input. Output overrides – including Park, Default, Highlight and Offset – are now available as customisable presets within a dedicated programmer context.

www.obsidiancontrol.com

NETRON CLU

Robe unveils rafts of additions and enhancements

CZECH LIGHTING manufacturer

Robe has unveiled several new solutions, including the FORTE Fresnel PC, T32 Cyc Slim, iFORTE LTX FS and the iProMotion Landscape and iProMotion Portrait. Additionally, full network capabilities have been announced

an in-house designed, developed, patented and manufactured TE 1,000W XP (Xtra Power) white 6,700K LED engine said to deliver an intense light output of 40,500 lumens (Fresnel) and 41,000 (PC).

The T32 Cyc Slim is a low-profile variant of Robe’s T32 Cyc light, an

perfectly rendered, with ratings of CR:96 and TLCI:97, and RGB or CMY colour mixing, with individual emitter control for advanced users offering faster programming. The IP65-rated iProMotion moving head effects and video projector is now available in

Full creative control with Astera LunaBulb

WITH THE launch of the LunaBulb, Astera has developed an LED that externally replicates the appearance of a conventional lightbulb, but internally contains the creative control that comes as standard with Astera’s lighting ecosystem.

Drawing 3.5W, the LunaBulb is available with an E26, E27 and B22 fitting and, like a conventional bulb, screws directly into an AC-wired bulb socket to emulate a 25W tungsten light bulb. However, it offers creative control, with the ability to adjust both white levels (1,750–20,000K) and colour (RGB, mint and amber, with RGB, HIS, XY and filter gel colour selection options) for flicker-free lighting in a variety of settings. The control is built upon the Titan LED engine, which underpins the full Astera ecosystem. Additionally, the bulb can be converted quickly between a classic bulb and a slimline bulb, by attaching or detaching the “classic” dome over the slimline bulb using a spring-loaded clip.

both landscape and portrait configurations for indoor and outdoor use. The fixtures offer 1,000 ANSI lumens of output with a longlasting LED source, with RGB and CMY colour mixing capabilities, digital gobos, graphic effects, images and videos, plus a range of

Lastly, the new iFORTE LTX FS is described by the manufacturer as the ultimate long-throw, high-output, all-environment LED WashBeam, and features an integral camera for use with the RoboSpot system. The iFORTE LTX FS has a full HD digital camera mounted on the head, with parCoat lens protection to ensure a clear picture even in inclement weather. The IP65-rated camera features 32x optical and 32x digital zoom, and is suitable for low light levels down to 0.05 lux.

www.robe.cz

The IP-44 rated lights can be remotely controlled – via Astera’s CRMX App, through BTB link or using Astera’s White and FX Remotes –and can be configured using the Astera LunaBulb PrepCase. Holding up to eight LunaBulbs, the PrepCase provides an efficient way to configure the bulbs individually or as a group. The PrepCase is also available as a PrepInlay, enhancing

flexibility to build the inlay without its surrounding protective box into a setup.

With the battery-powered PrepCase and PrepInlay offering an hour’s runtime or indefinite power using a Titan tube charger, speed of setup is promoted as the bulbs can be pre-configured before arriving onsite. Bulbs can be integrated into existing workflows with each

bulb containing an individual CRMX chip. In addition, the PrepCase and PrepInlay can auto-assign DMX addresses for individual control or for pre-configuring dimming and colour. Alternatively, the box can be used to quickly place the bulbs in blue mode, with control managed through the app, which allows for preset groupings and effects to be

A range of setups are available, including PrepCase and PrepInlay kits, which include eight LunaBulbs, as well as the PrepCase and PrepInlay alone, which are sold with a power supply, but which require the bulbs to be purchased separately. Additionally, both the individual bulbs and the PrepCase itself can also be set as a Bluetooth Bridge (BTB) to control the rest of the set. With a single combopress on either the Astera White or FX remote, a connection can be established by pointing the remote at any individual light, allowing at-aclick control.

www.astera-led.com

T32 Cyc Slim

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT

Cutting the cost of streaming

LIVEPEER STUDIO IS DESCRIBED as a “revolutionary” video streaming platform offering a combination of quality and cost-efficiency to content creators and houses of worship. It enables users to step away from using traditional cloud giants and tap into a decentralised network architecture, reportedly driving down video transcoding and delivery fees by up to 80%.

