Broadcast Pix Anchors HD Upgrade for Faith Chapel Christian Center
Billerica, Massachusetts – Faith Chapel Christian Center, a megachurch based in Birmingham, Ala., has upgraded to an HD video infrastructure built around two Broadcast Pix™ integrated production switchers. The new HD system is used for I‑MAG presentations for the congregation, live streaming to www.faithchapel.net and the church’s mobile app, and a 30-minute television broadcast of Sunday morning services for The Church Channel, which is part of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN).
Along with the Faith Chapel media team, Lionel Boone, Sr., audio/video engineer for Faith Chapel Christian Center and media consultant for Birmingham-based Infinitive Media Concepts Productions, designed and provided oversight for the HD installation, which was completed in mid-October. He said the renovation was prompted by the church’s return to broadcasting, which began in January 2015.
Before the upgrade, the three-camera setup had three aging Sony SD cameras and a Videotek analog switcher, and services and other programs were recorded to Beta SP tape. The new setup includes five Sony HD cameras, including one attached to a Barber Tech 30-foot jib and one used with a Tiffen Steadicam system. Productions are now recorded to an AJA Ki Pro, and a server for archiving is coming soon.
Housed on the second floor of the Dome above the sanctuary, the upgraded control room’s centerpiece is a Granite™ X with a full-size 5000 control panel. The Granite X handles production for the Word Dome’s I-MAG screens, as well as the live video feed to other buildings on the 140-acre campus. Faith Chapel’s video production facilities also include a new edit suite, a dedicated audio room for mixing for live presentations and archived projects, and a sound booth for overdubs and additional vocals.
Designed for large-scale live productions, the 2 M/E Granite X Series features 22 SDI inputs and 12 outputs, as well as a quad monitor Fluent-View mulit-view enhanced with 16 full-motion windows for inputs and full-motion windows for four outputs and six keys. Boone said the integrated Fluent-View is essential, because it allows the team to change the display on the control room monitors based on the production. “It’s perfect,” he added, “it just makes it easy to adjust the display for a particular event. This is a very interactive church – customizable features are important.”
Boone said Faith Chapel uses many of the Granite’s built-in production tools. Currently, the church uses ProPresenter for lower-thirds, but the volunteer crew will be trained on the Granite’s built-in Inscriber CG as well.
Each week, a new three-minute video as well as other in-service videos are produced and shown to the congregation prior to Sunday services. The content is networked from the edit suite to the Granite via Watch-Folders, Broadcast Pix’s integrated media management solution, then played via the built‑in clip store. “The Watch-Folders were a very important selling point, and they work like a charm,” Boone added.
The second Broadcast Pix system, a Flint™ LS with a 1000 control panel, was purchased to produce streaming content, as it offers built-in HD streaming in a variety of formats. For now, the Flint is used to record a clean feed (no lower-thirds) of Sunday services for archive, but Boone said Faith Chapel will eventually use the system to create an exclusive production for its online audience.
About Broadcast Pix Founded in 2002, Broadcast Pix is the leader in integrated production switchers with broadcast, corporate, education, government, religious, sports, streaming, and visual radio customers in more than 110 countries. From compact systems with end-to-end integration to large-scale systems for high-end live productions, Broadcast Pix switchers feature Fluent Control, a patented combination of automation technology and performance tools to optimize workflows. Every switcher includes dual-channel CG and clip stores, ClearKey chromakey and virtual sets, file-based macros, external device control, and customizable multi-view. Broadcast Pix also offers ReVue slow motion systems, FX3D real-time 3D graphics, Rapid CG dynamic graphic playout software, VOX visual radio automation software, and patented control options for its switchers. Learn more at www.broadcastpix.com.
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