DM Music for Churches blog

An Induction Loop System is essential for your Church...

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:25:00 +0000

DM Quick Expert Guide - 10 - FREE!

An Induction Loop System is essential for your Church...
The DM Quick Expert Guides -
These simple two sided information sheets are designed as easy guides for committee members and those tasked with upgrading, replacing or choosing a new Church sound or visual system.
They are not intended to be comprehensive but to give enough information to help make informed decisions on complex systems and technologies. They're all available as FREE downloads via our online shop, just click 'add to basket' and follow instructions to checkout.
Click Here

Choosing a Projection Screen for your Church

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:19:00 +0000

DM Quick Expert Guide - 09 - FREE!

Choosing a Projection Screen for your Church
The DM Quick Expert Guides -
These simple two sided information sheets are designed as easy guides for committee members and those tasked with upgrading, replacing or choosing a new Church sound or visual system.
They are not intended to be comprehensive but to give enough information to help make informed decisions on complex systems and technologies. They're all available as FREE downloads via our online shop, just click 'add to basket' and follow instructions to checkout.
Click Here

2012 Radio Mic Changes what does it all mean?

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:17:00 +0000

DM Quick Expert Guide - 08 - FREE!

2012 Radio Mic Changes what does it all mean?
The DM Quick Expert Guides -
These simple two sided information sheets are designed as easy guides for committee members and those tasked with upgrading, replacing or choosing a new Church sound or visual system.
They are not intended to be comprehensive but to give enough information to help make informed decisions on complex systems and technologies. They're all available as FREE downloads via our online shop, just click 'add to basket' and follow instructions to checkout.
Click Here

Why choose the Yamaha LS9 for your Church?

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:15:00 +0000

DM Quick Expert Guide - 07 - FREE!

Why choose the Yamaha LS9 for your Church?
The DM Quick Expert Guides -
These simple two sided information sheets are designed as easy guides for committee members and those tasked with upgrading, replacing or choosing a new Church sound or visual system.
They are not intended to be comprehensive but to give enough information to help make informed decisions on complex systems and technologies. They're all available as FREE downloads via our online shop, just click 'add to basket' and follow instructions to checkout.
Click Here

Choosing a Portable PA System for your Church

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:09:00 +0000

DM Quick Expert Guide - 06 - FREE!

Choosing a Portable PA System for your Church
The DM Quick Expert Guides -
These simple two sided information sheets are designed as easy guides for committee members and those tasked with upgrading, replacing or choosing a new Church sound or visual system.
They are not intended to be comprehensive but to give enough information to help make informed decisions on complex systems and technologies. They're all available as FREE downloads via our online shop, just click 'add to basket' and follow instructions to checkout.
Click Here

Choosing the right Projector for your Church

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:02:00 +0000

DM Quick Expert Guide - 05 - FREE!

Choosing the right Projector for your Church
The DM Quick Expert Guides -
These simple two sided information sheets are designed as easy guides for committee members and those tasked with upgrading, replacing or choosing a new Church sound or visual system.
They are not intended to be comprehensive but to give enough information to help make informed decisions on complex systems and technologies. They're all available as FREE downloads via our online shop, just click 'add to basket' and follow instructions to checkout.
Click Here

Choosing the right Church Presentation Software

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:01:00 +0000

DM Quick Expert Guide - 04 - FREE!

Choosing the right Church Presentation Software
The DM Quick Expert Guides -
These simple two sided information sheets are designed as easy guides for committee members and those tasked with upgrading, replacing or choosing a new Church sound or visual system.
They are not intended to be comprehensive but to give enough information to help make informed decisions on complex systems and technologies. They're all available as FREE downloads via our online shop, just click 'add to basket' and follow instructions to checkout.
Click Here

Choosing the right Audio Mixer for your Church

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:58:00 +0000

DM Quick Expert Guide - 03 - FREE!

Choosing the right Audio Mixer for your Church
The DM Quick Expert Guides -
These simple two sided information sheets are designed as easy guides for committee members and those tasked with upgrading, replacing or choosing a new Church sound or visual system.
They are not intended to be comprehensive but to give enough information to help make informed decisions on complex systems and technologies. They're all available as FREE downloads via our online shop, just click 'add to basket' and follow instructions to checkout.
Click Here

Choosing the right AV System for your Church

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:50:00 +0000

DM Quick Expert Guide - 02 - FREE!

