BILLERICA, MASS. — 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, 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.
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.
The 2 M/E Granite X Series features 22 SDI inputs and 12 outputs, as well as a quad monitor Fluent-View mulitview enhanced with 16 full-motion windows for inputs and full-motion windows for four outputs and six keys.
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 second Broadcast Pix system, a Flint LS with a 1000 control panel, was purchased to produce streaming content. It offers built-in HD streaming in a variety of formats. For now, the Flint is used to record a clean feed, with no lower-thirds, of Sunday services for archive.
