Church Sound, Church Video: Were the new age meets history

I. Video Projection Systems: First Baptist Church of Paris in South Paris, Maine wanted to add video projection to their historic church. They were very concerned about maintaining the aesthetics of the space.  A motorized retractable projection screen is a highlight. The way it disappears when the screen is not needed is exactly what they wanted! We integrated the video projector and computer for a variety of kinds of presentations. 

II. A church sound system upgrade was also done as part of the AV system design and installation project. A Highlight: New Pro Bose® speakers, designed for the church environment, offer greatly improved sound quality and intelligibility. Speakers were carefully mounted adjacent to window casings and painted to match. The result is the vastly improved sound they needed and the discreet appearance they wanted. 

South Paris Maine is a quaint village and First Baptist Church of Paris is an important piece of the fabric of the community. One of the facets of this project that stood out for us was the focus of upgrading technology, not just for the congregation, but also for the community of South Paris.  This is best explained in the words of the Pastor…

"Beautiful sound!"

The quality of sound has truly impressed me; NO comparison to the old system. And the video projection performs beautifully also. You had such sensitive concern for our historic structure. Your crew collaborated with our electrician to preserve visual authenticity. There are some new wires your crew actually had to point out to me— it is just amazing! Even the placement of jacks in the aisles is discreet, so during weddings they won’t show in photographs. I am especially grateful for your approach of “we’re putting it in now” but we will “follow up in a few weeks to ensure you are comfortable with the system.” We have really benefited from this. And, the project came in on budget.

Our new audio visual capabilities allow us the ability to offer our church for local groups’ use for a broader range of community events and concerts. Prior to choosing PSNE we called some other ministers of historic churches and they were very complimentary. This cemented our decision to entrust this project to your company.  - Pastor Mary Beth Caffey, First Baptist Church of Paris

Read more about more of the benefits of church sound in Maine churches and beyond. 

How’s the sound in your church? How about the classrooms, Sunday school, community hall, offices, or nursery? Perhaps your congregation and staff want and need much clearer, much more intelligible sound? We can help identify and solve the audio challenges for your church. To learn about today’s church sound solutions, visit our website to read about audio visual systems for worship.

Beautiful Video Solutions for Exeter NH's Congregational Church

The Congregational Church in Exeter, New Hampshire

At this handsome congregational church in the heart of Exeter New Hampshire, the clergy and staff wanted a vehicle for display scripture and hymn lyrics for the congregation. They also wanted to be able to offer lyrics to songs onscreen. Video projection solved this beautifully. Worship software presentations these as well as religious imagery, and event information onto retractable a projection screen is highly effective for the parish. The church video projection provides education, outreach and, most importantly, worship enhancement. Equally important for this beautiful church’s sanctuary space is that the video projection system installation is tasteful and does not detract from the classic architectural features of the sanctuary.

Better Communication with Video Projection

Video Projection is becoming an integral element of the worship service. Discovered by many clergy to be an invaluable tool, video improves the way messages are communicated. Vivid displays are inviting but also beneficial, especially to those seated in more distant pews. And, enlarged text, lyrics and images assist visually challenged parishioners.

"The result is perfect!"

Your team really knew what they were doing! The installation is beautiful. We have received very positive  responses from our congregation about the wonderful   sound quality and we are excited about the extensive  capabilities of the video projection system. - Don Erdbrink, Praise Choir Director, The Congregational Church in Exeter, NH

Technically Speaking

The video projector was column mounted to design specifications for optimum projection. The mount blends seamlessly with the ornate wooden molding. The sleek lines are visually quiet to the eye. The retractable projection screen offers high performance and tough duty. It offers long lasting reliability and attractive design. Highly functional it retracts quickly and quietly with the push of a button into a casing that is colorized to match the interior environment.

Church video projection was only part of the undertaking for this New Hampshire church. They also invested in a custom audio system for the sanctuary.

In our next post we’ll talk about the audio renovation aspect of the comprehensive project. Read more about worship video projections solutions on the Power Sound of New England website.

A Dover NH Church has great sound

Complete Custom Audio System Renovation

At PSNE we recently launch our newly designed website.  So,to keep some of the most popular AV System Project Features available we are re-sharing them here. Last year, First Parish Church in Dover New Hampshire entrusted on PSNE for their church audio system upgrade.

