Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral has installed Panasonic’s PTZ camera system to live stream Sunday Mass to its audience of 5,000 per week. With the coronavirus pandemic and continued social distancing restricting worshippers attending mass, Panasonic AW-HN40 PTZ cameras with optical zoom capability and NDI/HX output have been installed to provide worshippers with an innovative live streaming solution.
Panasonic partner Adlib, an audiovisual solutions company with a longstanding relationship with the cathedral, initially provided a temporary solution to address the aftermath of the lockdown but after a successful pilot recommended Panasonic AW-HN40 PTZ cameras to be permanently installed as a discreet, professional-quality system. The optical zoom capability of the cameras was particularly important for the installation. A single Panasonic PTZ camera has the flexibility to be used for a wide shot that shows off the entire cathedral, or an extreme close up of the priest or readers, using a selection of pre-set camera movements. The second camera is similarly versatile, being used for wide shots of the choir, close-ups of the organist, and a variety of shots looking into the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.
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“Initially, there was some concern that the cameras would be too conspicuous but a demo quickly showed that the cameras were very discreet and their availability in both white and black to suit different parts of the cathedral made them blend in even better,” said Tim Robinson, Adlib installation project manager. “Ultimately, the dean and his staff were so taken with the shots we could get from a central position, they asked that the camera be installed in an ideal location that we never would have thought possible.”
Panasonic PTZ cameras provided the correct combination of cost-efficiency and for the cathedral’s needs and the new system has been so successful that the cathedral now plans to live stream more services to its socially distanced congregation.
