A Simple Set-up is Sometimes the Best

With the unexpected rise and spread of Covid19, it quickly created new problems for everyone. The Navigators ministry was faced with the task of taking their numerous in person conferences and converting them all into virtual online conferences. 

​Lambda AV designed a compact streaming system that would allow them to have a multi-camera live stream of all the keynote speakers. It also had the ability to run a full graphics system while being set up virtually anywhere. 

The streaming system we implemented for the Navigators consisted of two main pieces. The first is the Blackmagic Design ATEM Mini Pro. It is not often that one single piece of gear can tick all the boxes you need without compromising on quality or function, but the ATEM Mini Pro does just that. The ATEM Mini Pro is a small form switcher, that runs on the same software as Blackmagic’s full-size switchers, a recorder, and a rock-solid stream encoder. In addition to all of that, the ATEM Mini Pro was an even more obvious choice given the fact that it could integrate perfectly with the Pocket 4k cameras the Navigators already had. In pairing these two pieces together, we were able to give the Navigators a remote color control over their cameras and additional camera recording controls. 

The second piece to the system was ProPresenter 7. ProPresenter 7 is incredibly easy to setup and use while, at the same time, being extremely powerful and scalable for your needs. It was another perfect fit as they were able to run all of their event graphics for the conferences from ProPresenter.  

The additional pieces that were needed to complete the video system were all items that the Navigators already had, such as, computers and cameras. After that, the only thing required to set everything up was a few adapters and some cabling. Once the Navigator team had some basic training on the system, they were up and running in no time. Their first virtual conference was a success and went off without a hitch.  

One of the added benefits of this set-up, was how the entire system is compact and efficient. This allows the Navigators to be extremely flexible regarding where they are able to run their conferences from and lets them scale up or down with each specific event. As you can imagine, this is extremely useful with ongoing Covid restrictions.

The overall combination of each different part for the Navigators video system created a strong base from which they can not only run a clean one man show, but also have the ability to scale up to a larger production team when the situation requires. It is not always the largest or most technical system that best solves the problem. Understanding the use case of a system is crucial. In this situation, a compact, streamlined system provided exactly what they needed without adding any unnecessary bloat along the way.

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