South Africa’s Moreleta Church has one of the largest auditoriums in the country with over 7,000 seats for the congregation. The church welcomes both in-person and online worshippers every weekend with the help of a reinvented video infrastructure from Stage Audio Works.
“We had been talking to the client for several months about upgrading their current video system,” said Stage Audio Works’ Lee Thomson. “They were considering an overall video upgrade for center, left and right screens, so the first phase of the project included two new side screens, two cameras and a new video-switching solution.”
[Historic Chapel, Modern Sound]
Moreleta Church opens its doors twice every Sunday at 9 a.m. and then at 5 p.m. Additionally, the church also hosts dozens of external events across the calendar year, so having a video system that was flexible enough to support and adapt to these needs was extremely important. Stage Audio Works relied on a LED screen solution from Pixel Plus that was supported by Blackmagic Design cameras for the mixture of events.
“The new solution is ideal for both Moreleta’s in-person and streamed events. The church has almost 9,000 subscribers on YouTube, and the Blackmagic Design cameras ensure that all the action is captured clearly. The Pixel Plus screen helps with this inside the auditorium too, especially with the custom size that made it possible to fit the screen directly into the space of the previous system,” furthers Thomson.
The video solution comprises 1,360 Pixel Plus P4 LED modules set in a custom frame. Video control comes from an all-in-one Novastar VX1000 controller that integrates video processing and video controlling in one device.
Stage Audio Works also installed two of Blackmagic Design’s self-contained Studio Cameras. These compact and portable products have been designed for live production and have all the benefits of large studio cameras, so were an obvious choice for live streaming at Moreleta. Blackmagic Design Mini Converters handle the video signals and two Stage Plus Power Cubes ensure that power distribution is seamless through D-Curve circuit breakers specifically designed for LED screens.
“All audio communications are handled through a Hollyland Solidcom M1 system, a wireless intercom solution offering full-duplex functionality,” noted Thomson. “We chose Hollyland because of their commitment to high-quality audio, and the solution is easy to use. It supports numerous calls with one main station and up to eight belt packs, which results in a much smoother user experience.”
“Our new video installation has allowed us to carry on serving as an inclusive, welcoming church for worshippers,” concluded Estian Els at Moreleta Church. “Our video content is now at a very high quality, which makes our content more digestible and accessible for those not there physically. We really enjoyed working with Stage Audio Works, it was a seamless project that has really upgraded what we can offer at Moreleta.”
