Sony | Market - House of Worship

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Sony offers a broad range of A/V products that fit a variety of worship production needs and budgets.

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Learn more about the various ways houses of worship have implemented Sony technology to communicate their message.

Prestonwood Baptist Church- HD Production System

Church on the Rock - HD Studio Cameras

Sight and Sound Productions - Anycast Station™

Perfecting Faith Church - XDCAM® Professional Disc System

Chizuk Amuno Congregation - IPELA® Cameras

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2.88% Lease Financing

HD for All.
By John Scarcella, President
Sony Broadcast and Business Solutions Company

Talking about NAB, a “broadcast” show, might seem a little out of place in a house-of-worship newsletter. In reality, it’s entirely appropriate, judging from the changes both in your market and at the show.

Ministries of all sizes are finding new ways to enhance and enrich their messages with dynamic visual presentations. So it makes perfect sense that houses-of-worship account for a growing portion of NAB’s attendees, drawn to this annual display of the newest technology solutions for every sector of video content creation, production, editing and delivery.

As NAB’s largest exhibitor, we have noticed a steady increase in the number of pastors and media ministers who visit our booth to explore and learn about what Sony has to offer for their unique and highly personalized needs.

Sony annually uses NAB as a platform to debut its latest new products and demonstrate its strategy for broadening the use of video for all applications. Houses of worship are an integral part of these plans.

Last year, we came to Las Vegas with a theme of “Ride the HD Highway” with Sony, focusing on the many different routes our customers can take as they travel from standard definition infrastructures to HD-based operations.

This year, we’re broadening that highway and adding new lanes under the theme, “HD for All.” We remain deeply committed to offering customers the right HD solution that fits their current needs, future plans and, of course, their budget.

The past months have seen significant growth in the use of high-definition technology, both in the consumer arena as well as on the broadcast production side. At home, more and more consumers are enjoying the quality of HDTV, with household penetration reaching 15 percent in the U.S.

Houses of worship are also going HD. As more ministries move toward broadcasting their services, they recognize the need to satisfy the HD program delivery requirements of many broadcasters.

Ministries are also doing more live events: outdoor services, youth rallies, community gatherings and holiday productions. With much of this activity recorded and the content being produced for DVDs, web casts and other purposes, HD brings increased resolution and image quality. Much of our product line that will be featured at NAB offers a perfect solution for these applications. Our standard definition Sony XDCAM® Professional Disc™ tapeless system has transformed field production and editing for many ministries. In March, we began delivering the first high definition XDCAM products, which promise to bring new ways of production for houses of worship.

Our HDV compact camcorders are ideal for unobtrusively capturing a service or a choir performance, or for doing electronic field production during youth rallies or mission services, with stunning image resolution. On the other end of the spectrum, for ministries looking for the ultimate in projection technology, Sony’s SXRD 4K projector offers a pixel resolution of 4096 x 2160, the highest resolution commercially available with four times the pixel count of current HDTVs.

These are only a few examples of the diverse HD technology we’ll be featuring at NAB. Together with increasing customer demand for our HDV™ products, high-end studio and portable HD cameras, production switchers and VTRs, it’s clear that HD has arrived and will only continue to gather momentum throughout the rest of 2006.

Last year was a terrific time for Sony’s broadcast and production business, as we increased our position as the market share leader in several key categories. And in 2006, we’re showing no signs of slowing.

I’m truly excited about our new product line up and I’m confident that with your valuable input and participation, Sony can help introduce HD production to a broader section of the house of worship market.

I look forward to seeing each of you at what promises to be a great NAB 2006.

New York ministry looks to the future with Sony's XCDAM HD Optical Disc System

FREEPORT, N.Y. – Since it was founded in 2001, The Perfecting Faith Church has grown to include 2500 members. In addition to its expanding congregation, the New York based church is also increasing its technological capabilities with the use of Sony’s new XDCAM® HD line of optical acquisition and recording products.