Content creators have traditionally required the support of cloud providers like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google or Microsoft and content delivery networks (CDNs) like Akamai, Cloudflare and Edgio to stream live video to global audiences across multiple devices. However, this results in high costs, making it difficult for streamers to experiment and scale their operations.

Livepeer Studio enables content providers to take advantage of a secure, decentralised blockchain marketplace for transcoding and distributing live video, providing access to high-quality streaming. This means that customers can cost-effectively build and scale innovative new streaming products at significantly lower financial risk. Meanwhile, established content creators that want to experiment with new engagement strategies and user-generated content can trial and launch offerings on the fly without incurring heavy video delivery costs.

Livepeer Studio has been designed to make high-quality streaming affordable and scalable by eliminating the cost barriers imposed by major cloud providers

Livepeer Studio is built on the foundation of the Livepeer Network, a globally available open video infrastructure. The Livepeer Network incorporates thousands of participants who contribute computing resources towards transcoding and distributing video, ensuring high reliability and lowlatency delivery.

“Emerging content creators need more cost-effective tools to make livestreaming profitable,” says Eric Tang, founder of Livepeer Studio.

“Livepeer Studio makes high-quality streaming accessible to all, breaking down cost barriers and helping innovators build and scale their streaming communities, hassle-free.

We’ve helped some customers save 80% in video costs by moving away from AWS’s Amazon Interactive Video Service. Any time that core costs reduce this significantly, it always powers a huge wave of innovation and exploration – we’re excited to underpin a new era in audience engagement and interactive streaming.”

Since the foundation of the Livepeer project in 2016, it has generated funding of US$51.2m across four investment rounds while helping developers around the world to easily and cost-efficiently build and deliver live and on-demand video applications. Livepeer Studio followed in 2023 as a specialised streaming solution.

Supporting both WebRTC and HLS protocols within a single workflow, Livepeer Studio provides low-latency livestreaming and real-time delivery, enables dynamic experiences and in-stream audience interaction and supports advanced viewer engagement and performance analytics. Livepeer Studio’s transcoding capabilities scale to evolving requirements and optimise costs by adapting to viewer demand, while partner integration with distributed cloud storage provider Storj ensures secure and highly costefficient media storage.

The Livepeer project is now an official member of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA) to ensure secure and transparent provenance, and showcased the standard’s first real-world demo within a video supply chain alongside ATEME at NAB Show 2024. Through user-friendly, streamlined workflows and rapid integration time, content creators can accelerate their time-tomarket, reduce operational costs and focus resources on content creation and marketing to drive audience engagement and revenues.

The US non-profit religious organisation God Behind Bars uses Livepeer Studio to deliver sermons and other spiritual growth video content to inmates across the country via the first-of-its-kind Pando streaming app, currently installed in over 415,000

tablet devices in prison facilities. The group has already reached over 1 million inmates with life-changing content to help them grow their faith, heal trauma and emotional wounds, and break addictions.

Livepeer Studio has been designed for religious organisations that want to build their own streaming communities within a secure, reliable and high-quality video platform. For HOWs, it’s also important to ensure livestreamed content is delivered in a controlled environment, free of potentially inappropriate or irrelevant YouTube recommendations or targeted advertisements associated with distribution via third-party platforms. To help support this, Livepeer Studio facilitates seamless integration with dedicated streaming app developers like Tribe Social that enable groups like God Behind Bars to design their own streaming platforms with 100% control over the video experience, empowering deeper community engagement and content resonance.

Livepeer Studio enables organisations to cost-effectively stream high-quality live worship events and build digital communities – all while enabling real-time interactivity and engagement features like instream audience chat, reactions and co-viewing features.

www.livepeer.studio

X6i

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