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June 2005 Table of Contents
Tech Talk
NAB - It's A Wrap!
By Brad Herring
 This year's show showcased many new products for both Christian broadcast and worship. As usual, NAB was wall to wall products and gimmiks - the show spanned 3 buildings and hosted over 120,000 people.
Technologies for Worship Magazine hosted the Sound Pavilion in partnership with NAB. As part of the exhibit Aviom, Shure, and Yamaha hosted this years "Quiet Stage". This was a tremendous success with a constant crowd waiting patiently to get a sample of this great technology. With affordable in-ear solutions it's hard to imagine why any of our churches are not utilizing in-ear monitoring. Also on hand were Jay Delp and Stephen Ellison teaching "Location Lighting." This short seminar taught the proper way to set up simple lighting for a location video shoot. Sony allowed the guys to use their new HVR-Z1U camcorder for the sessions. Technology such as this is going to usher more churches into the world of Hi-Def quicker than many of us thought! Of course Mark Nichols from Cornerstone Media was on hand teaching the "Hands up Hands on!" audio seminar. Every session was jam packed and people walked away with a better idea of how to run sound for worship.
There was also a large group of people attending the various Technology for Worship Magazine seminars that were taught by various professionals throughout the week. There was definitely a good representation of the church market at NAB, but if you couldn't make it, here's a quick look at some of the products and announcements that caught my attention:
Sony showcased their new HVR-Z1U camcorder - this camera has a list price of around $5000 and produces a beautiful HD image. Sony also announced that all of their new cameras will have the same menu layout and general controls allowing users to seamlessly use any Sony camera.
Digital Juice caught my attention with their stock footage libraries. $600 gets you over 3000 high quality video clips that are useable for a lifetime! The Digital Juice libraries offer huge opportunities for any church producing video content of any type for virtually any purpose. Like all of the Juice products, the clips are organized by "The Juicer" - a free program with any Juice purchase. The libraries offered have a large range of applications - from faces of people in cultures all around the world to breath taking landscapes and more these clips will save you hours of production time AND improve your overall production value.
Edirol was demonstrating their new V-400HD SD/HD switcher. This 4 input/ 4 output switcher supports BOTH HD AND SD! This switcher has a built in scaler and with the use of multiple switchers you can take one image and span it across multiple screens at once! This switcher costs less than $10,000. With the inevitable transformation to HI-Definition this is a perfect way for the church to begin its migration.
Countryman Microphones had their newest version of their popular E6 headworn microphone - the E6i. This is an improvement on the E6 by adding a silicon section around the ear to allow for easier and more solid molding to the ear - but don't despair - Countryman will continue to provide the E6 as well.
Not to be outdone, EV was sporting their new head worn microphone. Approximately the same size as the countryman EV claims better construction and a lower price point. EV was also showcasing their EVBLUE microphones. This is their new line of condenser microphones designed for both live sound and recording. Their classic look is sure to appeal many end users.
Obviously this is just a taste of the numerous products that were on display. I urge any church to consider sending their media staff to this event. It's a wonderful opportunity to invite creativity amongst your team and to inspire them with the wide array of new products on the market. I believe we will continue to see a growing number of churches and church related products at the show in the coming years. It's exciting to see the church integrating these types of trade shows – it's yet another sign that the church is beginning to harness the power of media to share the Good News around the world.
Spread the Word.
Brad Herring runs Church Production Resources, Inc. – a ministry designed to help equip the Minister of Music, Worship Leader, and Worship Technician. For more information, feature articles, product reviews, and training visit their website at www.ChurchProductionResources.com
Brad Herring is the President of Church Production Resources, Inc., a ministry focused on helping churches understand technology and arts for the spreading of the Gospel message. For more information, timely articles, product reviews, and training products visit:
www.ChurchProductionResources.com
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