Along with many other worship centres across the US, the New Life Church in Framingham, Massachusetts, closed it doors when the coronavirus pandemic struck. Withservices moved to a virtual platform, Tech Director and Senior Outreach Engineer Barney Borovoski was left searching for AVL solutions to improve the quality of the livestream events – alighting on Pliant Technologies’ MicroCom XR digital wireless intercom system.
‘We were previously using a two-way radio, but that was a failing system and once we began streaming all of our services, we needed a full-duplex intercom without breaking the bank,’ he says. ‘We were quoting a few full-duplex intercom options, and our main dealer, Full Compass, suggested we look at Pliant’s new MicroCom XR digital wireless intercom. Pliant’s system was the only full-duplex intercom with the range we require that fit inside our budget.’
For the majority of productions, New Life Church uses five units on one channel for the camera and video crew, and a further five units on a second channel for audio and lighting. ‘We typically deploy all tenunits for each production. With unlimited listen-only users, MicroCom XR is an easily expandable system, which was another selling point for us as we hope to buy additional units in the future.’
In addition to the ability to switch back and forth between the system’s two channels, Borovoski finds MicroCom XR’saudio quality and range to be its standout features. ‘We purchased the 900MHz variation and it is perfect for our needs. MicroCom XR’s range extends throughout the entire facility, and even works well between different levels of the church that are separated by a foot of concrete. There’s never any loss of signal and the sound quality is always excellent.’
The system’s ease of use has also been beneficial for New Life Church as 90 per cent of staff are volunteers. ‘The system is very easy to use and has a small learning curve. I was also looking for a system that didn’t require any major infrastructure to set it up – and MicroCom XR was extremely simple to deploy since it does not require a base station. You just put it on and you’re ready to go.’
Borovoski also purchased ten Pliant SmartBoom PRO headsets. ‘In addition tohigh-quality audio, theyfeature a convenient flip-up microphone muting feature and are extremely sturdy and durable. MicroCom XR paired with a SmartBoom headset provides an outstanding intercom solution at an affordable price point,’ he says.
