Winter 2010

Using Wireless Microphones
Get the most out of these extremely convenient tools.
As seen in AV Technology

Wireless microphones offer extreme convenience, freedom of movement, and simplicity. But they are not without some pitfalls. Here's how to use them properly to maximize these benefits for your application.

ABOUT FREQUENCIES

• There must be one transmitter and one receiver to make a complete wireless system, and they both must be on the same frequency.
• The FCC controls which frequency ranges can be used by wireless. - In the US, the frequencies used for wireless audio systems are: low-band VHF (49-108 MHz) high-band VHF (169-216 MHz) low-band UHF (450-806 MHz) high-band UHF (900-952 MHz) - UHF systems tend to perform better than VHF systems.
• Wireless frequencies are shared with TV stations, communications equipment, and other wireless mic systems.
• Because of frequency sharing, chances are someone else in the area might be using the same frequency as your wireless system.
• Government regulations also set other technical requirements, including limits on maximum transmitter power. - If any two transmitters are operating on the same frequency, interference will result and the wireless system will be unusable. Two transmitters cannot be used with one receiver at the same time.
• A higher squelch setting on the receiver provides better protection against interference, but can cause a reduction in operating range. Set squelch to the lowest position that reliably mutes the interference.
• Turn off unnecessary electronic equipment, especially computers, CD players, and other digital devices. These are a relatively common cause of wireless interference, especially if they are near the receiver.
• If the use of computers or digital devices is necessary, keep them at least 3 feet (1 meter) away from the wireless receiver and its antennas.
• The practical maximum operating range of a wireless system will vary from as little as 100 feet in heavily crowded indoor situations to approximately 1,000 feet under open outdoor conditions.
• Diversity systems will almost always have better operating range than non-diversity systems.
• Receivers must have either one or two external antennas, and there should be a clear open-air path between these antennas and the transmitter.

TIPS FOR NOVICE USERS

1. Inform the presenter that the sound engineer will take care of turning the mic on and off. Tape down the on/off switch on the transmitter so they can't even try it.
2. Give some thought as to which way the presenter is most likely to turn his/her head when addressing someone else on the stage or in the audience. If it's not feasible to center the mic on a tie or shirt, then choose the side/lapel in the direction the presenter is most likely to turn his/her head.
3. Excess lavalier cable should be secured out of the way so that it can't become tangled on a chair arm or podium light. A little gaffer's tape or "bobby pin" is great for making sure this cable stays where you want it.
4. When possible, the transmitter/ beltpack should be clipped to the presenter's belt or waistband - not dropped into a pocket. You don't know what else might be in the pocket. If the presenter sticks her hand into the pocket she may accidentally disconnect the mic or hit the on/off switch.
5. One of the major benefits of wireless mics is freedom of movement, but novice users may be tempted to move too much, and can find themselves in front of loudspeakers, causing feedback problems. Always inform mic users about avoiding proximity to loudspeakers.
6. If the presenter must wander around or present from several places on the stage or in the room, tell him what to do if he encounters a signal drop out. Even the highest quality wireless mics may encounter dropouts. Just a step to the side, or even a little shuffle, may solve the drop out so that the presenter can continue with minimum disruption to the show.

Sources: Audio-Technica, Shure, Harrison Brothers.

No Shortcuts for These Videographers
Users of high-end video camera lenses demand the best
By Craig Johnston
As seen in TV Technology

Video camera lenses are like a lot of pieces of video equipment: there's "good-enough," and there's top-of-the-line. And while the vast preponderance of video lens purchasers may walk away with a lens that will get them by, some lens user step up to the plate, open their wallets and buy the best there is.
READ MORE

Content for Digital Signage
Before choosing a technological path, consider the messages your church wants to convey.
by Trevor Boyer
As seen in Church Production Magazine

Much like a church, a digital signage network is only as good as its message. For signage, that means fresh content - updated regularly, engaging, informative, and relevant to the interests and needs of a congregation. Maintaining the messaging of a digital signage network requires a good deal of planning before a network's adoption, and, once it's adopted, continual communication among church staff and volunteer divisions. No matter how simple the package of hardware and software your church chooses, the signage network will require constant care and feeding in the form of vision and manpower.
READ MORE

