Livestream Install – Johnstone High Parish Church

Our first installation to be completed in 2022 was an installation of a 3-camera livestreaming system for Johnstone High Parish Church.

The main design goals for this system was to ensure the system is simple and easy to use, whilst covering all areas of the chancel, pulpit and downstairs areas as possible. To manage this, we installed 2 PTZ controllable cameras under the balcony and a single static camera pointing at the chancel & pulpit. this gives the operator multiple options for cameras when streaming, and the ability to change view as required.

For Sound, we connected to the church’s existing sound system. By doing this, their was no required operational change, and sound operators can continue operating as normal.

One challange presented in this church was the lack of an internet connection. With the church having no phone line, and adding one proving to be expensive and not practical, we installed a 4G based router, which connects to the internet via a cellular service, allowing for a steady internet connection for streaming and light internet browsing. We’ve found at times our 4G based internet connection to be stronger than telephone line based internet!

Thanks to the team at Johnstone Church, Willie, Ann and Greig! Their livestream can be found on their YouTube channel here

Read more

Production Services – Show Week @ Renfrew North

What has now become a staple in our production calendar, our regular ‘show week’ kicked off this year with two performances. The first was A Christmas Tale by Paisley Players and The Wizard of Oz by Jazz Hands Productions.

Both of these performances benefited from our new increased capacity for events at Renfrew North, with a full coverage PA system and over 70 lights (with a capacity for more!).

It was great to see live theatre return to Renfrew, and we look forward to more in the future!

Read more

Livestream Install – Kilbarchan Parish Church

We recently completed another livestream install, this time at Kilbarchan Parish Church.

We installed two Pan-Tilt-Zoom Cameras, along with an ATEM mini vision mixer and stream controller. This provides a simple system for livestreaming that is quick and easy to learn. We also included a PTZ controller, allowing for fine control of each camera and the ability to save and recall presets.

As part of the installation, we relocated the sound desk and other control equipment to the back of the church, to provide more space for the operator. As part of this, we ran additional cabling for sound, vision and antenna distribution for radio microphones. This allows for full radio microphone coverage and keeping the receivers neatly in the sound equipment rack.

A Big thank you to Malcolm, Alasdair, Alan and the team at Kilbarchan! You can find their online worship on their YouTube channel here.

Read more

Install – Laggan, Newtonmore & Kingussie Parish Churches

By far our most remote job to date, we recently completed an install of Audio / Video Systems in Laggan, Newtonmore and Kingussie Parish Churches.

This was no easy feat as most of the planning had to be done remotley due to the travel restrictions still in place when they first reached out to us. Thankfully, Ian (Our main point of contact for the 3 churches) was happy to provide plenty of pictures of the existing systems at each church and even some diagrams so that we could get a good feel for how the current systems were set up, even though we couldn’t see them for ourselves.

Armed with this wealth of information, we set out to design bespoke, yet similar systems for each church. Our aim was to ensure that each of the 3 churchs had a system that would meet their current needs while still leaving some room for future expansion, but that were also similar enough to allow the system operators to move from church to church without having to learn 3 completly seperate systems.

We opted to go with 100v Column Speaker systems from Adastra as these provided the best balance of features, including plenty of inputs of various types (including Bluetooth!) and and ease of use.

A few weeks after we finished the install, we recieved this lovely message:

Thank you so much for the amazing transformation you have brought about in our churches. It is a lovely feeling to go to church and know that the sound is going to work. To quote the person who has looked after the Newtonmore system for the past 12 years – “I could weep with Joy, Everything just works as it is supposed to!”

We are also looking forward to exploring how our new tech can be used in church services and also in community events. So many possibilites ahead of us.

We also really appreciate the friendly, patient and enthusiastic way you carried out all the work, which i know was not without its challenges.

Great work,
Thank you

Alison Armstrong, on behalf of Laggan and Newtonmore Parish Church, Linked with Kingussie

Read more

Production Services – Paisley Abbey

As part of our ongoing support to Paisley Abbey, we were asked to provide Sound, Lighting and Video Livestreaming for the induction of Rev Elsbeth McKay. This involved a large amount of planning, as well as a full production team.

In order to provide full sound coverage to the abbey, 14 speakers were strategically installed, along with additional boundary and radio microphones for the service and the choir.

For lighting, we provided a full broadcast set of lighting to complement the livestream. Along with this, we provided a full uplighting kit for all parts of the abbey, fully controlled from our MQ40 digital lighting desk.

Our livestream component consisted of 3 cameras, with two remotely controlled PTZ functioning as primary cameras. With each camera fitted with a 30x optical zoom, these made shots easy to focus. We also provided a manual camera, for those tricky to operate shots.

To compliment the livestream, we provided a robust on-site network, providing wired and wireless access to our equipment and users of the abbey. With the system designed to failover, should the site internet connection drop. This provides an extra level of robustness to any livestream.

You can watch the full service on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRIdx_0zsms

Read more

Production Services – The Grand Central Band

As part of Renfrew North’s program of fundraising efforts, we were asked to provide Sound & Lighting support to the Grand Central Band.

This involved a large amount of our LED stock, as well as a mix of generic filters to create the desired effect. We also utilised our flown d&b E3 rig, allowing more hall floor space and no speaker stands.

A big thank you to Pat & Karen for your support and a great evening!

Read more

Livestream Install – Eaglesham Parish Church

We were contacted at the beginning of May 2021 by Eaglesham Parish Church to provide a quote for the installation of a new live streaming system.

Following a consultation session with them on site to get a better picture of their existing system and what they were looking for in terms of live streaming, we worked closely with them to design a simple and easy to use, yet powerful live streaming system. We were given the go ahead to install at the beginning of August 2021 and Eaglesham Live streamed its first service on Sunday the 29th of August 2021.

For the Primary Camera, we installed a High quality PTZ Camera on the center of the underside of the balcony in order to give a clear view of the chancel, pulpit and a large part of the front of the congregation. We then integrated an existing camera already mounted on the ceiling of the sanctuary to maintain the view of their Organ and Choir which is located on the balcony at the back of the sanctuary.

For control, we installed a Black Magic ATEM Mini Extreme. This powerful unit handles mixing the video streams for the cameras and a laptop into a single feed that is broadcast live over the web to Youtube and also fed to their internal screens and projector. It can also record the stream to a portable hard drive to be uploaded separately later to provide protection against network outages.

Read more

Online Services – Paisley Abbey​

We provided Paisley Abbey with a new website, email system and IT infrastructure as part of a new technology upgrade. An upgraded website allows the abbey to communicate better to their congregation and stand out on the web, using up-to-date software. The advantage of a new email and IT system has resulted in greater flexibility for the abbey staff, with access available on mobile or at home. By taking advantage of grants available for non-profit organisations, this has also resulted in a dramatic cost reduction.

The new Abbey website is available to view at www.paisleyabbey.org.uk

Read more

Managed WiFi – Inchinnan Parish Church​

RNTS installed a managed WiFi system in Inchinnan Parish Church. This system consists of 4 wireless access points, and wired network points for their AV desk. This system allows the church to offer WiFi as a service to all users of the space in a safe and secure way, with WiFi coverage throughout the church sanctuary and halls.

The system is remotely managed and monitored by our systems team which allows us to diagnose and fix issues or make changes to the configuration without requiring a callout!

Recently we had our Wi-Fi/ network installed and upgraded in our sanctuary and halls by RNTS. The work was carried out efficiently, on time as arranged and now works perfectly here at our church in Inchinnan. Greig and James were very helpful with advice and service. Great Job!
Mairi & Elizabeth
Session Clerks, Inchinnan Parish Church
Read more