Analog vs. Digital Consoles

As churches prepare for the purchase of a new mixing console, this question will inevitably come up: "Should we go digital or stay analog?" Unfortunately, there is no easy answer but if you ask the right questions, you can make the right decision.

I recently finished two installations in which I replaced analog consoles with digital consoles. During the training process, I showed the users how to translate analog to digital. All of the same knobs are there, just in a different place. I have found that when I train under those guidelines, the transition is much smoother.

Analog consoles have been around for many years and are still the industry standard. There are a number of professional touring engineers that specify analog consoles for their rigs and have no desire to use digital. They have valid arguments for their dedication to analog which really can't be disputed. When it comes to churches however, the dividing lines are not so clear.

First, it would take a large amount of rack gear to replace the processing power built in to even the smallest digital consoles. Typically, you will find a four-band parametric equalizer and at least one compressor/gate/limiter on each channel. Effects processors and routing flexibillity are invaluable tools that are built in to the arsenal.

Second, the dynamic range of a digital console far surpasses that of an analog mixer. I have run sound for numerous bands and gospel groups and have found that the preamps on the digital consoles will handle levels that will quickly peak analog boards.

Lastly, there is an amazing amount of flexibility built in to a digital system. One of the installations I mentioned utilized a 48-channel digital snake, which provides a pristine digital signal from the input of the microphone to the output of the speaker. There is no lack of headroom and in a room that is basically a gynasium, speech inteligibility is near perfect. Though this is a significant bonus, it is not the main benefit of the digital snake. In churches, it is quite common to change the stage set and move instruments from one side of the stage to the other. In an analog world, that means moving inputs on the board or completely changing the board layout, unless you are luck enough to have a patchbay. In the digital world, simple soft-patching is done to change the imput assignment and the console layout stays the same. There is basically limitless routing flexibility which provides the ability to send any input to any output.

If it sounds like I am saying to go digital, I'm not. There are many advantages to using an analog mixer, not the least of which is the sound. There are many very good analog consoles that sound as good as digital mixers and are just as flexible, not to mention easy to use. Most church sound engineers have run an analog board in the past and can typically adjust to a different analog mixer with a minimal amount of training.

One of the main considerations in moving to a digital console has to be the number of inputs. Large analog boards can be purchased relatively inexpensively, but not large digital consoles. I have been to many churches who were talked in to linking two or more smaller digital consoles, only to find that there are many issues to resolve (this can be done successfully, but it is a very complex setup and trouble is only a few button clicks away).

Indeed, there are advantages and disadvantages to both technologies. If you will take the time to research, ask lots of questions, and pray, you will make the right decision. I will be posting reviews of two of the leading digital consoles, the Yamaha M7CL and the Roland M-400 so check back soon.

Choosing the Right Projector: Part 2

Choosing a projector can be very confusing as you look through hundreds of pages of specifications and spend hours on the internet looking for the right machine. In this blog, we'll talk about LCD and DLP projectors and the main differences between the two technologies.

First, let's look at LCD technology. Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) technology has been around longer than DLP and, as a result is said to have a more mature market. LCD technology splits the light coming from the source into three separate paths: one for each of the red, green ,and blue primary colors. As the light passes through the LCD glass panels, individual pixels can be turned on or off, creating the desired color image. The lights paths are then combined and passed through the lens and onto the screen.

Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology was invented in 1991 by Texas Instruments and is based on an optical semiconductor called a digital micromirror device, or DMD. DLP projectors come in two varieties, single and three-chip models. Typically, three-chip models are only found in high-end applications with starting prices over $10,000. The DMD acts as a light switch using mirrors to direct light towards or away from a dedicated pixel space. A color wheel is used in single-chip models that synchronizes with the mirrors to provide color to the image. The light is reflected from the mirrors and passes through the lens and onto the screen. Three-chip projectors use individual chips for each of the red. green, and blue colors and use filters and steering mirrors to create the color images on the screen.

While both projectors have advantages and disadvantages, there really is no hard and fast rule for choosing which technology to use. In most cases, cost will likely be the deciding factor, but you should understand the major advantages and disadvantages of each technology.

The biggest advantage with LCD projectors is that they produce sharper, more natural-looking color images. Some have said that LCD machines are brighter, but I think that they are more correctly stated as being more efficient than DLP machines, since the light path is straight and not reflected. Colors are more closely reproduced and computer images appear to have sharper, more defined edges. Images that are displayed in rooms with larger amounts of ambient light will appear brighter on LCD projectors. The main disadvantage with LCD technology is that moving images, such as video, will appear pixelated. This has gotten better since the evolution of 3LCD, or 3-chip machines, but it is still more noticeable on LCD than on DLP projectors. LCD projectors have traditionally been physically larger than comparable DLP projectors, but this is rapidly changing as well. Another disadvantage, though it really is more of an advantage for DLP, is that blacks will usually appear gray on the screen. This is because LCD projectors have less contrast than DLP projectors.

The biggest advantage of DLP projectors is that video images appear very smooth and black images maintain more detail. At this point, I need to remind you that black detail is going to be determined by the contrast ratio, as we discussed in the last blog, however, black images do appear to be darker and more film-like on DLP projectors. The main disadvantage of DLP projectors is that color reproduction is not as good as LCD technology. Yellows and reds tend to appear washed out and require compensation, which is possible, but at the expense of brightness. Typically, DLP projectors will require more lumens to produce bright, colorful images in rooms with moderate to large amounts of ambient light.

So what do we do with all this information? Remember the three questions we used in the last blog?

1. What's the budget?
2. What's the purpose?
3. Where's it going?

These are the very same questions that will help determine the answer to choosing which technology is right for you. For example, if you are going to be using the projector for displaying song lyrics and sermon outlines, then you should look at LCD technology. If you are planning to use the projector for showing movies or live images, a very bright DLP machine is the right choice for you. If the projector is going to mounted in a room with large amounts of ambient light, LCD is really the only choice for you.

Don't be afraid to get opinions, but don't froget to do your homework. Remember, if you take the time to do your research, you will have no problem choosing the right projector.