Audio-Video Essentials for the Modern House of Worship

The past year did no favors for houses of worship. Here in Iowa, churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques closed for weeks and months at the start of the pandemic. Many Des Moines congregations struggled to open their doors, while others offered limited capacity with live-streaming services for those at home. 

It was an eye-opener to many religious leaders that their technology was not up-to-date or capable of adequatelylive streaming. As we continue to deal with the pandemic and look forward to the future after it, you may be wondering how to enhance your own church audio-video. 

As AV installers, we work with many houses of worship to build high-quality sound and video systems. We’ll share how professionallyinstalled AV will enhance your worshipservices, allowing you to reach more people in your community. 

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Multi-RoomAudio & Video 

Many churches opened their basements and otherrooms to make space for social distancing. Some houses of worship will conduct two services at the same time, but if you don’t have the bandwidth for that, you can play the service’s audio and video in any room through multi-room AV.

Wemount speakers to the walls or ceilings and wire them to a centralized location (such as the soundboard), which connects the microphone feeds fromthe pastor, worship team, and/or choir.A live stream (see below) of the service can be cast from a projector that descends from the ceiling or stays fixed on the wall.  

A smart system makes it easy to select speakers and screens in multiple rooms and hallways. From a phone, tablet, or wall panel, you can group speakers into rooms and choose the media sourcefor each. A professional team like Reference Audio Video & Securitycan build a streamlined multi-room system without a dangling wire in sight.  

Live Streaming Your Service 

To get started with your live stream, you’ll need at least one HD camera, a laptop, microphones, and a mixer. The mixer lets you connect multiple cameras and microphones to send a single feed to the streaming platform. Your mics and cameras will plug directly into the mixer, which then plugs into your computer.

There are many streaming platforms to choose from—Livestream, SermonCast, BoxCast, or even Facebook. OurAV company can help connect all your church audio video to your streaming setup with cables organized and labeled for easy access. 

Ambient Light RejectingScreens 

Projectors are useful for live streams but can also display song lyrics, videos, Bible verses, and important announcements. One common struggle with projectors is the fading, washed-out screens during the day. You can turn off the lights whenever it’s time to use the projector, but if you’re using it throughout the whole service, that’s no good. 

Ambient Light Rejecting (ALR) screens reflect or absorb excess ambient light, enhancing brightness and contrast. To make the most of an ALR screen, make sure your lights aren’t shining directly on it, and if you’re investing in a new projector, one with higher lumens will produce a brighter image. 

Ready to Upgrade the AV at Your House of Worship?  

Whether you need a new audio-video system or just a few upgrades, Reference Audio Video & Security is the technology professional you can trust. We work with houses of worship both large and small and can implement a solution customized to your needs. 

Contact our team here to get started. We look forward to speaking with you soon!