Crossings Community Church Rejuvenates A/V System with DiGiCo in Oklahoma CityFounded in 1950, Oklahoma City's Crossings Community Church had been struggling with an audio and video system that was installed over a dozen years ago and that no longer met the needs of its over 5,000-member congregation and numerous weekly services, including five distinct ones on Sunday alone. Technical director Chuck Timmons decided to enlist the help of Acoustic Dimensions' senior consultant Robert Rose to design an audio system that would provide the clarity and musicality that they desired. With a project like this, the conversations regarding budget and specific models developed into what the project would require. "Our timing was such that we met with Robert Rose and DiGiCo's national sales manager Matt Larson at InfoComm where we were able to get an update on the newest products. This is where the SD10 caught our attention. We found that if we could increase our budgets marginally we would have the additional flexibility to add the broadcast software to the SD10 that was slated for Broadcast suite to ensure the console would be a long-term investment and could expand along with our needs." After a capital campaign to secure the funding, Clark was selected to handle the state-of-the-art A/V system, led by director of engineering Kevin Entrekin -- the scope of which included all new fiber optic infrastructure, powered Meyer Sound speakers, and a trio of DiGiCo SD consoles. "My role for this installation was to help convey how we do ministry to the designers," Timmons adds. "This included things like number of input channels, number of mix channels, types of inputs and outputs, mostly technical and workflow items. I also played a major role in deciding what brands of equipment we would like to have installed and watching the bottom line in terms of what we were spending. After consulting with a few fellow technical directors and evaluating other consoles, we always came back to Digico for the ease of operation, crystal clear sound, great features, price, and Waves integration. We selected an SD7 for front-of-house duties, an SD10 for monitors, an SD10B for its broadcast mix, and seven SD racks installed throughout the facility, and connected all the consoles and I/O over a 50 Micron multi-mode fiber-optic network. Replacing miles of copper and old outdated patch bays with the redundant fiber network on all of the Digico hardware saved the church an enormous amount of money not only on the cost of the hardware but the ease of Digico installation saved us greatly on labor cost. This is a cost that one typically does not look at when choosing a product but it was an area of expense we had a keen eye and saw the addition value is a streamlined integration that we were able to get with the Digico system as we were easily able to add channels, not copper." The Digico consoles interface with a new PA consisting of three arrays of Meyer Sound Milo cabinets, 10 Meyer 700HP subwoofers, eight UPQ-1P for over balcony delays, nine UP Junior for under balcony delay, and seven UP-4XP for front fills. The system uses three Galileo 616's for DSP processing. "This was our first installation with Digico," says Entrekin. "On some of the larger system installations we've managed in the past, Clark has taken a conservative approach using a manufacturer that we've worked with previously. In our early conversations with Digico, we heard things that were important to us as an integrator; they were not interested in just selling us something but wanted to make certain that we were comfortable and understood the various options that were available to us so that we could make the best decision. We understood that not only were these products technically advanced for larger scaled installations, but also could be operated by our volunteer engineers with great results." The biggest challenge to the project was the timeline. With the project starting mid-summer of 2010, they were concerned about having it up and running for their busy holiday season. "We hit the ground running in July with coordinating and drawing the project. The electrical and rigging infrastructure began in October, and we installed audio and video equipment throughout November. All the while, we had services every week during construction, and we were fully operational for our first concert and candlelight services on Christmas Eve." Timmons was pleased to receive positive feedback from church members soon after the new system was up and running. Comments along the lines of, "It's so clear now, I can hear what the pastor is saying," and "I didn't know what I was missing in the music," were heard on a regular basis. The quality of the sound had vastly improved to where even a few of the members no longer had to use the facility's hearing assistance system. "Digico's features such as snapshot automation, dynamic EQ, multiband compression, and large easy to see touch-screens, make these consoles the right choice," summed up Timmons. "Paired with Meyer Sound, we feel this is a combination that will provide great sound and clarity for Crossings Community Church and its congregation for many years to come." 
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