CEDAR HILL, TX – Fort Worth-based Electro Acoustics, Inc. used a Vista Spyder X20 to create videowall effects in the new youth center at Hillcrest Baptist Church. Primarily a design-build firm, Electro Acoustics works with architects and clients to provide turnkey audio, video, acoustics, lighting and control systems. Having designed and built technical systems for the sanctuary in Hillcrest's main building, Electro Acoustics returned to configure the main worship room for the new youth center which hosts dynamic REVO Meetings on Wednesday evenings for middle school and high school students.
"The meetings feature cool technology and great bands," said Chris Jordan, president and chief steward of Electro Acoustics. "They make it fun and exciting for the kids to connect with others and see how worship can have an impact on their lives."
The room is outfitted with a 27-by-13-foot Da-Lite video screen, six 6,000 lumen Panasonic DW6300 DLP rear-screen projectors and a Spyder X20 video/widescreen display processor. "The screen spans the width of the stage and stretches down to the stage floor," Jordan said. "We use the Spyder to create videowall effects; we can fill the entire screen with a single image, display six 3-by-3 segments, and overlay windows that fly in, fly out and dissolve. We can display virtual backdrops, like forests and lakes; lyrics to worship songs in windows on top of backdrops; video clips used as teaching tools in other windows; and live I-Mag of the musicians."
The Vista Spyder video processor has up to 20 million-pixel display capacity from a single frame and allows for multiple outputs from the same box with up to 2048 x 1200 resolution on each output. It also accepts virtually any input up to 2048 x 1200 and features 12-bit scaling for the highest-quality images.
Jordan points out that the Spyder is "the only product available that could accomplish everything we needed to do at the quality level required. It enables us to have live feeds, dynamic sizing of windows, special effects and dissolves – all the features we need."
In addition, the Spyder offered ease of operation for the main worship room, according to Jordan. "The kids are the ones using the system," he notes. "We installed a Crestron touch screen control system that recalls presets to the Spyder so it's very easy to run. But the Spyder has almost unlimited features, and the kids have gotten deep into the system. It provides a real opportunity for them to learn new technology and be involved in the ministry."
Vista was "extremely helpful" in Electro Acoustics' choice of the Spyder and provided onsite end-user training on the system, Jordan added. "Everyone at Vista was very interested in the project and proactive," he said. "They took care of our needs and the needs of our client."
At Electro Acoustics David Chappell was project manager for the main worship room, Doug Viere, engineer and Brandon Ware, system programmer.
For more information, please visit www.vistasystems.net.