Choosing the right AV System for your Church
The DM Quick Expert Guides -
These simple two sided information sheets are designed as easy guides for committee members and those tasked with upgrading, replacing or choosing a new Church sound or visual system.
They are not intended to be comprehensive but to give enough information to help make informed decisions on complex systems and technologies. They're all available as FREE downloads via our online shop, just click 'add to basket' and follow instructions to checkout.
Click Here

Choosing the right PA System for your Church

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:46:00 +0000

DM Quick Expert Guide - 01 - FREE!

Choosing the right PA System for your Church
The DM Quick Expert Guides -
These simple two sided information sheets are designed as easy guides for committee members and those tasked with upgrading, replacing or choosing a new Church sound or visual system.
They are not intended to be comprehensive but to give enough information to help make informed decisions on complex systems and technologies. They're all available as FREE downloads via our online shop, just click 'add to basket' and follow instructions to checkout.
Click Here

The DM Quick Expert Guides

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:30:00 +0000

These simple two sided information sheets are designed as easy guides for committee members and those tasked with upgrading, replacing or choosing a new Church sound or visual system.

They are not intended to be comprehensive but to give enough information to help make informed decisions on complex systems and technologies. They're all available as FREE downloads HERE via our online shop, just click 'more', and follow the instructions.

Main Sections of the website...

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:32:00 +0000

DM Music for Churches - Homepage

Shop - DM Music for Churches
Sound / PA
Audio Visual
Musical Instruments

Installation - DM Installation Projects
Services We Offer
Installation Solutions
Completed Installations

dmPlus Account

Training

A New Look to the website!

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 11:06:00 +0000

We've just uploaded a refreshed new look to the website and incorporated our installation divisions pages. Take a look at www.dmmusic.com

The installation pages start here

PanBeam ‘Steerable’ Sound

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:38:00 +0000

What is it?:

A range of self-powered DSP-controlled column speakers that can be electronically made to ‘aim’ the vertical sound beam and throw it to exactly where you want it to go.

What’s so good about that?:

Clarity and intelligibility is the key to good sound - the ability to steer sound exactly where you want it (and critically to prevent it from going where you don’t) is a major factor to providing this - particularly important in highly reverberant buildings (such as many churches!). Sound coverage is also evened out to provide a more uniform volume coverage from front to back. This allows the speakers to be installed flat on a wall but still aim sound downwards or be hidden at high level and still steered correctly. The ideal solution for providing high quality, clear and intelligible speech in acoustically difficult environments.

How does it work?:

Each PanBeam speaker is equipped with eight or more custom made driver units with digital processing (DSP’s) and eight or more digital power amps. Advanced algorithms allow the individual speaker drivers to be combined (‘phased’) in such a way that the high frequency vertical sound dispersion can be very accurately controlled.

And another thing...

In some situations you can even point PanBeam speakers in two directions at the same time! (e.g. ground floor and balcony)

Allen & Heath iLive Digital Audio

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:27:00 +0000

What is it?:

A ‘modular’ digital audio mixer system.

What’s so good about that?:

Too many things to list in full! But for starters…

• A modular design means the PA system can be operated from a small simple control panel and/ or a larger, more flexible control surface; ideal for simple midweek uses and full band services.

• Memory settings for different service types can be easily pre-stored

...Total recall at the touch of a button!

• Mixer control panels are connected by a simple CAT5 cable. If the building has multiple connection points you have flexibility to operate from different locations.

• A 48-input system can be controlled from a much smaller mixer surface - ideal where operating space is an issue.

• As well as all the usual mixer functions the iLive also includes on-board effects such as echo and reverb for bands as well as outboard EQ and DSP.

How does it work?:

There are two parts to any iLive system; the ‘brain’ and the control surface. The digital brain (with a choice of 16/32 or 48 audio inputs) can be installed at the ‘stage’ position or even in a nearby secure vestry or similar. This is controlled remotely from your choice of control surfaces; from a simple rotorary control panel to full 28-fader mixer surface. The full mixer surfaces also have local audio inputs and outputs.

