[Jim Brown]

Glad to hear you are rethinking the camera choice. I just did not think that zoom would work out You might also look at the new JVC PTZ and controller. We are a JVC Pro dealer and think very highly of them right now, particularly the controller. Let me know if you would like further info. The Panasonic HE130 you are looking at is a solid performer.

Recording at full color depth ProRes generates a massive bit stream and file sizes you may not use or need in your edit process. We use the Panasonic HMR10 deck which records AVCHD format. Gives you over 3 hours on a 32Gb card. Unfortunately, that deck has ben discontinued by Panasonic although you may still be able to purchase them. Looking for a replacement from Panasonic as it was a very popular item. We have provided dozens to churches. The Black Magic recorders produce pristine results, but the file sizes create long copy times and processing time in PremierPro.

You did not mention your timeline, but there should be some exciting announcements at NAB in April. Expect some action with regard to H.265 codecs that will impact storage and broadcast requirements.

Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA

[Jim Brown]

You may want to rethink your camera selection. I would use SDI instead of HDMI as you can run it more reliably for greater distances and it will not come unplugged as you are moving around with one of the cameras. The camera you suggested will only do HDMI.

Jeff makes an excellent suggestion. Just get the SDI model.

Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA

[Jim Brown]

Stephen, congratulations on the approval for your new system.

Just couple of comments and suggestions.

We have done a number of these installations with the Sony Z700 cameras. No experience with the Sony BRC-X1000, but I would ask your vendor for a demo before I bought. Here are the reasons:

1. Low light level performance. The Z700 can struggle with low light and it is a 3 chip camera. You are proposing a single chip with minimum illumination of 1.7lux which is a good spec. Try it in your own venue. Also, it has only a 12x zoom. Is that sufficient to reach your pulpit area from typically the rear of the sanctuary. We typically use a 20x up to a 30x for that shot. Try it in your venue and see if you can get an acceptable head shot.
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2. Pan resolution. Some PTZ cameras we have use struggle with a fully zoomed image that you are trying to pan, as in a panned back row of the choir shot or a speaker who is moving back and forth on the stage. The pan is very jerky. Also, does the camera support simultaneous axis movement. Can you pan and tilt at the same time or trace a path. This is very important from one stored preset to another. All of the Sony’s we have used only do one axis at a time, but we have not used this latest one. I know Panasonics support this as well as the new JVC.

3. When we have installed more than 2 PTZ cameras we are typically asked back to provide a second controller. This allows the blending of two cameras that are in motion. (i.e. fade from pan shot to push). A question for your vendor (Sony and Vaddio) is, “Can I connect more than one controller at a time?” even if you plan to start with one.

4. With regards to your Black Magic ATEM, I would suggest a control panel with 5 cameras. We do that quite often from the PC or touchscreen, but I strongly prefer a control panel if doing effects and overlays. If current budget does not support then consider it in the future. I think it would be much easier with volunteers. You mentioned your background is with audio. With the new generations of mixers you can control faders on an iPad. While handy, it could be quite limiting to doing an entire program with it.

5. With Power over Ethernet you will need an Ethernet switch with appropriate size Power injector. 5 cameras is a lot of power so I would pay attention to this to make certain it is appropriately sized.

6. Have you thought about graphics in the system? lower thirds, lyrics, scripture. How will you be interfacing to your lyrics system?

7. Recording. An hour long program will consume a 64GB SD card. Will your edit system accommodate such file sizes? The quality is pristine, however these files become huuuuge! Although we are a BMD dealer, sometimes we suggest alternative recorders with with more efficient codecs if the destination is for TV.

All that being said I strongly encourage you to enlist the assistance of a seasoned integrator.

I know that is more than a couple of thoughts.
My $.02 worth

Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA

[Jim Brown]

Forgot about the little converter having composite on it. That should do it just fine. He will need adapters for cabling and that should do it.

Thanks Jeff

Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA

[Jim Brown]

You have a couple of issues here. Your SDI or HDMI outputs out of the switcher ia high definition only. The RCA inputs on your dvd are SD (standard definition) only. These two will not speak to each other without external conversion.

The easiest way is to get an HDMI to SD downconverter that has the necessary connectors to allow you to do this. I have used the Blackmagic Design Mini Converter UpDownCross Converter to do this. You have to adapt the cables to RCA style to get the audio in.

The second issue is that by definition DVD is not HD in terms of quality so expect a downgrade. You cannot buy a DVD recorder that will accept digital inputs directly (SDI or HDMI) due to HDCP (content Protection). The only way to record a blue ray disc in original HD resolution is through a computer generated DVD.

Hope this helps.

Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA
Oak Ridge, TN

[Jim Brown]

It is a shame you don’t have access to a Mac. iPhoto has a slideshow builder that is easy, fast, and exports to .mov. Has several templates including Ken Burns effects that work very well in such a situation. If I had a file of 200 .jpgs I could generate a slide show with background music in less than 5 minutes.

My $.02 worth
Jim

[Jim Brown]

Take a look at ProPresenter from RenewedVision. I do not know what the best codec is, but we do this quite often with ProPresenter.

Regards

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA

[Jim Brown]

We see this problem quite often. The Mac is not outputting a “TV” signal that the KiPro is looking for. In you Mac go to Preferences, Display, and then do the hidden key sequence that Apple does not tell you about.

“Hold down Alt when click the ‘Scaled’ button when choosing resolutions…” You will then be able to select 1080i, 720p, to 480i and other video resolutions.

Hope this helps

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA

[Jim Brown]

What kind of switcher are you using? Should be quite straightforward. Take a look at Pro Presenter. Very easily done with it.

Jim Brown
M&M Productions USA

[Jim Brown]

Take a look at Pro Presenter from Renewed Vision. While designed for churches we use it extensively in corporate work. Very solid product and very reasonable.

Jim Brown
M&M ProductionsUSA