It seems that larger, multi-campus churches are the focus of most Church Production profiles, perhaps because very large churches – with equivalent budgets – are early adopters of new technologies. But we mustn’t forget that small- to mid-size churches are the bedrock of our faith in North America: about 90% of Christians worship in single-location congregations with weekly attendance of less than 1,000. Why shouldn’t these churches also benefit from advancements in AV for worship?
“Hundreds of manufacturers are now making gear compatible with the Dante networking protocol, which means virtually any form of analog or digital audio can interface directly into a Dante network.” Ted White, Global Marketing Manager, Focusrite Pro
Fortunately, when it comes to leapfrogging into the future of worship audio, the benefits of audio-over-IP are affordable for nearly all churches, starting today. In fact, further delays in putting audio on the network would likely lead to higher costs in future upgrades for smaller but growing churches.
Analog Baseline
If you serve in one of these smaller churches, we’ll assume you still have an analog “backbone” for your audio infrastructure. In other words, even if you’ve already replaced an old analog board with a newer digital one, your input/output remains analog, and all other audio infrastructure on campus – remote rooms, recording equipment, stage monitoring systems – are connected via analog.
That’s fine if this fading technology still meets your current and anticipated needs. But when it comes time to expand and upgrade audio facilities, the only sensible course is audio networking. Why?
- You’ll benefit from dramatically lower long-term costs. Costs per channel of I/O will plummet when compared to analog snakes, as both wiring and installation are cheaper. One skinny Cat-6 cable can carry hundreds of high-quality audio channels.
- You’ll gain reliability. No more worries about grounding issues or EMI/RFI interference.
- You’ll gain flexibility, with more options for reconfiguring your I/O as needs change.
- You’ll gain control, with many hardware options supplied with free software for configuring and monitoring your networked audio devices.
“You are really future-proofing your audio infrastructure by moving to networking,” says Ted White, global marketing manager for Focusrite Pro, a leading maker of networked audio systems. ““Hundreds of manufacturers are now making gear compatible with the Dante networking protocol, which means virtually any form of analog or digital audio can interface directly into a Dante network.”
What’s more, this new technology is GenX- and Millennial-friendly. “Younger church techs these days are more likely to have configured a home network than have ever hooked up a home stereo system,” notes White.
The Two Basics
All current audio-over-IP networks require Gigabit Ethernet, and that means Cat-5e cable as a minimum, preferably Cat-6. In bulk, the cost is less than 50 cents a foot. There’s a good chance that if your church was built and wired in the last 10 years, you already have Cat-6 installed and accessible throughout the campus.
There’s a good chance that if your church was built and wired in the last 10 years, you already have Cat-6 installed and accessible throughout the campus.
The other basic component is your Ethernet switch. Dante networking works with nearly all managed (configurable) network switches, with basic 8-port models available under $75 and the “touring standard” 10-port switches around $200.
Clearly, it’s not exorbitantly expensive to transition into an audio network. But is there a risk?
Dante Dominance
“Even five years ago you could argue there was too much confusion in networking protocols, with none clearly dominant,” notes Focusrite’s White. “But now Audinate’s Dante protocol has emerged as a proven, dominant standard with more than 1,500 Dante-enabled products from over 400 manufacturers. And because Dante is AES67 compliant, that means it can be configured to exchange audio data with systems using other protocols, such as Q-SYS and Ravenna. So the risk of early obsolescence is virtually zero.”
... because Dante is AES67 compliant, that means it can be configured to exchange audio data with systems using other protocols, such as Q-SYS and Ravenna. So the risk of early obsolescence is virtually zero.
Leading pro audio manufacturers are recognizing this reality and making Dante the internal backbone of their systems. The most common example, of course, is connecting the FOH console to the stage box. What once required a fat multicore snake can now be accomplished with a slender Cat-6 cable capable of carrying hundreds of channels.
But what about other networking options, both within the worship auditorium and elsewhere on campus?
Mix-and-Match Modular Systems
Once you’ve committed to a Dante-based network ecosystem, the possibilities are largely defined by your needs and limited only by your imagination. A prime example is a quick look at all that can be done in small church applications using components from Focusrite’s RedNet line. (If you’re not familiar with Focusrite, it’s a company renowned for pristine audio quality long before high-resolution digital audio networking entered the scene.)
“With RedNet you can start out with plug-and-play simplicity or go all-out into complex, high-end studio or touring grade systems,” says White. “You have a full menu of scalable options. We built our reputation in recording and film-video production, so all of our input-output modules have audio quality that is rivaled by very few in the audio over IP world. But you can start small with something like the X2P with two-in and two-out, or our AM2 headphone-line amp, and build from there.”
“With RedNet you can start out with plug-and-play simplicity or go all-out into complex, high-end studio or touring grade systems." Ted White, Global Marketing Manager, Focusrite
The modular approach lets you create new spaces for capturing worship audio with the simplicity of networking. For example, you can place eight premium quality, remote-controllable microphone preamps in a choir loft or remote isolation room, using the RedNet MP8R to bring the audio into your main mix via Dante. If you have a lower cost, Dante-enabled mixing console, you can use the MP8R to capture lead vocals lead solo instruments. And for recording, RedNet can provide seamless integration with a Pro Tools | HD system.
Famed for their high quality analog “front ends,” the Focusrite RedNet components extend that quality into the digital domain with 24-bit conversion at up to 192 kHz. Applying the 48 kHz sampling standard in most live sound applications, the network can carry up to 512 channels on one CAT-6 cable.
Applying the 48 kHz sampling standard in most live sound applications, the network can carry up to 512 channels on one CAT-6 cable.
“You can get very sophisticated with audio networking if you like, or you can keep it simple and use it much like you have always used analog,” continues White. “It’s a basic, easy to use and familiar approach to workflow for older analog veterans. And the younger generation, raised on computers, can take full advantage of the sophisticated configuration and control capabilities of our own RedNet control software and the Dante Controller software from Audinate.”
Cutting to the Chase
With the larger, multi-campus churches already in full switchover mode to networking, smaller churches can take comfort in perhaps saving quite a bit of money by waiting for today’s mature audio networking technology.
“As part of the RedNet line, we also offer bridge interfaces that bring MADI and AES3 signals onto the Dante network,” notes White, “and we’ve sold quite a few to churches that invested heavily in these earlier point-to-point digital protocols. Today, smaller churches moving into networked audio systems directly from analog can benefit from the same future-proof technology while skipping over that expensive middle step.”
12/4/19 - article was updated