And another thing...

You could even use a laptop or a Vity wired or wireless Touch Screen to control your PA!

Vity Control Systems

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Mon, 24 May 2010 09:20:00 +0000

What is it?:

A simple way to control some (or all) of your PA/AV system from one (or more) touch screen panels – either wired or wireless!

What’s so good about that?:

Control systems allow for simplified operation of complex systems at the touch of a button; perfect for novice and advanced users. It also allows for valuable equipment to be installed away in a secure location and operated remotely.

How does it work?:

Many PA/AV items can be controlled remotely via RS232, infra-red, etc. The Vity ‘brain’ connects via these various different interfaces to control them in different ways. The wired or wireless touch panel is then custom programmed to enable simple control of the required items. If you have a digital mixer then you can even control your whole audio system from one.

And another thing…

The wired version of the Vity TouchScreen also has up to 4 video inputs so you can simultaneously use it to monitor or preview DVD’s, video cameras etc

ProDisplay Glass Screens

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Mon, 24 May 2010 08:36:00 +0000

What is it?

A projection surface made of glass that when not in use is transparent!

What’s so good about that?

Used in a chancel arch, or similar location, it allows for a permanent screen to be installed but with little detriment to the aesthetic when not in use.

How does it work?

Special hi-tech optical Liquid Crystal Film material is applied to the glass which changes its visual appearance when an electrical current is applied. A simple ON – OFF mode switches the LCD Glass from being clear (transparent) to frosted (translucent), in its frosted state the glass becomes a high-deﬁnition rear projection screen. LCD Glass can also be custom made to replace existing glass panels in window frames, glass walls and partitions or as a stand alone screen which can be placed on a stand or suspended on cables.

Should our Church go HD?

noreply@blogger.com (DM Training) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:13:00 +0000

Everyone at the moment is talking about HD. We are told that this is where everything is heading and so all our TV’s are ‘HD ready’ and most people will in-fact have home systems that are HD.

It is worth mentioning a few points regarding HD, projectors and its usefulness for ‘presentation’ purposes in church.

HD is a somewhat arbitrary term that refers really to something that is greater than the standard television resolution.
Nearly every computer and projector is above this ‘standard TV resolution’. Typically most projectors are at XGA resolution (1024 x 768 pixels). This is the case because most laptops typically output an XGA resolution from their secondary monitor output. PowerPoint also is typically set at 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768.
However in the last couple of years projectors aimed at home cinema use have begun to come onto the market offering higher resolutions to compete with Plasma and TFT screens. At the other end of the spectrum the very high end projectors are offering higher resolutions for larger or more exacting projections.
What you might call ‘presentation’ projectors still typically have native XGA resolution.

Simply put, some projectors are now available in HD but these are not normally suitable for use in a church service context due to brightness (ansi-lumen) or cost.

Increased familiarity with domestic/consumer projectors, connectors and terminology has led to confusion for many churches because the translation of technology from living room to church is not always a good one. In the same way you wouldn’t use high quality home hi-fi equipment for your church PA system.

Here are a few simple reasons why HD is not often the best option for Church services;

Projection often requires an element of keystone manipulation for practical placement of a projection – this can cause slight image degradation and therefore, the HD image will not be as high quality as it would be in the home.

The other questions to bear in mind for church projection are about content and delivery.
What is the content? Is it purely text? Song words, liturgy, Bible text, Powerpoint etc is a projector above XGA resolution actually required or suitable in this case?
Will it include images, moving images, web content, live video! Often this kind of content is not available at higher resolutions.
Using a projector above XGA will require a lot of content to be scaled up to meet the projectors higher resolution. Scaling an image will mean a loss in its quality.
Software for Church presentation is usually designed to output content at XGA resolution anyway.

Viewing a projected screen from distance means that resolution differences are often impossible to detect.

Running a digital signal over longer lengths normally requires adaptation to a cat 5/ 6 system. This means more expensive conversion equipment is needed, it also means the signal will be converted from a HD connector into a CAT5 signal before being converted back at the other end. Every time the image goes through one of these conversion processes, the image will be degraded slightly.

Digital input connections, like HDMI and DVI, are available on some projectors, these are there for ease of connection.

