Sydney Anglicans has a headline story about the Big Day In, quoting Justin Carey from Angliconnect:

“Now is the time for all churches to do an infrastructure upgrade.”

Now I can’t speak for churches outside the ACC Digital TV coverage area, but it seems to me that this claim:

“Yes, there will be a digital TV broadcast. But the issue can be that church projectors older than three years [may] not be compatible with digital TV,” says Mr Carey.”

is misleading at best.  Digital TV is broadcast both in standard and high definition, and running a standard-definition composite video signal from a digital TV receiver to the video input of ANY video projector is entirely possible - I’ve seen it with my own eyes.  Sure, old projectors will be dimmer and less crisp, but there are plenty of projectors older than 3 years that will be well up to the task.

Personally I’d urge anyone who can use digital TV for the Big Day In to do so, rather than use an internet connection which is inherently less reliable.

Hi Tom, yes you are right, you should be able to plug any set top box into any projector, but I think Justin’s intent was to flag the need for churches to check their gear and upgrade ahead of the telecast.

IMHO the most urgent check would be can your church take a TV signal in the venue where you are having the telecast, eg the church hall or church building? And if so can the antenna take digital TV, as many people need to upgrade their antenna once they have a set top box.

Hello Tom,

I just now read the article and thought a response would be helpful…

Firstly let me set the record straight, a projection unit even an old one shouldn’t have too much trouble displaying the digital telecast that will be broadcast in February for the Big Day In event. (As a rule however: This is a conclusion I’d prefer to leave to the results of a live test).

Personally, I would encourage as many churches as possible use the Digital telecast because of the superior quality of the content compared with the internet solution (It really has nothing to do with reliability)

Putting that aside, I was more concerned by what seemed to be a confused conglomerate of general warnings instead of separately stated technical issues that the churches are facing, and need to be resolved to ensure Big Day In is a success.

Keep in mind:

1. Where a church has infrastructure that is suitable, it makes sense to use it. (and we intend to).

2. Not all of the different infrastructures that exists in the churches today (regardless of the projection/display system) will be adequate for purposes of receiving and displaying the digital telecast for Big Day In or any future event.

3. Many churches will connect and download the Big Day In content using existing (and in some cases new) internet services.

What I am trying desperately to avoid is things like, purchasing standalone set top boxes with portable rabbit ear antenna, only to find out that location is in a black spot… or signing up to costly portable broadband solutions for years in order to get internet services into a church building… believe me both scenarios are happening already - I’ve seen it with my own eyes! ;)

None of us have the time or money to splurge on mistakes. In most cases, a typical church will have a data projector (either fixed or portable) linked to a computer, which is commonly used during their Sunday service for presentations and sermon outlines etc. Perfect!

What is lacking is the digital receiver, the antenna and/or the cabling… or they have a web connection in a building nearby, but not in the area where the projector is physically located, sometimes a church doesn’t know even how to get started… that’s where we come in.

We have developed the lowest cost solutions to get the job done in virtually any case. What we need is for the churches, irrespective of how they intend to connect, to give us a call… talk us through their situation and let us help them with the last steps.

I invite absolutely every church to call me personally to discuss their needs on 0413 625 579, or visit us online at www.angliconnect.com.au

Warmest Regards,

Justin Carey.

Thanks for the clarification Justin…

No doubt the confusion is all mine ;)

Direct link to http://www.angliconnect.com.au.

Mike

PS it appears you need to register for an account.  I presume that’s by design.

Yes, thanks Justin for the detailed post - I was a bit worried that it sounded like Angliconnect were trying to use this event to make everyone spend up big, but your post makes it clear this is not the case.

Sounds like for most churches the best thing to do would be to borrow a set top box and indoor antenna and try it out now, to see if this basic solution will work in their location or if they need to look at something else.

So, if we’re the nominated technical contact for a church, when should we expect to hear from Angliconnect?  If churches are supposed to be ready for a test event before Christmas, we’re not being given much time - particular as there are some significant time pressures at the moment.

Simon - I don’t believe there’s going to be a specific test event, you just need to make sure you can either tune into the Australian Christian Channel via digital TV, or watch video on the internet, in your church building.

Angliconnect are a supplier who can sell you new gear at good prices if you need it.  I don’t believe they are involved in the actual production of the event or that they will contact you.

So, Tom, do you know if Angliconnect are selling Set Top Boxes?

The original articles says:

Big Day In shopping cart
The Big Day In shopping cart options will be posted here when they become available

No, sorry I don’t but their website is linked in one of the previous posts.

BTW I got the set top box I use at home (in a poor reception area) from Woolworths for about $35.