confused, need help

[PraiseHim]

Hey all,
I guess you could say that I'm the media director at my church. More specifically I run the sound system. I think since I'm the only one who understood how to do an eq and the mixer to try to blend the voices of the praise team, I got the job by default. In any case, I want to do the best job I can for the glory of the Lord.

We are a small church that runs around 40-50. I recently attended a business meeting and proposed that we start a fund for the media area and that we hold a fundraiser in a couple of months to fund it. To my surprise, everyone agreed!

So now the fund will have around 1500 dollars in it in a couple of months. I have several pressing problems. First, when I first turn the sound on, the speakers pop and crackle some - I've been told that this isn't the speakers.

Secondly, and this is most important, one of the main things we want is a computer/projector combo that can play dvds, run powerpoints, maybe web conference for state overseers/pastor addresses. I would like to have a computer large enough to eventually buy software to record sermons on it and make cd/dvds.

I can hook up the equipment and figure out how to work it but the list of possibilities are seeminly endless. I need suggestions on what equipment to buy (computer, projector, switcher?) I do want to be a good steward of this fund and not get stuck with a cheap product that won't perform well. It doesn't matter if its a a laptop or a desktop as long as it is internet capable and large enough to meet our needs. Remember our limited budget is also a factor.

Thanks so much,

Rob

[tpichler]

Your speakers poping on power up is probably related to the way you are powering up. You should always turn your power amps on last and turn them off first. It is a great habit to get into thinking about the signal path when ever you reach for a power switch. When you get a little larger or if your system needs to be turned on and off by a non technical user then you should look into a power sequencer which will do this step for you.

As for your computer solution I would recomend that you do not use the same computer for presentation and recording. It is certianly possible to configure a nice system to do it but it can be very challenging to keep the system optimized for the different tasks.

I recommend purchasing a computer with at least 3 Gig of RAM, a dedicated video card (I prefer nVidea), and a SATA Hard drive 7200 rpm minimum. I have found that the processor speed is not as important of an issue as these items. I also recommend not purchasing a very high end computer because the technology advances so fast it is usually better to purchase a $500 computer every 2 years than to spend $1000 and hope it will still be acceptable in 4 years.

I recently purchased one of the little Asus eee boxes and we are using it for all the sound effects and music tracks for a fairly significant kids program. For $200 it was a great investment.

[daver2]

There could be a few reasons for pops and crackles when you turn your kit on. The first one has been identified above - it may be the order you are powering up your equipment. The power amps should be the last things to be switched on and the first to be switched off.

How old are your amplifiers? If they are fairly old - it could be that dust and dirt has accumulated on the controls and they are causing the initial crackles. Another (more costly) possibility is the amplifier output capacitors are on the way out and need replacing. Again, though, this would only affect an 'old' amplifier.

Dave