Details of HD Upgrade and Before and After Photos
If you like to dive into details of a tech project…this post (and more so the attachments) should be for you. I’ll post later this weekend or early next week a FAQ about the HD install that will answer several questions about the HD install including vendor information, how we use the gear, and more. If you have any questions…please comment and let me know.
I’ve decided to make just about as much information available to you as I possibly can. It may be information overload for some of you. In this post you will find a detailed parts list (in excel) and an as-built drawing of the video setup provided by our primary vendor on this project, Fowler Design Group. I’ve also included a before picture and a few after pictures.
Also, be sure to checkout our HD podcast that I mentioned in this post. We’d love to hear your feedback.
Here are the files:
A quick summary of the major items:
- Panasonic Cameras: (2) AK-HC3500 and (2) AK-HC1800 (1) AJ-HPX3000
- Ross Vision 3 MDX Switcher
- Panasonic Monitors
- Miranda Mulimonitor System and Conversion
- Custom Video Server recording and playback solution (using Apple x-serves)
- Thomson/Grass Valley MPEG-4 Sat encoders
Here is a before pic…
and the after pics of the control room
Visit 
Thanks for posting this info. It is so valuable to me for you to share the excel file and the as-builts. I’m interested in the Custom Video Server you guys had designed. I’m guessing that Virtual VTR and Imageready are being used for capture, playback, and editing of content. Are there any other components to that workflow? We spend so much time copying and pushing media from one station to another and really want to come up with a solution. You guys are the greatest!
Wow … that’s where I get to work. God has truly blessed me! What I love the most about my job is I get to do what God has made me to do and I get to change people’s lives doing it!
Forgot …
There’s more pictures of the studio on my blog: http://www.michaelandrewjones.com
Kyle, Zeke asked a similar question on the podcast post. I’ll respond to both of you here about the video playback/record solution.
We use 4 xserves with AJA Kona 3 cards (hd-sdi, and several other input/outputs). All four servers can play out any format of video using software called Virtual VTR that is made by Gallery (a UK company). Two of the servers can also record using another software application from the same company called PictureReady. We record our master in 1080i using the Apple ProRes 422 HQ codec.
We also have a macmini with a touchscreen monitor that we use to control the machines. Gallery has an IP remote application that allows us to do that.
All of our editing is done at our central offices about 10 miles away from our broadcast locations. We have a 100Mbit connection between those locations. When a edited for playout on the weekend, our video folks drop it in a folder and we have scripts to automatically transfer the files to two of the playback machines at our broadcast location. The only remaining step is to drag the files and drop them in the app at on the xserves and then you can select them and play with a finger tap on the remote.
After the weekend the reverse happens and the master recording is pulled back across to our central offices and stored on the SAN.
We had some challenges with recording for the first few weeks until we worked through some bugs with the software and misconfigured settings…but all seems to be well now.
Hope that helps.
Wow, looks just like our tech studio! HA!!
Actually, ALL my media team are drooling (it’s pretty gross). That is just amazing! I’m thrilled for LifeChurch - I know this stuff will be used to reach the lost and equip others to do the same.
You guys are the best!
I just wet myself…
I hope that’s not too inappropriate :)
it’s soooo beautiful!
and ditto BWRoberts
this post needs a drool warning, my keyboard almost shorted out.
Talk about an upgrade….Looks great.. I echo BW..:)
Hey Bobby,
Awesome upgrade. I can feel the excitement over here in Chicagoland. Nothing like a revamp and getting new video gear… better than Christmas.
sweet thanks bobby!! thats great info :)
Bobby,
What cameras do you use for your offsite stuff? I guess your handheld HD cameras
Bobby. Just curious if you all have unloaded the older equipment? If not, are you all trying to get rid of it? If so, what do you have? I’m in Tulsa and could arrange to come and take a look if interested.
yikes! that’s impressive!
[...] Here’s a blog outlining a big upgrade they did. I’d think you email their office (info@lifechurch.tv) and ask them to refer you to …. Bobby Gruenewald [...]
[...] At LifeChurch.tv they just completely a full (mostly) renovation of the broadcast studio, you can read about that on Swerve. [...]
How’s the Virtual VTR and Picture Ready treating you? We’ve been running an older version of Virtual VTR for recording, but its been pretty unstable for us. We’re looking to move to Softron Media’s Movie Recorder, and hoping for more stability.
Ryan,
We only use Virtual VTR for playback as that is all that it is recommended for. It sounds odd since the name is VTR…but Picture Ready seems to be the recording app. We have been stable since installing minus a few user error and a disk space issue :) (at least that is my understanding)
Hey Bobby, I hope you still are checking this thread. Any chance you can tell me what set up you are using for playback at other locations? I know of a solution from Renewed Vision as well as DoReMi, but I am still looking for what works best for multi-site playback. Thanks!
We are in town and I was wondering what relegion is this chrch? I think it’s non-denominational but I was just making sure. :) Thanks