A Primer on Podcasting and Streaming

By John McJunkin

As seen in Church Production Magazine

It wasn't long ago that most churches were asking the question, "Do we need a website?"  Now virtually every church has a website-even some pretty sophisticated ones. The next question for your church may have been: "Do we need an audio podcast?" As podcasting caught on, many churches then asked, "Should we upgrade from an audio to a video podcast?" Now that we have thousands of church podcasts, more advanced production, and multi-campus churches, the next question is how churches will stream audio and video in real time over the Internet. The vast majority of churches aren't quite there yet...but many are beginning to think about the technology and process that will be necessary to make these things happen.

As more churches leverage the Internet, the technology continues to advance, raising the bar constantly. Churches that wish to provide the most up-to-date online worship experience must dig in and research the technology and develop the practices to make it happen. I gathered input from several churches and technology providers to get a handle on the state of church podcasting and streaming going into 2010.

Online media is a very welcome opportunity for churches. "So many of our members are military folks and some are deployed overseas," says Jeff Allen, video director/assistant worship director for Christ Church located in Fairview Heights, Ill., near Scott Air Force Base. "What an amazing way to stay connected to your church family."

Audio podcasting is comprised of two key tasks, production and hosting. Production is the creation of the podcast. First, a recording of the message is made by one of two means; if the church has a mixer, its output can be recorded. The other option is to use a handheld digital recorder at the pulpit. Either way, the recording is transferred to a computer where basic editing is accomplished. A free, but powerful application like Audacity (www.audacity.sourceforge.net.) will get the job done. The editing is simple-usually everything before and after the sermon is removed. The software can then convert the file to an MP3 format.

The second task is uploading, or publication to the Internet, typically done in one of three ways. One is to upload podcasts directly to the church's website (if that capacity exists). The second is to upload to a free podcast hosting service, typically with some advertising on the landing page (e.g., www.podbean.com). A third option is a paid podcast host-with no ads on the landing page (e.g., www.podcastrevolution.com). Some churches enhance production with music and professionally voiced introductions, but the vast majority simply upload the message itself. The principal reasons are money and time. Getting the podcast online in a timely fashion is a high priority for most churches, so a quick edit and immediate upload is usually the process. Production values are improving in many cases, raising the bar for other churches.

Bandwidth has to be considered when audio podcasting, particularly from a budgetary standpoint. Churches can overcome bandwidth limitations by shrinking MP3 files with lower resolution conversion, which allows churches to store more podcasts online for the same cost. Lower resolutions also broaden the potential audience because listeners with dial-up connections can listen to lower resolution podcasts. Traditionally, church podcasts were encoded at anywhere from 24-64kbps. Now, higher resolutions are becoming more common as a result of lower cost and due to churches looking to increase the production quality of their podcasts. Many churches are at 128kbps or even higher. Christ Church of Fairview Heights, Ill., publishes at 192kbps, a resolution that listeners most likely discern as CD-quality audio.

Will audio podcasting survive as video becomes more common? Many churches think so. Audio-only podcasts can be enjoyed while multi-tasking-commuting, jogging, housecleaning. Video cannot. It's possible to plan the content in such a way that the included visual may be ignored, but audio-only may be the only financially feasible possibility for many churches. With inexpensive hosting solutions available, it's very likely that church audio podcasting will continue to grow.

"The costs associated with podcasting are so low it just makes sense to make the content available in as many forms as possible," says Peter Fitton, pastor, global production director at Flamingo Road Church in Cooper City, Fla. The Flamingo Road podcast is a great example of a high-production podcast (www.flamingoroadchurch.com/podcast).

Once a church has established an audio podcast, the next question is, "Do we start streaming audio live or do we move on to video?" For most churches, the upgrade to video is a quantum leap, requiring a moderate to substantial investment in hardware and a larger team of volunteers or even professionals.

