As chairman of Monticello Baptist Church’s TV and Sound Committee, Rusty O’Neal knew it was time to take the house of worship’s video productions into the future by adding high-definition capabilities. This meant he’d need to upgrade his gear―most especially his cameras. Working with local AV integrator Delta Electronics, O’Neal sought production cameras with great image quality and accessibility that also remained within the church’s budget. A longtime user of JVC Professional Video solutions, O’Neal ultimately selected the brand’s GY-HC500U CONNECTED CAM production cameras.
Monticello Baptist Church has been utilizing JVC cameras since 1989. With the latest upgrade, the tech team now has six GY-HC500U cameras located throughout the sanctuary. Three are mounted on the balcony and operated by volunteers of the church, and one is located on the floor on a rolling tripod, also manned by a volunteer. The remaining two are stationary: one mounted under the balcony, providing a front shot, while the other is in the control room pointed towards the stage for a wide-angle shot. “These cameras really are the best option for churches,” says O’Neal. “The features ensure that we have high-definition, broadcast-quality video production in an easy-to-use format, while the price point helps us stay within our budgets, even with the addition of so many cameras.”
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Aside from wanting to upgrade its production capabilities to high definition, the tech team also needed a solution that was easy-to-use, as a majority of the cameras are operated by volunteers of the church. To address this, the church’s production team relies on the cameras’ built-in IP control features, especially for the remote zoom and camera setting adjustment capability.
“Our broadcast crew is all volunteers, so the more automation we can have, the better,” continued O’Neal. “Given the types of productions we do, one of the standout features is the ‘remote zoom’ functionality. Since we wanted to move to HD, the quality of the zoom is a pretty big deal here. The way that JVC has designed these cameras is also neat because the person who’s switching video can zoom in and out from a computer all the way up in the control room―and change all the parameters of all the cameras, if needed. Normally, we don’t have to change anything, but it’s nice that just one person can do it. This way, we can have the more skilled person doing the finer parts of video production, while our crew focuses on capturing the right shots.”
Using the new GY-HC500U cameras, the church broadcasts its services regularly to YouTube and Facebook, as well as to the church’s website, monticellobaptist.com. According to O’Neal, Monticello Baptist Church and its congregates have been especially pleased with the latest upgrades to the cameras. “We’ve been very satisfied; the cameras have been great and are really a big improvement for us,” he added. “Our volunteers have been able to adapt to the upgrades with ease because of the automatic features and we have had no complaints or issues. We didn’t think we could come up with the funding to buy new cameras, but JVC cameras are affordable and made it possible for us to deliver on this project―and we’re very happy with the results.”
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As a provider of professional audio and video equipment and services, Delta Electronics, Inc. has been a dependable source for Monticello Baptist Church for decades. According to O’Neal, the church “has always relied heavily on their recommendations,” which included the original suggestion of JVC products, as well as the latest GY-HC500U cameras. In addition to spec’ing the gear, Delta also assists the church with setup and troubleshooting, which is now streamlined thanks to the remote production features of the new equipment.
