Volume 1, Issue 2 – August 23, 2012
Volume 1, Issue 2 — August 23, 2012
 How of Worship Trends Church Market Relationships Anthony Coppedge : House of Worship Technology Consultant  The Future of H.O.W. Churches as Performing Arts Centers Anthony Coppedge : House of Worship Technology Consultant
 Headline News DPI Announces New 6000-Lumen Projector For $3,995 Meyer Sound Ships Steerable CAL Column Array Loudspeaker Sharp Debuts New 60″ LCD With 2.4-Millimeter Bezel Wohler’s New Mixer is AWESOME Extron Launches 12×8 Audio Mixer With DSP and Acoustic Echo Cancellation Community’s Ceiling Speakers Now Available in Black Earthworks Ships Wireless Mic Capsule Extron Intros Tiny DVI to Fiber Extender Christie Ships 4K 25,000-Lumen D4K25 Projector InfoComm Sets Dates for U.S. Shows Through 2019
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Church Market Relationships By Anthony Coppedge House of Worship Technology Consultant Marketing and selling to churches requires a certain modicum of understanding and respect to traditions so as not to upset the sensibilities of churches that draw a line between worship and production. For those in the A/V/L industry, learning to work with the new breed of churches is an important element in selling products and services to this unique vertical market. Selling to Churches Just Got Easier… Churches have slowly adopted a production model that incorporates the workflow of a secular production in terms of media and technology. But be careful about using the term ‘production’ with every church –- especially mainline denominations –- to make sure you don’t accidentally offend their style of service. Still, the flexibility of today’s technology in a production environment means that your experience and expertise will translate well into the modified production model of a growing number of churches — especially those with multiple venues or campuses. Applying technology that meets these flexible requirements provides manufacturers and integrators alike with a renewed opportunity to re-engage past church clients and increase exposure and sales in this unique vertical market with products designed specifically for multi-purpose venues. Every bit of A/V/L technology that goes into a performing arts venue will be equally at home in todays’ new churches, which is both a sales and marketing blessing for those targeting the house of worship market. From an integrators’ standpoint, expertise in performing arts is a strong value proposition to churches that desire the flexible functionality and want to maximize their technology spend. Rather than focusing on specific technology components, the technical infrastructure becomes the greater investment opportunity, which leads to a long-term relationship of supporting the existing equipment and providing rental and new sales opportunities as the venue is used in ways their previous auditorium never could be. In an interview with Scott Nelson, principal at HH Architects, the largest mega-church architecture firm, Nelson shared the following observation: “The folks who are best using their technology have a plan in place of how they want to use it. I think sometimes there are churches that believe technology is a cure-all for being relevant or current, but it’s those churches who know how technology fits into all spaces in their facilities that use it best.” Nelson’s assessment reveals a tremendous — and needed — education opportunity to help these churches make the right purchases. …And Selling to Churches Just Got Harder Though a trend for new construction of church auditoriums has shifted towards a production model, which makes selling into the market easier, the diversity of churches has only increased and now includes dozens of denominations and a group that simply prefers to be called “non-denominational” — even if they’re still a part of a denomination but not actively promoting the fact”. In this sense, it’s potentially a steeper learning curve to expand into the house of worship market, even for those with some success within this industry vertical. Understanding and respecting various church beliefs and sensibilities means speaking their language. For example, it’s helpful to know what a “Narthex” is (and which denominations use this term), which church types will present proposals to a committee instead of the staff leadership or what it means when the “elders” want to meet to discuss the project scope. Educating sales and marketing staff of these nuances is an important ingredient in mixing up metaphors to church influencers and decision-makers. And, for the record, churches don’t need or want your marketing to include phrases like “divine sound,” “faith comes by hearing” or “heavenly light.” Just because they’re in churches doesn’t mean the don’t know cheesy ads. Don’t talk down to them; just talk to them. Build It and They Will Come The relationship, that is. Let’s