For the capturing of our Saturday service message we are using a Canon XL H1 camera, which is mounted on the ceiling. The mounting does involve an adjustment option so we can modify the camera height for different speakers. The XL H1 may also be adjusted using Canon Console, which is Windows-based software that allows you to control the functions of the camera remotely via Firewire. The XL H1 camera has a HD-SDI output that delivers an uncompressed HD signal.

The video from the XL H1 is captured via a Mac Pro with a Blackmagic Design Decklink Extreme HD Capture Card. We capture live into Final Cut Pro using the DVCPRO HD codec. The audio send is sent to a separate sound board, mixed down and recorded to the video track via the XLR inputs on the Decklink cards.

After editing, the final file is exported and transferred to multiple hard drives (RAID0 and eSata) that go to each of our locations for Sunday morning services. We are using ProPresenter for presentation of all media. The software allows for easy point-and-click operation of all media elements, which are played from the external hard drive.

Each location has Mac G5 or Mac Pro equipped with Blackmagic Decklink HD Extreme cards. These cards have a component output that we connect to our projectors. The machines are all rack mounted in individual carts that allow for easy portability, set up, and tear down. Our projectors are Panasonic PT-D7700U (7,000 Lumen 1400×1050)

For all of our off-site videos we use two Panasonic AGHVX-200 cameras which record to Firestore FS-100 external hard drives or P2 cards, which allows us to avoid the use of tapes.

Technorati Tags: HD, DVCPRO HD, Canon XL H1, Panasonic, HVX-200, Blackmagic Design