15 March, 2011
04 March, 2011
A New Look to the website!
We've just uploaded a refreshed new look to the website and incorporated our installation divisions pages. Take a look at www.dmmusic.com
The installation pages start here
24 May, 2010
PanBeam ‘Steerable’ Sound
What is it?:
A range of self-powered DSP-controlled column speakers that can be electronically made to ‘aim’ the vertical sound beam and throw it to exactly where you want it to go.
What’s so good about that?:
Clarity and intelligibility is the key to good sound - the ability to steer sound exactly where you want it (and critically to prevent it from going where you don’t) is a major factor to providing this - particularly important in highly reverberant buildings (such as many churches!). Sound coverage is also evened out to provide a more uniform volume coverage from front to back. This allows the speakers to be installed flat on a wall but still aim sound downwards or be hidden at high level and still steered correctly. The ideal solution for providing high quality, clear and intelligible speech in acoustically difficult environments.
How does it work?:
Each PanBeam speaker is equipped with eight or more custom made driver units with digital processing (DSP’s) and eight or more digital power amps. Advanced algorithms allow the individual speaker drivers to be combined (‘phased’) in such a way that the high frequency vertical sound dispersion can be very accurately controlled.
And another thing...
In some situations you can even point PanBeam speakers in two directions at the same time! (e.g. ground floor and balcony)
Allen & Heath iLive Digital Audio
What is it?:
A ‘modular’ digital audio mixer system.
What’s so good about that?:
Too many things to list in full! But for starters…
• A modular design means the PA system can be operated from a small simple control panel and/ or a larger, more flexible control surface; ideal for simple midweek uses and full band services.
• Memory settings for different service types can be easily pre-stored
...Total recall at the touch of a button!
• Mixer control panels are connected by a simple CAT5 cable. If the building has multiple connection points you have flexibility to operate from different locations.
• A 48-input system can be controlled from a much smaller mixer surface - ideal where operating space is an issue.
• As well as all the usual mixer functions the iLive also includes on-board effects such as echo and reverb for bands as well as outboard EQ and DSP.
How does it work?:
There are two parts to any iLive system; the ‘brain’ and the control surface. The digital brain (with a choice of 16/32 or 48 audio inputs) can be installed at the ‘stage’ position or even in a nearby secure vestry or similar. This is controlled remotely from your choice of control surfaces; from a simple rotorary control panel to full 28-fader mixer surface. The full mixer surfaces also have local audio inputs and outputs.
And another thing...
You could even use a laptop or a Vity wired or wireless Touch Screen to control your PA!
Vity Control Systems
What is it?:
A simple way to control some (or all) of your PA/AV system from one (or more) touch screen panels – either wired or wireless!
What’s so good about that?:
Control systems allow for simplified operation of complex systems at the touch of a button; perfect for novice and advanced users. It also allows for valuable equipment to be installed away in a secure location and operated remotely.
How does it work?:
Many PA/AV items can be controlled remotely via RS232, infra-red, etc. The Vity ‘brain’ connects via these various different interfaces to control them in different ways. The wired or wireless touch panel is then custom programmed to enable simple control of the required items. If you have a digital mixer then you can even control your whole audio system from one.
And another thing…
The wired version of the Vity TouchScreen also has up to 4 video inputs so you can simultaneously use it to monitor or preview DVD’s, video cameras etc
ProDisplay Glass Screens
What is it?
A projection surface made of glass that when not in use is transparent!
What’s so good about that?
Used in a chancel arch, or similar location, it allows for a permanent screen to be installed but with little detriment to the aesthetic when not in use.
How does it work?
Special hi-tech optical Liquid Crystal Film material is applied to the glass which changes its visual appearance when an electrical current is applied. A simple ON – OFF mode switches the LCD Glass from being clear (transparent) to frosted (translucent), in its frosted state the glass becomes a high-deļ¬nition rear projection screen. LCD Glass can also be custom made to replace existing glass panels in window frames, glass walls and partitions or as a stand alone screen which can be placed on a stand or suspended on cables.
09 March, 2010
Should our Church go HD?
Everyone at the moment is talking about HD. We are told that this is where everything is heading and so all our TV’s are ‘HD ready’ and most people will in-fact have home systems that are HD.
It is worth mentioning a few points regarding HD, projectors and its usefulness for ‘presentation’ purposes in church.
HD is a somewhat arbitrary term that refers really to something that is greater than the standard television resolution.
Nearly every computer and projector is above this ‘standard TV resolution’. Typically most projectors are at XGA resolution (1024 x 768 pixels). This is the case because most laptops typically output an XGA resolution from their secondary monitor output. PowerPoint also is typically set at 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768.
However in the last couple of years projectors aimed at home cinema use have begun to come onto the market offering higher resolutions to compete with Plasma and TFT screens. At the other end of the spectrum the very high end projectors are offering higher resolutions for larger or more exacting projections.
What you might call ‘presentation’ projectors still typically have native XGA resolution.
Simply put, some projectors are now available in HD but these are not normally suitable for use in a church service context due to brightness (ansi-lumen) or cost.
Increased familiarity with domestic/consumer projectors, connectors and terminology has led to confusion for many churches because the translation of technology from living room to church is not always a good one. In the same way you wouldn’t use high quality home hi-fi equipment for your church PA system.
Here are a few simple reasons why HD is not often the best option for Church services;
Projection often requires an element of keystone manipulation for practical placement of a projection – this can cause slight image degradation and therefore, the HD image will not be as high quality as it would be in the home.
The other questions to bear in mind for church projection are about content and delivery.
What is the content? Is it purely text? Song words, liturgy, Bible text, Powerpoint etc is a projector above XGA resolution actually required or suitable in this case?
Will it include images, moving images, web content, live video! Often this kind of content is not available at higher resolutions.
Using a projector above XGA will require a lot of content to be scaled up to meet the projectors higher resolution. Scaling an image will mean a loss in its quality.
Software for Church presentation is usually designed to output content at XGA resolution anyway.
Viewing a projected screen from distance means that resolution differences are often impossible to detect.
Running a digital signal over longer lengths normally requires adaptation to a cat 5/ 6 system. This means more expensive conversion equipment is needed, it also means the signal will be converted from a HD connector into a CAT5 signal before being converted back at the other end. Every time the image goes through one of these conversion processes, the image will be degraded slightly.
Digital input connections, like HDMI and DVI, are available on some projectors, these are there for ease of connection.
For all these reasons, often it is not suitable for churches to go for a HD projection solution. If however you have read this and are still interested in looking into a HD system for your church, please let us know and we will be happy to discuss it further.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)