face it: Box sales are all about the Internet. Sure, dealers and systems integrators can and will get box sales, but the real value is in the service and expertise, not the product alone. Manufacturers get this fact, too, and are offering better warranties and even online training to help make the sale to churches. The reality is that every church is similar to a NOC (Network Operations Center): They can’t go down. Every weekend is a mission-critical environment, and up-time is a high premium. In fact, if you’ve sold to a church previously, a second conversation is in order because no matter how good the system or products installed, technology can and will fail at some point. These church understand this acutely after experiencing a failure and are far more receptive to not “VE-ing” a project (“value engineering”) once they’ve limped through a weekend. And, with the trend of churches building functional performing arts centers as their new venues, the technology has to also be have significant up-time for third-party usage of their facilities. All of this points to greater opportunity for not only more technology implementations, but even more service contract and rental options. Here’s where both manufacturers and integrators can really reinforce the systems trinity: people, process and technology. Churches want options when it comes to up-time on weekends. For some, redundant systems are worth the additional expense. For others, having back up options (portable systems even) are a good fail-safe. And yet for some churches having a service contract with automatic rentals built-in is great insurance in case of last-minute failure. In each of those scenarios is the opportunity for building a trusted relationship with the dealer and the manufacturer. The pastor doesn’t care what the solution is; they just want the solution to be quick and effective — and not experience another critical weekend failure! Remember, you may have to miss out on the first sale and still pursue the relationship through thought leadership and helpful education over time, but the churches that have experienced pain will remember you. People First, Technology Second To reinforce this point, another veteran of the church market, Ben Cating, senior consultant with the firm Acoustic Dimensions, shared his firm’s experience with helping churches make technology decisions. “The technology isn’t the hard part, really,” said Cating. “It’s the amount of content and the management of the technology that truly limits how effectively the church can use technology. That’s why we say the Triangle of Communication is focusing in on what the church’s culture is so that you’re not spending money on what they cannot afford or will not use very often.” When it comes to technology, the answer is almost always ‘yes’… but at a price. Instead of starting with technology, helping define the church’s desired outcomes is a never-ending education point for those in this vertical channel. From a manufacturer’s perspective, this includes helpful trainings and free downloads on web and mobile platforms that includes both the presentation and the content aimed specifically at the needs and challenges of the house of worship market space (remember, talking to them, not at them). Integrators can take this a step further with local trainings and A/B testing product demos at existing church clients, as well as weekend loaner programs to introduce the church to what’s possible in the context of their needs and goals. Ideally this kind of thought leadership, unique programs and co-op marketing opportunities should originate at the manufacturer level. But for the savvy and determined integrator interested in long-term sales and service contracts, re-engaging churches can be a wise investment that can pay solid dividends. No matter which CRM used, churches are the ideal prospect for setting quarterly and bi-annual sales call reminders because they are often able to make unplanned purchases after unexpected donations. By continually providing thought leadership, practical advice and helpful education content regularly, these sales opportunities can be closed when the time is right – but only if you’ve sown the relational seeds ahead of time. The house of worship markets’ similarities to other production-oriented verticals makes them ideal candidates for much of the technology sold today. With the right education, thought leadership and relation-building, integrators and manufacturers can see more business opportunities through intentional effort. A former staff member at three mega churches and church technology consultant, Anthony Coppedge has developed a respected reputation as a leader in technical and communications circles within the church marketplace. Reach him at anthony@anthonycoppedge.com or on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/anthonycoppedge Leave a Comment Share Article

