Connection is the heartbeat of any strong community, and with live streaming becoming more accessible in the modern era, it’s much easier for faith-based organisations to create that feeling. They can interact with audiences 24/7 across the globe via high quality live streaming.
Dayalbagh, a colony founded by the Radhasoami Faith in India, is one such group sharing its insights, worship, and activities with followers worldwide via live streams of impressive quality and scale. Systems integrator Sun Broadcast built an UltraHD multimedia production van to support these streams, with AJA gear central to the design.
A self-sustaining spiritual and educational organisation headquartered in Agra, India, Dayalbagh also runs centres in over 90 other countries. Its five-acre campus is home to a farm, an educational institute, a hospital, businesses, and housing. To ensure followers in other countries feel connected to the community, Dayalbagh live streams many of its classes, worship services, and activities. Followers at these centers can log into an app to access and participate remotely in these live streams.
When Dayalbagh began plans to update its live stream workflow, it looked to Sun Broadcast to build a rugged multimedia van. It wanted a vehicle that could not only withstand the elements but also support UltraHD streaming and recording today. Given the outdoor nature of many of its productions, Sun Broadcast knew that a solar-powered uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in the van and point-to-point internet connectivity were the right path.
This approach enabled Dayalbagh to use one big point-to-point antenna near the van that connects to their main building’s internet. They could then stream content from the van to different centres in geographies like PAN India, Europe, and the US.
Dayalbagh requested an UltraHD format-based multi-camera setup with full switching, graphics, streaming, and recording capabilities. They also wanted to be able to integrate live feeds from virtual meetings across centres into production. Listening carefully to their needs, Sun Broadcast envisioned an UltraHD workflow built using AJA Kumo 1616-12G SDI routers, Ki Pro Ultra 12G recorders, Mini-Converters, and Kona 5 I/O cards, among other equipment.
Sun Broadcast VP Sanjay Chaudhary explained: “They now love how they can easily route multiple signals wherever they need to across campus, whether to a team member for QC, audiences in an auditorium, a laptop, or another destination. As for the converters and capture cards, we went with AJA gear to ensure stability. AJA technology is built to last, so you get a lot of value out of your investment in the long run.”
Though Dayalbagh initially planned to leverage the built-in recording capabilities of its live video production suite, it ultimately opted for external recorders that would provide the quality needed today and in the future.
Chaudhary added: “We decided to go with Ki Pro Ultra 12G to give Dayalbagh the ability to record four channels of HD now, and a single channel of UltraHD; it's futureproof. And since the van is always outside, if there is a fluctuation in power, Ki Pro Ultra 12G ensures they won’t lose their content because they have the security of KiProtect.”
A customised Tata Motors Winger van houses all the standard production control room equipment, a near-full 12G-SDI setup. ENG cameras, wireless microphones, and antennas are built into the van so that Dayalbagh can capture live event coverage; cooling, ventilation, and lighting are also integrated. On the outside of the van is an external, weatherproof access port that lets Dayalbagh connect cameras, wireless and wired microphones, external speakers, and internet to the production control rack that sits in the van.
Inside, a mixing console, live video production suite, router, recorder, and other equipment reside. During streams, audio and video sources are fed through that access port to the on-board rack, which includes a mixing console, live video production suite, Kumo 1616-12G router, and Ki Pro Ultra 12G recorder. From the router, the team feeds the sources they want to leverage to their live video production suite for switching as well as to the Ki Pro Ultra 12G for ISO recording.
An output from the live video production suite may also be distributed to a web meeting, hosted on a laptop inside the van. To utilise the laptop in an SDI-based broadcast workflow, Sun Broadcast advised the organization to use HDMI to 12G SDI to USB converters and a Kumo router to flexibly route all connected laptops to the desired destination.
Most day-to-day operations are recorded and streamed in the HD 1080 format, with special events often recorded and streamed in an UltraHD format. These recordings are shared with an in-house postproduction team to create a final master for archiving.
Chaudhary noted: “Deploying this workflow in such confined space presented design and equipment selection challenges. But we spent time listening to and understanding our client’s requirements and providing in-depth training on all aspects of the workflow. That work paid off, with the client appreciating the quality of the live streams they’re able to produce, and how we anticipated things they’d need without them even telling; the collaboration of AJA and ARK (AJA’s India distributor) also helped contribute to the success of this project.”
Chaudhary foresees demand for Sun Broadcast’s services continuing to grow across houses of worship, broadcast, and education. As it does, the integrator will continue to focus on delivering installations that meet the unique needs of new and returning clients.
He said: “Our aim moving forward is to keep collaborating with clients to understand their challenges, formulate plans to solve them, and then deliver on our commitments, with a focus on total solutions, not just products. It’s an ethos that has helped ensure that over 70% of our business includes repeat clients. We continue to use AJA gear, because it serves that goal, providing unparalleled reliability that makes clients happy.”