For all these reasons, often it is not suitable for churches to go for a HD projection solution. If however you have read this and are still interested in looking into a HD system for your church, please let us know and we will be happy to discuss it further.

Can we use AV as a form of worship?

noreply@blogger.com (DM Training) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:49:00 +0000

As we all know, the world of technology is growing faster then ever before. Almost every house has at least one computer and most houses have more then just one. We are now able to watch TV programs on our home cinema system at a time that best suits us.

With all this increase of technology in the home we are now in a position where most churches are also able to make use of technology in there services. Most churches do have a projector and a laptop which is used most weeks, the bias here however tends to be more on the technical rather than the creative. This can often lead to projection systems that simply replace a song book.
The potential to add much more to our corporate worship is there, the hard part is to nurture and encourage those with creative gifts to use them as part of worship.

Many musicians who play in church have often spent many years learning their instrument, developing their gift in order to produce music that’s fitting for our sung worship. We don’t tend to think of our AV systems and operators in the same way, when perhaps we should.

When considering the future of your AV requirements my first suggestion is to encourage those with creative gifts to develop them for use in worship. Practically speaking this could involve a group who meet outside of Sunday in order to share ideas and explore creative use of visuals, moving image, multimedia, photography, art, design, audio, software etc.
I would also suggest exploring different software, look for software that will meet your needs both in terms of creative capabilities but also in terms of practical use and training for day to day.

There are many ways in which an AV system can be used as a creative form of worship. If you would like to know more about ways in which this can be done, please get in contact with one of our staff.

Get started:

Take a look at MediaShout Church presentation software.

Making use of the gifts God has given you.

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:50:00 +0000

Many times in the Bible, Jesus talks to people using stories and, through them, He always tries to make His point in a way which the listeners will understand. One of these stories was about a man who went away leaving three of his servant’s to look after all his possessions. He divided up all he had between them according to their ability.

While he was away, the two men who had been given the most invested what they had been given. This way, when there master returned, they had more to give back to him. However, the man who had been given the least took it and buried it in the ground saying,

Matthew 25:24-25

…I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

To us, this might seem like a great thing. It shows a respect for his master. It shows that this man didn’t want to risk losing what had been given him. The response then to this may shock you. The master replies,

Matthew 25:26-27

'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? ²⁷Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

The Bible speaks very strongly about this. God gives us many great and wonderful things. The most amazing thing is our salvation and an eternal life with Him for all who call on His name. But not only has God given this great gift, He gives us many others including musical gifts, technical gifts, audio engineering gifts and visual or graphic gifts.

It would be easy for us to take these gifts and just hide them in the ground, as it were, but if we do, the Bible calls us “wicked and lazy”. God has given us these gifts for us to use them for Him.

The Bible says ‘make a joyful noise before the LORD’ (Psalm 98:6 – KJV). Nowhere in the Bible does it say make a tuneful noise, or a beautiful noise or even a nice noise. It says make a joyful noise. This means, that if we try and play an instrument but play a few wrong notes, God doesn’t mind, if you do it with joy in your heart. If you try and mix the church band but forget momentarily to turn the preacher’s mic on as he stands up to speak, but you do it with joy, God doesn’t mind. He also doesn’t mind when you try to operate the projector and you bring up the wrong song, as long as you do it with joy. We are to make a joyful effort in all we do in our service to God.

What better way is there to say “Thank you” to God than to use the gifts He has given you, with joy in your heart, as an act of worship to Him?

Effective Communication

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:48:00 +0000

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV):
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As Christians, we have an amazing story to tell. It’s a story of love, compassion and forgiveness. As this passage says,

“God made (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us,”

This is fantastic news. Jesus, the only person to ever walk the earth who never committed any sin (sin is doing something wrong against God), took all our sins on Himself and destroyed them by His death on the cross. Not only that but, in taking our sin, He gives us a fresh start and makes us right before God.

God has given us this amazing message, not so that we should keep it to ourselves but that we should tell the world.

Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV):
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

This verse is often called the great commission. It was one of the last things Jesus said to His followers before returning to heaven and still it remains our great commission today. We are told to take this message of truth and love and to communicate it to the world. This doesn’t necessarily mean we need to pack our bags and head to the depths of the Malaysian jungle. We live in a nation of non-believers who need to hear this message just much as any other nation.

