LOS ANGELES — The historic downtown Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels has chosen AMT Systems Inc. and Shure to help it overcome the audio problems it faces due to its location within the steel and concrete canyons of downtown L.A. Bill Lightner, AMT V.P. of sales, chose Shure’s UHF-R wireless systems to meet the challenge.
He deployed eight channels of UHF-R wireless using a combination of bodypack and handheld transmitters. The UHF-R systems offered the application 2,400 selectable frequencies over a 60 MHz bandwidth. Shure's proprietary Advanced Track Tuning Filtering Technology was used to maximize isolation from interference, and an automatic frequency selection feature with group scan was used to coordinate frequencies within the sanctuary.
Lightner has worked with the church since the early days of this decade to launch the comprehensive new systems build. The house-wide system AMT built served the congregation well for a successive number of years and remains largely as it was constructed in 2001 with one exception: Its wireless systems. "The wireless systems were state-of-the-art when they were put in, but along with the growing number of HDTV channels operating here in L.A., interference grew at an alarming rate," Lightner relates. "While there is an amazing array of hardwired microphone locations located in the church, everyone uses wireless except for those in the choir loft. With the onslaught of digital television, it didn't take too long before frustrations were constant.”
"We were pretty dazzled by the new automatic frequency selection process," Bill Lightner admits. "On the first press of the button, we found 20 open frequencies. We chose the eight we needed from that group, set the system, and haven't had any problem with any interference at all.
As the heart and soul of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the cathedral serves all 287 parish churches in the surrounding communities and is the place where Archbishop Roger Cardinal Mahony celebrates the major liturgies of the year. "Its importance among the clergy and laity alike can't be underscored enough," Bill Lightner says. "That's why we take every step humanly possible to insure that the sanctuary's audio system delivers premium sound with rock-solid reliability."
Along with an end to the sanctuary's RF interference dilemma, Lightner is also happy to report that sound quality has gone up as well. "We monitored everything very closely, and found that we were obtaining a much better signal at the receivers," he adds. "Everyone also agreed that the systems just sounded better as well. Making this move resulted in about as much of a win-win situation as you could hope to find. Things are running smoothly, just like on the wings of an angel."
For further information, please visit www.shure.com.