The church has actively used technology since it was founded, recording its services and events. Its Pastor and Founder, Donnie McClurkin, is even a two-time Grammy award-winning gospel artist, so state-of-the-art technology and audio and video quality are essential.
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XDCAM HD System

Sony XDCAM HD System Expands Digital Toolkit with Benefits for Houses of Worship
The new XDCAM® HD line of products is Sony's second generation of its optical Professional Disc™ system. Since it was introduced as a standard definition system in 2004, XDCAM technology has been adopted by houses of worship, as well as by news organizations, television producers, videographers, corporations, educational and government facilities, and major sports teams.
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Sony Offers: The Professional way to save

HDCAM Tape:
	Sony HDCAM Digital HD Videocassettes… Think HDCAM® is beyond your budget? High definition is now available at highly definitive savings. Learn more >

LUMA LCD Professional Monitors:
	Rebate of up to $500 on select LUMA™ LCD Professional Monitors beginning April 1, 2006 ! Visit www.sony.com/LUMA for complete offer details!

HDV Offers:
	$500 Mail-In Rebate with the purchase of the HVR-A1U $400 Mail-In Rebate with the purchase of a HVR-M10U 1080i HDV VTR Check out our House of Worship website in May for the HDV DVD/Brochure survey offer and any other Promotions.

Register Your Sony Professional Product Online!
	Visit www.sony.com/PRO to register your Sony Professional products and to see which select products are eligible for an extended six-month limited parts warranty – this offer is for a limited time! Plus sign up to receive important software, firmware or product updates from Sony.

XDCAM System Disc Set

Customers are loving the XDCAM system for its file based random access capabilities, removable recordable and affordable media, superb picture quality, advanced feature set and more! On the XDCAM System Disc Set you can access over an hour of customer interviews, in use stories, an overview of the system of products and the exciting technology, in-depth product feature demonstrations, the robustness of the camcorder put to the test, plus updated collateral, industry news articles with product reviews and Frequently Asked Questions. Click here to order >

BPC Value

www.sony.com/bpcvalue is a site where customers can find significant savings on overstocked products in all Sony's Broadcast and Professional Product lines. A convenient shopping cart feature is available to make you shopping experience a pleasurable one! So visit and bookmark this site today so you can come back and check Sony's overstock product inventory.

Sony HVR-A1U, HVR-Z1U HDV Cameras

As the HDV format gains acceptance, many people are wondering what camera to buy. Sony, JVC and Canon offer competing models and formats, with the most significant difference being the choice between 720p and 1080i.

Sony has adopted the 1080i format, and now has enough models available to compete with itself. First there was the HDR-FX1, a high-end consumer HDV camera. Then Sony offered a professional version of that camera, the HVR-Z1U. Sony also makes a number of consumer-grade HDV palmcorders.

Now there is the HVR-A1U, which essentially lies between Sony’s line of consumer and professional HDV cameras.
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Audio for Houses of Worship

Much attention is given to the fact that upgrading video from standard definition (SD) to high definition (HD) creates richer, more dynamic images that heighten attention and interest. But to really complete the “picture,” it’s equally important to consider the role that audio plays in creating a total presentation.

However compelling your visuals may be, without properly recorded and mixed audio, the message to a congregation will not be heard. HD image resolution cannot make up for poor audio quality and, in fact, may draw attention to it.
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Digital Usher - Self-guided audio tour @ NAB

The Sony exhibit at NAB is a dizzying 24,000 square feet in size with a layout as complex as a Las Vegas hotel. So to help you navigate through each technology area and find the station most relevant to your ministry, Sony is pleased to provide the "Digital Usher."
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Upcoming Events

NAB 2006
April 22 - 27
Las Vegas, NV
Sony Booth # SU107, South Hall Upper Level
For more information on the NAB Technologies for Worship Conference click here

Media, Marketing and Promotions Conference 2006
May 21-23, 2006
Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront
Jacksonville, FL
Click Here for more information

InfoComm 2006
June 3-9, 2006
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, FL
Click Here for more information

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Training

Since 1970, Sony Training Institute, the industry education leader, has trained thousands of video professional like you on the latest service technologies and production techniques. In addition to offering production and post production courses taught with entirely digital or a mixture of digital and analog equipment, Sony Training Institute provides workshops designed specifically to put you on the right track in your transition to digital.

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