So why am I writing this blog on a technical website? Surely this is something that fits more into a site for preachers or evangelists!

PA and AV systems are a great method of communication and it’s fast becoming more readily available to most churches. There are so many ways in which we can use these systems to communicate the gospel.

Often people will use a data projector simply as they would an overhead projector, to show song words. Clearly, this is one way it can be used and it is often very effective in doing this. Don’t forget, however, it can also be used to show DVDs, images from video cameras or it is even possible to split the screen up to show song words, video camera feed and other useful church information all on one screen at any time!

These systems, if used to their potential, can be highly effective tools for communication. Often, the difficulty is knowing exactly what is possible on your system and how to achieve it. You may not even need to buy any new equipment.

Most of our staff are Christians and operate PA and AV systems in their own churches. Contact us and we would be happy to talk to you about ways in which we use our own systems to effectively communicate the gospel message.

DM Seminars at PLASA 09

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:14:00 +0000

Well the DM seminars at PLASA went very well! - if you were there, thanks for coming, we hope you enjoyed the show! It is a great place to see all the latest pro-audio technologies and chat face to face with all the major manufactures.
Our thanks to Technologies for Worship Magazine for inviting us to lead seminars as part of their Technical Training for Churches 'stream'. Also to Allen & Heath for the loan of their excellent digital desk the iLive T112. More here:
Here's some pictures of Jon, in full swing - talking AV.

The 'BIG' DM Music PA Training Day - St Albans 5th September NOW BOOKING!

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:06:00 +0000

St Mark’s Church

Colney Heath, St Albans, Herts, AL4 0NH

At just £35 per delegate the day represents excellent value for money..
The day begins at 9.30am (registration from 9.00am) and concludes at 5.00pm
A detailed schedule for the day will be posted here in the next few weeks but the day will include all the areas mentioned below.

BOOK NOW ONLINE HERE! >

If you would like to book 'Offline' please send your details and those of the delegates you are booking for, along with a cheque payable to DM Music Ltd to our address which you can find at the very bottom of every page on our website.

The Day Includes:
• PA/Sound Basic & Advanced Streams
• Seminars
• Demonstrations
• Mixing Desk Hands-On
• Competitions
• Question & Answers Time
• Sound Checking
• Mic Placement
• Hints & Tips

Topics covered include all areas of Church PA
• Microphones
• Mixers
• Speakers
• Processing & Effects
• Foldback
• Recording
... and loads more!

DM PA Training Day - Birmingham 18th July 2009

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Mon, 18 May 2009 09:52:00 +0000

PA Training Day Places - Birmingham 18th July 2009
You can book one or more places at £35 per person (including lunch) online now at dmmusic.com.
Discounts for DM Plus Account holders.

Seminars include:
- PA & Sound Basics

- Mixing Desk Basics

- Microphones
- Speakers

- Recording in Churches ... and more!

The Day takes place at: St Paul's Centre, Bordesley Green, Birmingham, B9 5SY.

The New 'DM Plus Account'

noreply@blogger.com (dmmusic) — Mon, 18 May 2009 09:42:00 +0000

New installation customers now qualify for our
‘Plus Account’* ...and it’s free!

What do you get?

• 10% Off product purchases for church and congregation members!
• Church Credit Account for named users -
Purchase online, by phone or in person at your convenience
• FREE Service Call Out if a system fault develops
• 30% Off all DM PA & AV Training Events
• Priority notice on DM special offers, event tickets and promotions

Plus...
• Specialist Church Advice on Sound and Audio Visual Systems and musical instruments - including spare parts, accessories and repairs
• Emergency supply of spares for radio mics, cables and accessories
• We are specialists in listed Church Buildings installation
• Official UK Church supplier for Yamaha Clavinova, Audio Technica, Sennheiser, EV, Roland, Allen & Heath, Eiki and many more
• We are dedicated to the UK Christian Church, having been established for over 17 years with more than 2,500 Church Installations completed. We are a ‘safe pair of hands’ with a proven track record and the experience to support you and your church

Call us on: 01582 768844

*Terms & Conditions apply see here for details.