LED Lighting

I have a lot of people asking me my thoughts on LED lights. Everything is going to LED...and I get that. The power it takes to run LED vs. a PAR 64 or a moving head...well, it's not even close. BUT...there are still reasons to hold on to a couple of those PAR Cans. The biggest thing I have against LED lights...they just don't light up faces like a PAR or Fernel. But here is a couple of good things about LED lights...

1. They take very little power...
2. They are great for effect lighting...
3. LEDs last a very long time vs. a bulb...

To really run LED lighting to the best effects...you will need to run them using a DMX controller. So if your using metorplex...you will have to convert or upgrade. If you are wanting to upgrade your lighting or install something new, give us a call. We would love to help design your next project.

Music Express 574.533.8998 www.musicexpress.org

The only thing you can count on is change...

Well here we are well into 2009. For the most part we made it past the "Big TV Change" back on February 17. Guess what? Here comes more change...

Potentially all devises that currently occupy the 700 MHz UHF band (698 MHz - 806 MHz) will be prohibited from operation by the FCC. The exact date is yet to be announced but believed to be the same as the nation-wide DTV transition date of June 12, 2009.

Don't worry...when you first hear of this news...most people think they have to run out and buy all new wireless Mic's, etc... First just go to your wireless transmitter and look on the back for the Freq. Range or look in the owners manual. Once you have discovered the freq. range of your unit...you have options. Most of the manufactures have rebate programs going on now thru as early as May 2009, and as late as December 2009. These rebate programs really only help out folks that have bought wireless units in say the last 2 - 4 years. See your manufactures website for more details. If your units are older and fall in the 700 MHz band....you have to make some choices. If you have units that you can continue to scan for new freq....you might be O.K. to just keep using the units and change the freq. when you start to have audio bleed. The risk in doing this is during that very important word that your pastor is bringing you at church or during that great concert....you may have your friendly local PD or FD start talking right over the top of your program. Of course the other option is to just buy new units.

Personally, I have found that some of my units needed updating and some fall outside of the 700 MHz range. I have opted to bite the bullet and upgrade my units now. In the case of older units...that I could not get any rebate on...I would look at my use of the units. If I'm a traveling sound company...I would make the change now. If the units are installed in a church or school...I might continue to use them...if I have interference I would rescan the unit. If the interference continues on a regular basis (this will vary depending on the size of the city you live)...it might be time to upgrade. Again, the only way I would wait is if the rebate was not good on the unit.

Additional information and detailed FCC action can be accessed by going to their website at http://www.fcc.gov/ and look for the white spaces information.

Sound, lighting, video...it is always changing. If you have questions or want to look at upgrading your wireless system. Feel free to contact my company...we will help you with upgrades, installs or whatever your needs might be.

Music Express Sound, Stage and Lighting
(574) 533-8998
http://www.musicexpress.org/

TVs "Oh My!"

In recent days someone in our church has given a huge blessing to the church....TVs! Now you might think..."what's so huge about that?" Well about a year and a half ago...Trinity UMC...added a wonderful addition on to the church, the Trinity Life Center. One of the things that we decided to finish at a later time was TVs in all the rooms. Recently it has become somewhat of any issue. We have a lot of groups meeting, Sunday School classes, etc..... So we pull a TV out of this room and put it into another room...and we have been losing remotes, etc..... So someone blessed the church with the money to finish this project. Today we started to install TVs in some of the rooms. When this project is done, every room at Trinity will have a TV with a DVD/VCR. Plus, the hallways in the TLC will have monitors for announcements. It's a little thing...that means a lot. So if you happen to be the person who donated the money to make this happen....THANK YOU. You have blessed every area of our church (adults down to children) with your gift.

Are you ready????

Well it is coming...one way or another. February 17, 2009. That is the date when TV will switch...to digital. This is something you need to do. It seems like there are a lot of TV commericals about all this, but very few are looking into it...taking it serious.
So I thought I would try to help.

If you have cable or Satellite....your good. No worries, nothing will change for you come Feb. 17, 2009....unless you ever drop your subscription to cable or satellite. Then you will need a newer TV or DTV convert box.

The government is helping out by offering each house (street address), up to two coupons for a digital convert box. About half my family didn't need converter boxes...but I had them go ahead and sign up for the coupons....remember that TV out in the garage, or the TV in the kids play room...yep, if they are not hooked up to cable or satellite...come Feb. 17, 2009, they won't pick-up any channels. And let be real...if you have family or friends that need them...most people have more then 2 TVs...give them away to family, friends, or whomever. But they have to be used within a couple of months...so go get them...and then your good to go. It is very easy to sign up...here is a link. http://www.dtv2009.org/
It takes about 30 days to get them in the mail. They look like credit cards. Just take them to the store...when you go to pay, hand them the coupon. That $50 box...just became $10 bucks.

I signed up the beginning of July, an had my coupons by the end of the month. When I first hooked the box up...it was awful. I thought..."who is going to watch this?" After making a few calls...I finally got a tech support guy to tell me the truth. He said to unplug it...and hook it back up in October. Not all stations and areas where running at 100%. So I did. This past week I hooked up several...at different locations. It's true...better picture, sound and more stations. Everything is working great.

Tip: when you hook your convert box up...you will want to make sure you pick an aspect ratio that fills you screen...over time, if you have the black space above and below the picture...it could burn the image into your TV screen.

Here is website that has a ton of info to check out. http://www.dtvanswers.com/

Also, you may want to click this link to watch a demonstration video on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GuckUtxWU8

Tip: rescan your box about once a month...new and sub channels are coming on all the time. Keep doing this even past the Feb. 17, 2009 switch date. I like to rescan on days when the weather is perfect or a night when it's clear and you see the stars...seemed to work better for me.

Sorry to say...this switch and buying a convert box does not mean TV will have better shows to watch...that's another issue that Hollywood needs to deal with.

Tech Talk for $100 dollars

So it's a world that never seems to stop changing....and NO I don't have every answer to every question. YES, when I got my first iPOD and brought it home...the new version came out 3 days later. So it goes with technology.

In just a few months, TV as we know it will be changing. I have been getting a lot of people asking me questions about this whole DTV. What is even more scary...folks that don't even know what I'm talking about. You will... I am collecting information now and hope to post some more information later in the week.