Does Your Staten Island Church Have What It Needs for Distance Services?
As an essential service, the Dara AV team has been available for our customers since the start of the pandemic.
Even before the governor initiated the stay-at-home order, “New York On Pause,” we started scrambling to make sure our house-of-worship clients, specifically, had what they needed to reach their congregations with streaming church services. So many did not have the infrastructure in place or were sorely in need of an audio system upgrade, video cameras for streaming, or improved network infrastructure to live stream or even host a video conference or distance learning session. The systems that had been “good enough” for regular worship services just weren’t cutting it for live streaming.
Finally, people are starting to realize the many benefits of technology to share important messages – whether related to church or school – and to stay connected with each other. It’s something those of us in the audio video industry knew all along. The capabilities have been here for years. While the circumstances are far from ideal, those of us in the position of providing that technology are honored and grateful to be able to do so.
Technology During Quarantine
Had this pandemic occurred 15 years ago, it would look completely different. Social distancing and self-isolation may have been virtually impossible without putting the entire country on total standstill. Yes, the economic effects will be harsh in the months to come, but the fact is, technology has kept our country moving, even though we are nowhere near full speed.
And yet, so many people weren’t ready and didn’t have the technology available for worshipping, working, or teaching and learning remotely.
If there is a bright side to all of this, it’s that most people will come out of the pandemic with new knowledge about what technology can accomplish – and they will no longer be afraid to use that technology.
Grandparents, parents, and children are jumping on video conferences without giving it a second thought. People are starting podcasts. Musicians are presenting live concerts on Facebook. From a professional perspective churches are now relying on a higher level of technology to reach community members. “Good enough” isn’t cutting it anymore. It’s imperative to have the right network infrastructure, high-quality audio, and flexible video to deliver streaming services that make congregation members feel closer to their church.
A Changed Way of Life
Our church customers who called us for necessary upgrades now have the components they need to stream their services with the high-quality audio and video today’s worshippers expect. We were able to install upgraded speakers. We improved acoustics and added processing equipment so priests and pastors could address an empty church and still have it sound crystal clear to online listeners at home. We added pan-tilt-zoom cameras so they could create visually dynamic services from multiple angles.
One customer who called us had the capability to stream live from their chapel, but not from the main sanctuary. It did not “feel” the same – to the church leaders or the worshippers watching at home. They wanted the comfort of seeing the familiar place where they were used to gathering every Sunday. With help from our supply chain partners who were able to deliver equipment, we installed updated audio video systems to the main sanctuary. When the pandemic is contained and shelter-in-place orders have been removed, worshippers will be astounded by the difference in audio quality.
In churches across Staten Island, congregation members can stay home, safely, on Easter Sunday and still worship together, separately, thanks to technology. This is important to so many who find peace and comfort in their religion and their religious traditions.
Does your church have what it needs for remote streaming services? Dara AV is here to make sure you do.