Updating Stake center A/V system

[rpdude]

Looking for an A/V company that is the subcontractor for the church that helps in the construction or renovation of chapels and stake centers.
Like many wards, for the past 2 years we have conducted both live and virtual services via zoom to our members with the use of a web cam and audio
at the pulpit filtered through the churches sound system.
Although the video has worked out fine. The audio quality has suffered even with the purchase of a mixer and changes in numerous
microphones. Some of our members use the closed caption feature and it's a joke what is being captioned.
So we decided to up our game and get a good PTZ camera (20-30x zoom) which will be mounted in the back of the chapel.
Our biggest concerns are:
1. Which camera to purchase.
2. How to maneuver the camera to locations on the stage. Is it via computer or joy stick controller.
3. How to solve the menacing audio problem. Do we have two different audios? The existing system for members in attendance and
a second tied to the camera and or laptop via internet.
and 4. How do we tie this all together. Is the software the glue that will make this all work correctly?
I'm done guessing at a solution and hoping for some professional help.
Thanks

[davesudweeks]

Just as a suggestion, you might see better results if you ask your Stake President to apply a little friendly pressure to the FM group to coordinate with you and come up with a workable solution. They own the building (not your ward) and you would be disappointed if you installed hardware only to find they removed it (without telling anyone) when they discovered it. It has happened, as I understand...

[russellhltn]

I'd also keep in mind that pandemic webcasting is coming to a end. While you may still need to webcast to shut-ins, the audience size is likely to shrink dramatically.

In terms of webcasting, it seems the simplest/cheapest is to go with a webcam or cell phone on the podium. Anything else quickly escalates in cost and effort. Not just in initial setup, but the effort needed for each webcast. The latter will be important for sustainability.

[Mikerowaved]

The audio quality has suffered even with the purchase of a mixer and changes in numerous
microphones. Some of our members use the closed caption feature and it's a joke what is being captioned.

Your audio problem might not be with your sound system, but rather with Zoom itself. Run some tests using other services, such as, Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Google Meet, or even Skype. In my experience, Zoom scored pretty low in audio quality compared to other streaming services. Some have been able to improve the audio somewhat with settings within the Zoom app, such as, disabling any sound processing.

So we decided to up our game and get a good PTZ camera (20-30x zoom) which will be mounted in the back of the chapel.
Our biggest concerns are:
1. Which camera to purchase.
2. How to maneuver the camera to locations on the stage. Is it via computer or joy stick controller.
3. How to solve the menacing audio problem. Do we have two different audios? The existing system for members in attendance and
a second tied to the camera and or laptop via internet.
and 4. How do we tie this all together. Is the software the glue that will make this all work correctly?
I'm done guessing at a solution and hoping for some professional help.
Thanks

I'll skip right to your question 3 and let you know that a PTZ camera will only provide video. All audio must either come from the chapel sound system (preferred), or a second microphone near the speaker, such as one that's strapped to the existing microphone with tie wraps or Velcro straps.

Our stake center received the whole audio/video upgrade from the FM contractors, and after seeing all that was involved, I wouldn't attempt even a portion of it without having the FM group fully on board. (And I'm a retired electronic engineer that's used to doing things on my own.) Besides safety features and adhering to local building codes, there's also very specific requirements laid out to the FM managers that you or I wouldn't normally know about, like the strict height window that a wall mounted camera must stay within.

The church is upgrading stake center A/V systems as quickly as budgets allow, so it's probably just a matter of time before yours is put on the short list.

[danpass]

Besides safety features and adhering to local building codes, there's also very specific requirements laid out to the FM managers that you or I wouldn't normally know about, like the strict height window that a wall mounted camera must stay within.

Does anyone know what that height window is?

[Mikerowaved]

Besides safety features and adhering to local building codes, there's also very specific requirements laid out to the FM managers that you or I wouldn't normally know about, like the strict height window that a wall mounted camera must stay within.

Does anyone know what that height window is?

It's my understanding it has to do with the camera's view over the modesty panel for those sitting on the stand. Your FM manager should have the specific guidelines.

[johnshaw]

Log tickets, then log more tickets, and keep logging tickets until you get what you need. Frankly, no conversation from an SP with the FM or with the HC over facilities is going to move anything along more than logging tickets about the things you need, and then ensuring they deliver what you need. This is the only way to have a paper trail that can be used to escalate issues and have the SP engage with FM once they prove incompetence (you'll likely get a bit of that, sometimes they get into a 'check off a box' kinda service delivery. In two different stakes my FM learned to just have the AV company call me and arrange a time we could both be at the church to ensure they understand exactly what I was looking for.