The New Hampshire Church sound system was definitely due for some upgrades. Like so many churches in New England, they were enduring the crackling, fading, and "cutting out" typical of older church PA systems. Most essential, we wanted to address the needs for the liturgy but also we wanted to make the Music Ministry shine. In the past most churches, due to the challenging acoustical environment, had to choose one or the other.

One of the concerns from many church customers has been that their audio system design couldn’t adapt to the unique need for recorded or live music. Power Sound has succeeded in developing a strategy for custom audio system designs to meet the needs of both.

"150% improvement from our old sound system!"

"The clarity and quality are great. Special features include the ability for us to record services to audio disc. We can post them to our website for shut-ins and visitors to our site; and the hand-held wireless Power Sound’s "ihymnal" mp3 player allows me to create music play-lists that I can cue up during services. The technical team was also helpful with fine-tuning and tutorials of our new system. They made sure we were comfortable with its operation and multitude of features. Superb!"               ~Rev. Dr. Norman B. Bendroth

After a comprehensive audio analysis, and review of parish budget guidelines, we designed a custom audio system featuring professional-series BOSE loudspeakers, crafted specifically for the church environment. This unique system offers exceptional sound quality for both the spoken word and the music ministry. Specialty-application speakers were fabricated into light fixtures to supply sound to the loft. Unconventional, yes. Effective, absolutely. 

Project Highlight - Audio recording of worship services
The audio system records worship services directly to audio disc. Ideal for web podcasts  and also for "shut-ins" and anyone who isn't able to attend Services on any given week.

To read about complete AV systems for worship, head over to our new website: powersoundne.com

A Massachusetts Church; Two Phase Audio Visual Systems Renovation

Sound System Renovation and Video Projection at a Nantucket Church

This year one of the especially noteworthy AV system design projects we completed was for a parish on Nantucket Island. The Massachusetts church sound and video projection projects were done in two phases. The Church Sound System phase of the project included new professional-grade electronics, microphones and speakers engineered for optimal sound projection in worship spaces. 

The AV system design: Church sound by the numbers 

What makes great church Audio?

1. High-Performance Equipment combined with Great Design 

As part of a custom church sound system design, speakers are installed for optimal sound clarity and intelligibility. Here the tower-style loudspeakers are installed in the front corners of the nave and in order to offer intelligible sound, were planned to directionally ‘cover’ the nave with clear even sound from front to back.

2. Pro-grade BOSE® loudspeakers  

Designed especially for the worship environment, aesthetically aligned with Church architecture. Extra steps include coloring the speaker casing to perfectly match the wall, wainscoting, columns or railings to which they are affixed.

3. Digital Sound Selector – for each church sound scenario

A digital wall-mount remote controller contains   presets which are customized for different sound settings i.e. Size of Mass attendance, different Music Ministries, Seasonal changes etc. The system performs perfectly for every Mass, every time.

4. Re-purposing older equipment in new church audio visual systems 

The old speakers from the nave were installed in the choir loft. Sometimes equipment needs a good cleaning and tuning and then may be re-installed in an area it is better designed to service. The speakers at this parish were not optimal for sound coverage throughout the nave but were a good choice for church sound projection in loft.

5. Portable Sound for Chapel, Lawn, anywhere 

BOSE quality sound in a discreet 6 ft tall x 4 inch wide speaker. At the Sconset Chapel—which has some strong historical significance related to its aesthetics— hard-wired speakers were not ideal. BOSE® offers a portable version of the church sound system speakers we employ for many AV system designs. The speaker(s) may be used for Mass or set up elsewhere indoors or outside for use as needed.

Fr. Bouchard spoke of his trust in Power Sound- having chosen our company at more than one parish where he has served as pastor. He entrusted PSNE with another Massachusetts Church Audio project when he was pastor at Corpus Christi Parish in East Sandwich. Now at St Mary, Our Lady of the Isle he again entrusted PSNE with a 2-phase AV system design and installation project. When asked what about our company he favored he was quick to reply:

“Always Responsive… You keep proving yourselves!” 

- Rev. Marcel Bouchard

The Project Phase 2: Church Video Projection in the sanctuary.  A Video projection system was designed/installed in the sanctuary several months prior to the church audio system part of the AV renovation. In our next post we’ll share a little about its genesis and how the parish is utilizing the new technology. 

How’s the sound in your church? How about the chapel, classrooms, Sunday school, or nursery? When we ask this of any clergy and staff we often hear your replies that tell us you want and need much better, much more intelligible sound. If you’re nodding along you may want to read more about audio visual systems for worship by visiting our website:  http://powersoundne.com/ worshipav.html