In the earliest stages of the pandemic, we wrote about retrofitting church video systems and church audio for streaming worship services to keep people connected to their faith during quarantine.

Now, as New York and New Jersey begin re-opening in stages, churches may want to look at their technology systems to determine if they can provide a seamless audio and visual experience with social distancing in place.

As of early June, New York eased restrictions on worship spaces as part of Phase 2 re-opening in the pandemic. Churches, temples, and other houses of worship can now hold up to 25% capacity for services.

An upgrade or even a few slight, affordable changes in your church video systems and audio equipment or tuning can help you maximize the space in your church and make everyone feel like a part of the worship experience.

Check Screen Placement and Sizes for More Engaging Visuals

If you have worshippers sitting further away from the pulpit to meet social distancing requirements, are the screens at the front of your church large enough?

If you haven’t filled your church sanctuary or auditorium to capacity in the past, smaller screens may have worked. But if you’re suddenly filling every pew, make sure everyone has a clear line-of-sight to the screens – and that your screens are big enough to see even from the back row.

Two-piece projection systems should be bright enough to view in high ambient light conditions and visible from every angle. At Dara AV, we recommend laser projectors (budget permitting). These church video systems offer:

More lumens for the money
Less maintenance
Overall lower cost of maintenance with no bulbs to change

A high-quality projection screen can also make the difference for a better church video experience.

Tune Church Audio Systems to Sound Better with Fewer People

You probably know that the acoustics of your church changes dramatically when the sanctuary is sitting empty before service or is fully packed for Sunday mass. The people in the pews provide sound absorption that reduces echoes, making spoken word easier to understand.

As your church AV installer, Dara AV tunes your church audio systems to accommodate a typical service, whether you usually fill every seat or not. Leaving six feet between congregation members in different families can change the dynamics of how sound moves through the worship space. Your church audio system might need some fine tuning, and maybe the addition of digital signal processing (DSP) or even added acoustical treatments to get the best experience at 25% capacity.

If your audio system isn’t performing as it was before the pandemic, let the Dara AV team have a listen. We may be able to help with a simple, cost-effective solution that doesn’t require a whole new church AV installation.

Consider Adding a Chapel or Overflow Space to Hold More Worshippers

Many New Yorkers continue to self-quarantine by choice. But others find attending church to be as much of a necessity as a trip to the barber or hair salon. You don’t want to turn congregation members away just as we’re starting to return to normal.

Think about the other spaces in your church and where you could fit additional worshippers. Perhaps you have a:

Lobby
Narthex
Chapel
Basement or hall where you hold catered events and parties
Daycare that isn’t being used
Classroom

With the addition of church audio and video systems, you can convert any of these spaces into an overflow to hold additional worshippers while maintaining your 25% total capacity. If you have a 1,000-seat sanctuary, you can accommodate 250 worshippers. But if you also have a meeting space with room for an extra 200, that’s 50 more people who can attend your live services rather than joining virtually.

You can retrofit church AV systems for an overflow space with as little as a few cameras, LED screens, and a small church sound system. If you’re already doing live-streaming, you probably already have the cameras in place.

Consider these options to expand your worship space and you’ll be ready for growth and expansion after the pandemic ends.

You can also provide a better technology experience to church members who rent out your basement or catering hall for events. You could run a wedding slide show for a bride or photos of the departed after a funeral, creating a gathering that’s closer to what people expect at a higher end catering venue.

At Dara AV, We’ll Never Sell You What You Don’t Need

Is your church set to run services at 25% or 50% capacity? An audio video system upgrade might be more affordable than you can imagine. Maybe your technology systems only need some fine-tuning.

At Dara AV, we can make sure the audio and video systems in your church are set to go the distance. Give us a call to chat about your options.