House of Worship

Perfecting Faith Church - XDCAM HD System

New York Ministry Looks to the Future with Sony's XDCAM HD Optical Disc System

FREEPORT, N.Y. - Since it was founded in 2001, The Perfecting Faith Church has grown to include 2500 members. In addition to its expanding congregation, the New York based church is also increasing its technological capabilities with the use of Sony's new XDCAM HD™ line of optical acquisition and recording products.

The church has actively used technology since it was founded, recording its services and events. Its Pastor and Founder, Donnie McClurkin, is even a two-time Grammy award-winning gospel artist, so state-of-the-art technology and audio and video quality are essential.

The ministry conducts three weekly services, in addition to several community and regional faith-based events. According to Pastor Louis Mellini, the church's staff would rent equipment such as production trucks and at least five or six cameras for each event, which they found was not the most cost-effective option.

Considering the church's heavy event schedule, as well as its plans to begin broadcasting services on a local channel starting later this year, Mellini and his team decided to purchase equipment that would not only meet their current technology needs but also grow with them in the future.

"We live in a multimedia society and a very visual culture," Mellini said. "We have to use media and technology to communicate a message effectively, and that includes all types of media. But we also have to be wise stewards of our church's resources. The last thing you want to do is make an investment in any technology that's going to be obsolete in a few years, or can't be easily upgraded or serviced. We were looking for a platform that could grow with us and take us into the future, and with the XDCAM HD system, we believe we've found that technology."

Perfecting Faith Church also worked closely on its purchase of the XDCAM HD system with E.C Professional Video, a New York City-based technology sales and rental company. Mellini and his team relied on the expertise of the company staff, including its president, Elbert Chan, to make the right decision.

According to Mellini, the ability to capture and archive HD content will provide a solid platform for its broadcasting plans, especially as networks and stations begin to require more HD program delivery.

Mellini noted that the church will be using the XDCAM HD PDW-F330 camcorder and PDW-F70 deck to record its services, produce DVDs and “electronic press kits” for distribution to members and to promote the ministry, and to also provide broadcast footage to networks. Mellini noted that the church is looking into web casting, which would also make use of the XDCAM HD system's capabilities.

The new technology will also help the church produce several of the visual elements that are currently incorporated into its services, including the use of video announcements, which are more dynamic and engaging than having a person simply read announcements from a podium, Mellini noted.

Mellini was impressed by the camcorder's features, such as its built-in ISO capabilities, as well as its in-camera editing features, allowing a crew to view content as thumbnails on the camcorder's LCD screen to streamline the editing process.

"The ability to take already-digitized files right out of the camera and into the editing process is a tremendous time-saver," he said. "Our turnaround time is often very tight, especially for producing a DVD or even now that we're planning to go to broadcast. Saving the step of having to digitize files allows us to get on the air, on the Web, or onto a DVD much faster and easier."

Finally, Mellini cited the Sony Professional Disc™ media used in the XDCAM HD system as a significant benefit. The discs are not only more rugged and more portable than traditional videocassettes, but also take up less space on an archive shelf.

"Our events can easily run three to four hours in length, so we end up with a lot of footage," Mellini said. "If we were dealing with tape, the question becomes, 'where do you store all those cassettes? Sony Professional Disc media is a sliver of a videocassette's size so we can store even more footage in less shelf space."

Mellini also noted the Sony media's price, at less than $30 suggested resale price, and its re-usability as key advantages over tape. The Sony Professional Disc media is re-usable up to 1,000 read/write cycles and up to 10,000 read/write cycles in ideal conditions, based on Sony's own testing. The greater number of repeat recordings possible with the XDCAM Professional Disc allows a production crew to re-use it more often than a videotape and without experiencing degradation after multiple uses of the media.

"We're not buying technology for technology's sake, or trying to keep up with the Jonses," Mellini said. "The XDCAM HD technology simply made the most sense for us."