The Ross Video CrossOver video production switcherPRAIRIE VILLAGE, KANSAS
Hillcrest Covenant Church has a large number of ministries and opportunities and we were looking to extend the reach of our message to another congregation in a different geographical location. A multi-site operation is a cost-effective way for a house of worship to expand its congregation instead of making a large investment in a new building.
To help us achieve our goal, we elected to bring in a systems integration firm, Stark Raving Solutions, to help in selecting the best production switcher for our unique application.
HAD TO BE EASY TO OPERATE
As house of worship A/V operations are typically 90 to 95 percent volunteer-based (and volunteers have little or no broadcast production experience), a switcher that's easily to use was a prime consideration in selecting the Ross Video CrossOver unit. This switcher is also budget-friendly and had the input/output capability that we required.
In our application, we record a video file of the service and use a FireWire drive to transport this file to a second venue located several miles away.
The CrossOver is also used for video production in providing video for overflow rooms. Our launch of this new technology took place last February.
Our own volunteer TD's had no production experience, so we needed to bring them up to speed quickly on how to operate a switcher in managing basic cuts between three cameras and in running our graphics system. We've been scaling up the teams and now we have three groups that are at the same level of experience and are able to run a service.
Volunteers can control what goes on the screens in the sanctuary and also what is fed to the recording studio from one easy CrossOver panel. It's very easy to send content to different locations and to be confident in doing so. This was my first experience with Ross Video and I relied on our system integrator's expertise, as we were literally starting from scratch.
SWITCHER COMES WITH LARGE FEATURE SET
The switcher was delivered in a timely manner and was very easy to integrate into our system. The CrossOver offers a variety of features for phenomenal value and has a lot of input/output power for our application.
Our Ross trainer was comfortable and patient in working with our volunteer operators. Ross support has been amazing throughout the entire process.
We've accomplished our goal of having our first off-site service up and running and are now looking into adding another site in the not too distant future.
The CrossOver switcher provides an important tool set that enables small to midsized congregations to effectively use high-definition video to serve their needs. It opens up many possibilities and features an attractive price point for those wanting to create a high quality high-definition video production system. The CrossOver is physically small, but provides large production capabilities and is a perfect fit for Hillcrest's production needs. We can grow with Ross and they've played a key role in Hillcrest's ability to deliver its message.
James A. (Sandy) Thailing is director of media technology for Hillcrest Covenant Church. He may be contacted atsandytl@mac.com.
For additional information, contact Ross Video at 613-652-4886 or visitwww.rossvideo.com.
