TEP was contracted to assist in the upgrade of the sanctuary at Vashon United Methodist Church to include a brand new projection system with a motorized screen and integrated wireless control of PowerPoint and audio systems.
We could not be happier with the quality of product and service that we received from Tony Gavilanes and Technical Event Production in setting up an audio/visual system for our church. Tony listened carefully, then delivered a system that not only met our criteria, but far exceeded our expectations in quality. We appreciated his timely communication, professional expertise, and attention to detail. From start to finish, Tony cheerfully accommodated our every need. We highly recommend Tony Gavilanes and Technical Event Production.
– Rev. Kathy Morse
The church was using a basic mic mixer with a few channels of wired and wireless microphones at the beginning. One challenge was to integrate their existing 70V zones and HearingLoop equipment into a system that could be operated wirelessly. My first thought was of the Mackie DL series iPad mixers. We could route all their inputs and outs from the one device with control at the pulpit from the Master Fader app. The clients seemed to like this option just as much.
The iPad concept linked the entire system design together. What we did was install a new Mac Mini computer with an HDMI output to the projector. Using LogMeIn, the Presenter View of PowerPoint can be seen directly on the iPad for presentation control. And if you need to manage a sound level, just flip back to the Mackie app.
We landed on a 9′ Draper Targa motorized screen with the Contrast Grey material for the least ambient light reflection. Their room is surrounded with stained glass windows on three walls – a lot of light. To combat this we decided that a 7k projector would be best to do the job and chose the Eiki X85 7000 Lumen projector with a semi-long throw lens. The projector was hung from their back light pipe and shot toward the screen installed with minimal impact to sanctuary aesthetics.
The Vashon United Methodist Church hired TEP and its representative, Tony Gavilanes, to design an audio/video system for us that consisted of all new video equipment and a major update to our existing PA based audio system– and do so in a cost effective way. The major new equipment items consisted of an Eiki 7000 lumen video projector, a Mackie Digital Audio Mixer with an Apple iPad for mixer control, a Mac Mini Computer, an Apple Wireless Hub and a Draper Targa 9 foot wide projection screen.The process from start to finish was a great experience. We discussed pros and cons of the various system elements to come up with for our final configuration. Tony’s technical expertise and previous experience made it all work. He suggested the Mackie Mixer with integrated iPad. This allowed us to get a modern system with remote mixer control capability that we thought we couldn’t afford– all at an affordable cost. We have a sanctuary with lots of windows that make the interior bright. We discussed several projector options and finally, settled on a 7,000 lumen one instead of the 4,000 lumen one we were initially looking at. This was based on his recommendation that “more lumens were better than more resolution.” The 4:3, XGA native resolution projector we chose fits our need perfectly. Even with the 9 foot wide screen you don’t see individual pixels unless your nose is within 2 or 3 feet of it. The brighter projector was more expensive than our original choice, but it was the best choice for our situation and worth the extra cost.As you can read, our church was very satisfied with our A/V upgrade from TEP and the experience in working with Tony Gavilanes. We would recommend Tony and his company to anyone contemplating a new or upgraded A/V system. Their knowledge of available equipment and expertise gained from temporary set-ups of A/V systems for regional performances gives them an edge in assessing how well equipment works in various environments and its reliability.– Tom Nicolino, VUMC Board