Kentucky's Largest Church Counts on Echolab Overture2 Switcher Run by Young Volunteers to Make Its Services Rock
BILLERICA, Mass. — Oct. 13, 2009 — Echolab Inc. today announced that Southeast Christian Church (SECC) in Louisville, Ky., has deployed an Overture2™ MD switcher to support live production of three high-energy student ministry services that draw more than 1,200 students each week. In fact, with Echolab's Conductor™ touchscreen interface, the Overture switcher is so easy to use that the church now trains volunteers as young as 11 to run it during the live services. The Echolab Overture 2 is housed in SECC's new 80,000 square foot student ministry building called "The Block," which opened in April 2009.
"We had one of the first Echolab Nova switchers, and it worked for us with total reliability for six years. Since we've installed the new Overture, the experience has been remarkable," said Steve Stone, SECC creative media designer. "In fact, we found that the new switcher is even better than the old one for training purposes. Once the professional staff has done the production design, we can step back and let the student volunteers run the show. Also, because the Overture allows us to set up macro keys as quick recalls, the board can instantly be reset should one of the volunteers make a mistake."
The Echolab Overture2 MD is a multiformat switcher with internal up/cross and analog to digital conversion so it can seamlessly handle a wide variety of signal formats, including composite, Y/C, component, and SDI. The switcher's multiformat capability eliminates the need for third-party devices, so that SD and HD equipment such as DVD and Blu-ray™ players can be directly connected to the switcher, simplifying cabling and resulting in a cost-effective, compact, and streamlined operation.
SECC relies on the Overture2 to push 16:9 HD content to a 27-foot wide, Barco HD18 main screen in the youth auditorium, which seats 1,200. The auditorium was designed with a three-sided balcony, and the audience is close enough to the screen so that there is no need for IMAG technology. IMAG is used, however, to record the service and deliver feeds to digital signs in hallways elsewhere in the complex, and to a small screen in a coffee bar where parents are invited to sit and join the fun. For the future, video podcasts of the services are planned.
"Today, many houses of worship are following the lead of successful pioneers like Southeast Christian Church and creatively using technology to deliver their message," said Chris McLendon, senior application engineer for Echolab. "Echolab's switching tools make it surprisingly easy and cost-effective for churches large and small, and for other organizations, to enhance their communication with more compelling programming."
SECC's all HD/SDI production system was designed and installed by Mankin Media Systems of Nashville, Tenn.
More information is available at www.southeastchristian.org
Visit www.echolab.com for more information.
