121 Community Church Upgrades its IMAG Experience With Panasonic 4K/HD Cameras

As the pastoral staff of 121 Community Church (Grapevine, TX) was planning the building of an entirely new worship space, a key infrastructure consideration was the need for significantly improved image magnification of its services. The solution that now provides a substantial upgrade in the IMAG experience was the installation of two Panasonic AK-UC3000 4K/HD studio/field cameras in the church’s new worship space, which seats 900 congregants. (121 offers three identical worship services on Sundays at 9:15 a.m.

The church desired a more immersive experience than previously provided by the prosumer-grade cameras used at its previous venue for its congregations of more than 2000 plus watching via Facebook Live and its website.

“Our former A/V capabilities were modest at best, and in the new space we were committed to a broadcast-quality experience for our in-person and on-line worshipers,” says Colton Price,  121’s Worship and Environments Minister. “Our criteria included better sensors, better lensing options, CCU control and, most importantly, future-proofing with native 4K acquisition, all of which we found in the UC3000.”

“The UC3000s have been very easy for our ‘all volunteer’ operators to master,” says Price. “Our video producer Matt Coleman is able to fine tune color correction, iris and more from the control room via the AK-HRP1000 remote panel. Another benefit we’ve found is that the intercom system can come in through the camera over the same fiber cable.”

Price explained that the two UC3000s are installed on tripods in the back center of the space; the cameras are equipped with Fujinon 2/3” XA20SX8.5BRM ENG-style zoom lenses. Paired with Panasonic PT-RW930BU WXGA large-venue projectors, the UC3000s currently output 1080p, but Price notes the cameras’ ability to “glide into 4K.”

He noted that simulated live streams of the worship services are broadcast daily at 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Price said that he intends to have the UC3000s double as production cameras to shoot congregant profiles, event promotions, web content and more.

121 Community Church has been operating out of its new location since early April 2017. Systems integrator Epic Resource Group, specialists in live production systems for houses of worship, designed and built the infrastructure and A/V systems for 121 Community Church.