An intermediate step is to stream audio live, and there are inexpensive ways to facilitate this with an in-church computer and a moderately high-bandwidth Internet connection. The audio is fed from the mixer to the computer, which converts the audio to a compressed stream and broadcasts it over the Internet. These solutions require having someone knowledgeable about IT available to help configure them, plus a host of some kind. These economical solutions can easily accommodate audio-only streaming with an audience in the hundreds or even thousands.

It's not uncommon for a church to skip right past live audio streaming and proceed directly on to video, particularly if they're already producing video for services. When doing video, production quality becomes more important. A church may upload a very bare-bones audio podcast, but low-quality video can be a real turn-off, as people's visual senses are more developed than their aural senses. Inexpensive high-definition cameras and switchers are available now. A simple, one camera feed can be podcasted or even streamed for a very modest investment. However, if you're going to do video podcasting, you must balance your lighting to meet the needs of the camera's eye, not just the naked eye. The good news is, even sophisticated professionally lit, multi-camera production can be done for a much smaller investment than ever.

The video of the pastor's message can be edited with a pre-produced intro and outro, yielding a finished product that is virtually ready to go. Among popular editing applications are Apple's Final Cut (Pro and Express), Sony's Vegas, Adobe Premiere, and others. These are used to edit, render, and compress video in preparation for upload to a podcasting host.

Most podcast hosting organizations offer hosting for video as well as audio, so the hosting part of the equation can remain relatively inexpensive and scalable.

Once good quality video production is well underway, it's then a matter of moving beyond podcasting to streaming. A hardware device or appliance is used to convert or encode the output of the video switcher (along with audio) into a stream that is delivered over IP. Among the manufacturers who create such encoders are Wegener (www.wegener.com), HaiVision (www.haivision.com), ViewCast (www.viewcast.com), and Abacast (www.abacast.com) and others. HaiVision's Barracuda encoder and ViewCast's Niagara 2120 can encode and deliver multiple streams in different resolutions, accommodating viewers who may not all have broadband connections. The combination of such hardware devices with a content delivery network (CDN) can deliver some attractive possibilities, such as Video On Demand (VOD) and even more sophisticated offerings like store and forward.

Steve Ruzic, director of project management for ViewCast, says, "Initially, obtaining the dedicated bandwidth could be an additional recurring cost to smaller congregations. The price of the CDN will vary with the size of the audience and should scale well as the audience grows." For example, Abacast's website indicates monthly pricing that would facilitate hundreds of viewers for four weekly hour-long services at $150-a reasonable figure for many churches.

The high-quality, cross-platform H.264 video compression format has emerged as the clear standard at this point. "With the advent of H.264, churches can now install single encoding devices that can cater to high-quality campus links, Internet distribution, and video on demand servers simultaneously," explains Peter Maag, senior vice president of marketing, HaiVision Network Video. Another technical issue that bears mention here is the difference between "store and forward" and "video of demand" (VOD.) According to Gary Pelkey, system architect for Wegener of Duluth, Ga., "Traditional VOD operates in a 'pull' manner from the standpoint of the viewer. Store and forward puts control of content (transmission and playout) in the originator's hands. The originator may 'push' file-based content out to satellite or remote sites to control who has what content, and also may directly control the dedicated receive device (media player) itself." A result of "store and forward" technology is the capacity for a church to retain control of its IP video content, which can be an important requirement for some churches. "When coupled with sophisticated content management techniques, the content may be tracked at any specific moment in time, to instantly delete or 'age' content off media players after known amounts of time," adds Pelkey. VOD, on the other hand, simply facilitates the download of files for future playback by the user.

Going forward, it's virtually certain that the bar will be raised again and again. "Our plans for online media include further development of the online church experience, interactive online community groups, live Internet distribution to our satellite campuses, and more advanced 'store and forward' content distribution," says Peter Fitton of Flamingo Road Church. The expectation is that advancing technologies and falling prices will eventually facilitate streaming video production for even small churches. Fitton also adds, "The online community is the next mission field. People are 'doing life' and finding community online now more than ever. God commands us to go to where the people are and tell them about Him. In today's day and age, that's online."

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