FRISCO, TX — Preston Trail Community Church’s new facility here will be using the same Vista Systems Spyder 344 that had been serving the needs of a space only half the size of the new facility. Tech director Jerod Chambers, who credited the unit for its functionality, power and ease of use, noted that while the church is “relocating the Spyder from our current church and upgrading everything else around it.”
More details from Vista Systems (www.vistasystems.net):
There’s a Spyder inside Preston Trail Community Church’s new facility in Frisco, Texas, and it’s definitely meant to be there. The Vista Systems Spyder 344, which will migrate from the church’s existing space, is at the heart of a high-end roster of equipment in the media-savvy house of worship.
“We are very media driven,” says Preston Trail’s tech director Jerod Chambers. “We’re relocating the Spyder from our current church and upgrading everything else around it.”
Chambers notes that the non-denominational church, which celebrated its first public service in September 2002, has grown from 200 members to over 5,000. The current facility opened in December 2006 and offers three Sunday services. The new facility site was dedicated May 18, and the congregation will move in this summer.
“We’re doubling the size of the venue,” Chambers says. “The Spyder has served us well as our church has grown. Now, we’ll be able to use it in our new facility with all updated equipment.” That equipment will include a complement of studio cameras, RenewedVision’s ProPresenter church worship software, Blackmagic playback devices, alpha keyers and a routing system, which will distribute signals around the campus and also tie feeds to live streaming.
The Spyder will work in conjunction with a par of 18K projectors and a 30K projector. “To facilitate our creativity we need all our projection surfaces to act as one,” Chambers explains. “The Spyder will be operated by volunteers, and while it’s very cutting edge it’s also incredibly capable and volunteer-friendly.”
He praises the “world-class support” Preston Trail receives from Vista Systems. “When you call, you get a real person,” he reports. “At the end of the day, the most important thing a vendor can supply is a good relationship, and Vista Systems really delivers on that.”