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Churches as Performing Arts Centers By Anthony Coppedge House of Worship Technology Consultant When is a church not just a church? For a growing number of churches in the U.S., the answer is when their large venues can double as performing arts centers. During my recent interview with one of the largest church architecture firms in the world, principal architect Scott Nelson of HH Architects reflected on this trend. “The [venue] flexibly has become a high priority,” asserts Nelson. In particular, he states that “one of the challenges for the architect is [to] architecturally still make the room feel appropriate when it’s not in full lighting and video mode for a large worship event, especially churches that are using a multi-purpose venue… how do these rooms function when they’re not bathed in technology?”, said Nelson. “For contemporary [church] venues, we’re designing more ‘black-boxes,’ where we hide the ceiling and really create a dark environment for controlled lighting and video.” Sound familiar? A quick visit to one of the hundreds of new church auditoriums constructed each year in the U.S. reveals a rising trend: They are becoming strikingly similar to performing arts venues. Instead of permanent structures such as organ pipes, choir lofts and large pulpits, churches are increasingly opting for a clean stage and modular stage elements. Even the room itself is morphing into a more flexible environment, with the increased use of light, neutral or even grey tones for the walls. These changes allow for light — or the absence of it — to help set the mood and feel of the venue based on the needs of the service, activity or event. Churches still need these large venues for other events such as weddings, funerals, and graduations, so it’s easy to see flexibility being a high priority. Potentially, these local houses of worship can offer the use of these multi-purpose venues to third-parties as performing arts facilities. The case can be made for a good return on investment on the rental of these venues, potentially expanding the technology offering significantly. Similar, But Not the Same The resemblance to performing arts centers is functionally very similar, but be careful not to assume all church leaders will agree with the terminology. Though churches clearly have services in a venue that includes multiple elements of performance, the production label is sometimes seen as offensive because the church service is seen as sacred. Of course, every manufacturer and integrator understands the production model; it’s natural to the industry and, as such, it is assumed every market segment understands this truth. But with churches, the term ‘production’ is often seen as secular and not applicable in the sacred. And while some churches refuse to identify their services as ‘productions’ based on the style of the service or ideology of the leadership, the reality is that any event with an audience is a production at some level. Most of the time when working with churches, the music minister (sometimes called a ‘worship pastor’) and/or the tech arts (sometimes called the ‘media pastor’) staff will understand the production model. A growing number of progressive churches will relish their venue being equated to a performing arts center. Even still, they may not buy into renting out their facilities as full-on production venues. Don’t push this angle too hard, but do reinforce the truth of the flexibility and benefits of their venue for community-focused events. The idea is to open their thinking up to include additional production capabilities that make sense in accomplishing their mission of reaching their communities. Helpful Examples Nothing speaks like a real-world example. Taking a small cadre of church leaders to a local performing arts venue — or even another church that’s already adopted the performing arts production model — to show them what’s possible now, what’s easy to add and plant the seed for their long-term building plans. Investing in this sowing of ideas not only will lead to some near-term sales for upgrades and additions, but it also establishes you as a thought leader. You’ll be able to sow those thought seeds over time, investing in the relationship, which is critical in the house of worship market. It’s still safe to say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look at the pictures below and think through the interesting parallels between the two venues. New World Symphony Center – photo by WorldRedEye Church as Performing Arts – photo by VisualWorshiper.com Think Infrastructure The upgrade options are almost limitless, but here are some popular suggestions:  
  • Wireless mics — Many churches are STILL using VHF. Yep. Time for UHF upgrades.
  • IEMs — In Ear Monitors are not only popular but highly practical to reduce/eliminate stage volume issues.
  • Personal Monitor mixes — Aviom, Hearback, Behringer, etc. are cost-effective options.
  • Projection — The flexibility of a clean stage can mean the addition of portable screens as well as ascender screens (coming up out of the floor). Most church projection is under-sized and under-powered anyway, so this is a good reason to make the upgrade.
  • Lighting — Where to start? Wash lights, consistent stage lighting, color changers, moving fixtures — the sky is the limit. Churches want to make fast changes and color is easily the best way to do that.
  • Comm gear — Clear Com, Telex, etc. all have made this as much art as science over the years. Churches can GREATLY benefit from even a simple two-channel com system.
  • Streaming — Even smaller churches are looking for ways to capture and stream live video of services and/or events. A plethora of options exist, so present some to the churches.
  • Environmental projection — A feature we’ve already covered, this is only going to gain traction at an exponential rate. Get on the bandwagon and bring churches into this line of thinking.
Dreaming the Future The trends are real: Performing arts centers are influencing new church venues. The question, of course, is when or if it will become mainstream in churches. I doubt it will hit mainstream, but I do believe based on trends and a two decades of experience in the house of worship market that this will not be a small fractional percentage of churches. And, hey, even if churches don’t go full-tilt-boogie in performing arts, the production technologies from those venues will find their way into many, many churches — so why not help with the easy, obvious transitions while this trend gains momentum? As always, we at rAVe are dreaming the future based on our experience, our friends in the industry and, of course, the measurable trends we notice. There is no question that this dream is firmly rooted in an ever-expanding reality for the house of worship market. As manufacturers and integrators, are you ready to step up and offer these solutions where you already have great experience from other industries? Dream the future and offer it to churches now! A former staff member at three mega churches and church technology consultant, Anthony Coppedge has developed a respected reputation as a leader in technical and communications circles within the church marketplace. Reach him at  anthony@anthonycoppedge.com or on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/anthonycoppedge Leave a Comment Share Article

