Life Church in Auckland, New Zealand has selected Clear-Com communication for its AV production setup which provides the church’s congregation with coverage of services, worship-based concerts and conferences. Clear-Com’s authorised partner, Gencom Technology, supplied and installed the system.
Riki Willis, production project coordinator at Life, said: “The new facility is set up as a typical live production environment, including a vision control room and auditorium FOH. We needed multiple channels of simultaneous communication to support the various job functions, from technical directors and video producers to lighting operators and stage management crew, so a matrix was deemed necessary. We also wanted to be able to live-link audio and video to and from our two other Auckland-based campuses.”
Having evaluated and priced the major market competitors, the Life team chose Clear-Com for a number of reasons, as Willis explains: “I tested the competitors’ latest generation wireless system against FreeSpeak II and felt that FreeSpeak II’s audio quality and noise floor were far superior. We also already owned some Clear-Com LQ units and partyline equipment, so there was compatibility with existing kit, and there is also more knowledge of the Clear-Com product line in New Zealand, which is helpful when we are hiring or welcoming external teams to the facility.”
The Clear-Com installation includes an Eclipse HX-Delta matrix frame with E-IPA cards, with FreeSpeak II IP-enabled transceivers and beltpacks, V-series Irisä intercom panels and LQ series IP interfaces.
The system enables much more granular and direct communications and more focused partylines. The multi-channel, fully integrated wireless system has also provided flexibility and greater functionality.
Willis says: “Previously, almost all communications were heard by all parties, which can be distracting to those not affected by the conversation and who need to focus on what is happening in the moment. This meant that sometimes the team would communicate less than needed to avoid creating distractions. The possibility we now have for multiple groups/partylines is very useful, along with the ability for easy direct conversations, station to station.”