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DPI Announces New 6000-Lumen Projector For $3,995 Digital Projection International announced today the new E-Vision WXGA 6000, the newest member of DPI’s aggressively-priced E-Vision projector series. The WXGA (1280×800) projector offers up to 6,000 lumens in brightness and a specified contrast ratio of 2400:1, plus an array of lens options, a dual lamp set-up and advanced color controls. Distinct to the new E-Vision WXGA 6000 is a new, lightweight and streamlined cabinet. It also offers two swappable color wheels, which allows integrators to install the color wheel that provides the best balance of lumens and color depth to complement their application. Additionally, a variety of fixed and zoom lens options give the E-Vision WXGA 6000 a flexible throw ratio range of .76:1 – 8.26:1. It also has six user-selectable inputs, including HDCP-compliant DVI. The E-Vision WXGA 6000 will ship in October and has a list price of $3,995 (not including the lens). For more information on this new projector, click here. Leave a Comment Share Article

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Meyer Sound Ships Steerable CAL Column Array Loudspeaker Meyer Sound has begun delivery of its CAL column array loudspeaker, which is available in three models. The CAL speaker’s vertical beam can be angled up or down in one-degree increments up to 30 degrees to aim only at target coverage areas without exciting an entire architectural space. Two of the CAL versions, CAL 64 and CAL 96, also include beam-splitting capabilities for applications where a balcony wall may cause undesired reflections. All three are weather proof and have a rain hood included for outdoor installations.
 
Full specs are here: http://www.meyersound.com/products/industrialseries/cal/
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Sharp Debuts New 60″ LCD With 2.4-Millimeter Bezel The new 60″ LED-backlit LCD PN-V600 display has what Sharp is claiming is the thinnest bezel on the market. Designed for video wall applications where you want to create a giant, almost seamless image, the PN-V600 is specified to have only a 2.4-millimeter bezel on the right and bottom and 4.1 millimeter on the left and top of the display, making the entire bezel when in a video wall configuration 6.5 millimeter. It’s designed to let you build video walls as large as 25 screens (in a 5×5 configuration). Specified at 450 cd/m2 brightness, the PM-V600 is a full-array, LED-backlit monitor with a native 1365×768 resolution. The display is also Energy Star-qualified, using 310 watts of max power. Full details are here: https://www.ravepubs.com/utility/documents/sharp-PNV600_PNV601+FSC.pdf Leave a Comment Community’s Distributed Design Series of in-ceiling loudspeakers now comes in black (and white). Designed for nightclubs, bars, restaurants, houses of worship or any other application requiring a black ceiling loudspeaker, the face-only assembly and optional accessories, including Face Adapter Ring and Can Adapter/Trim Ring, are also available in matching black finishes. The D6-B is a coaxial loudspeaker, with a compression driver concentrically located so that high frequencies emerge through the center of the low-frequency driver via a precisely contoured Tru-Phase HF waveguide. Community says this provides consistent, wide dispersion up to 16kHz. The D6-B can also be tapped at 8-ohm or 70V/100V configurations. Here are all the detailed specs: http://www.community.chester.pa.us/products/product-list Leave a Comment Share Article

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Earthworks Ships Wireless Mic Capsule Earthworks’ long-awaited (introduced in October 2011) WL40V Wireless Vocal Microphone Capsule is now shipping. The WL40V is a wireless microphone capsule “head” designed for live sound applications. The capsule head has a three ring bulls-eye connector and is interchangeable with any of the screw-on-type handheld transmitters that receive a 31.3 mm / pitch 1.0 mm. Earthworks claims that the WL40V requires “little to no EQ” and also says it has a “textbook perfect” hypercardioid polar pattern and extended flat frequency response translate to a natural on- and off-axis performance. It lists for $899. Full specs on the WL40V are here: http://www.earthworksaudio.com/ Leave a Comment Share Article

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Extron Intros Tiny DVI to Fiber Extender Extron’s new DDX 102 Dual Link DVI Fiber Optic Extender is a tiny (only 1.5″ x 2.8″ x 0.6″) transmitter and receiver set for long haul delivery of DVI signals over fiber optic cabling. Extron says it uses all-digital technology to deliver pixel-for-pixel transmission of video images up to 2560×1600 resolutions, including HDTV 1080p/60. The extender delivers dual link DVI-D signals up to 500 meters (1,640 feet) over two multimode cables or single link DVI signals over one fiber optic cable. The DDX 102 transmitter and receiver feature industry standard LC-type connectors, and can be used for point-to-point fiber optic applications with dual link DVI requirements. The units connect directly to the DVI source and display devices, eliminating the need for additional mounting hardware. EDID Minder automatically manages EDID by maintaining continuous communication with the source, ensuring that it powers up properly and reliably outputs content for display. The transmitter also provides an EDID capture mode to store display EDID. More specs are here: http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=ddx102&s=0 Leave a Comment Share Article

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Christie Ships 4K 25,000-Lumen D4K25 Projector Although it just debuted at InfoComm, Christie’s new D4K25 — a 4096×2160 three-chip DLP spec’d at 25,000 ANSI lumens of brightness — is already shipping. Carrying a contrast ratio of 2000:1, the D4K25 includes four 3G HD-SDI inputs and two HDMI inputs. It offers a Xenon bubble lamp, is controllable via RS232 or IP (ChristieNET) and has seven optional lenses ranging from 1.13:1 to 7.69:1. You can see all the specs here: http://www.christiedigital.com/en-us/business/products/projectors/3-chip-dlp/Pages/Christie-D4K25-3-chip-DLP-4K-projector.aspx Leave a Comment Share Article

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InfoComm Sets Dates for U.S. Shows Through 2019 InfoComm International has announced its future rotation plans for its annual InfoComm exposition and conference. InfoComm 2013 will be held at Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center’s West Building, June 12 to 14. InfoComm 2014 will be held at Las Vegas Convention Center’s North and Central Halls, June 18 to 20. The show will rotate between the two cities in the same halls in mid-June thereafter through 2019. InfoComm has signed lease agreements with both facilities. “InfoComm exhibitors and attendees have been well accommodated in both Orlando and Las Vegas, and we are pleased to continue our rotation between these great convention cities,” said Jason McGraw, CTS, CAE, senior vice president of expositions, InfoComm International. “Our show has experienced phenomenal growth over the past several years based in large part to the well-run convention centers, large hotel selection and premium entertainment options offered by both of these destinations.” A schedule of future dates appears below:
  • 2013 – Show 6/12-6/14, Conference 6/8-6/14, Orlando
  • 2014 – Show 6/18-6/20, Conference 6/14-6/20, Las Vegas
  • 2015 – Show 6/17-6/19, Conference 6/13-6/19, Orlando
  • 2016 – Show 6/8-6/10, Conference 6/4-6/10, Las Vegas
  • 2017 – Show 6/14-6/16, Conference 6/10-6/16, Orlando
  • 2018 – Show 6/6-6/8, Conference 6/2-6/8, Las Vegas
  • 2019 – Show 6/12-6/14, Conference 6/8-6/14, Orlando
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  For all you REGULAR readers of rAVe HOW [House of Worship] out there, hopefully you enjoyed another opinion-packed issue! For those of you NEW to rAVe, you just read how we are — we are 100 percent opinionated. We not only report the news and new product stories of the ProAV industry, but we stuff the articles full of our opinions. That may include (but is not limited to) whether or not the product is even worth looking at, challenging the manufacturers on their specifications, calling a marketing-spec bluff and suggesting ways integrators market their products better. But, one thing is for sure, we are NOT a trade publication that gets paid for running editorial or product stories. Traditional trade publications get paid to run product stories — that’s why you see what you see in most of the pubs out there. We are different: we run what we want to run and NO ONE is going to pay us to write anything good (or bad). Don’t like us, then go away — unsubscribe! Just use the link below. To send me feedback, don’t reply to this newsletter. Instead, write directly to me at gary@ravepubs.com or for editorial ideas, Editor-in-Chief Sara Abrons at sara@ravepubs.com A little about me: I graduated from Journalism School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where I am adjunct faculty). I’ve been in the AV-industry since 1987 where I started with Extron and eventually moved to AMX. So, I guess I am an industry veteran (although I don’t think I am that old). I have been an opinionated columnist for a number of industry publications and in the late 1990s I started the widely read KNews eNewsletter (the first in the AV market) and also created the model for and was co-founder of AV Avenue, which is now known as InfoComm IQ. rAVe [Publications] has been around since 2003, when we launched our original newsletter, rAVe ProAV Edition. Everything we publish is Opt-in — we spam NO ONE! rAVe ProAV Edition is our flagship ePublication with what we believe is a reach of virtually everyone in the ProAV market. rAVe HomeAV Edition, co-published with CEDIA and launched in February 2004, is, by far, the largest ePub in the HomeAV market. We added rAVe Rental [and Staging] in November 2007, rAVe ED [Education] in May 2008 and then rAVe DS [Digital Signage] in January 2009. We added rAVe GreenAV in August 2010 and rAVe HOW [House of Worship] in July 2012. You can subscribe to any of those publication or see ALL our archives by going to: https://www.ravepubs.com To read more about my background, our team and what we do, go to https://www.ravepubs.com

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  Copyright 2012 – rAVe [Publications] – All rights reserved – All rights reserved. For reprint policies, contact rAVe [Publications], 210 Old Barn Ln. – Chapel Hill, NC 27517 – (919) 969-7501. Email: sara@ravepubs.com rAVe contains the opinions of the author only and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of other persons or companies or its sponsors.