Establishing a sense of connection is foundational to nurturing a faith-based community, and in today’s digital era, it’s become much simpler with live streaming. Religious organizations can reach and interact with more followers around the world, and at a higher quality than ever before. 

Looking to enhance its live stream quality as it shares work, worship, and events with followers in other countries, the Dayalbagh, an Indian colony founded by the Radhasoami Faith, turned to systems integrator Sun Broadcast. Together, they built an UltraHD-capable multimedia production van with AJA gear sourced from technology distributor ARK. We caught up with Sun Broadcast VP Sanjay Chaudhary to learn more. 

Tell us more about Sun Broadcast.
Sun Broadcast is a subsidiary of Sun Group, a 40-year-old organization that got its start delivering end-to-end OEM solutions for broadcast, production, and archiving facilities. It has since expanded into systems integration to support live events, religious productions, and educational AV. Sun Group comprises three other companies, including Sun Medical Systems, Sun Infonet, and Luxury Personified (LPP). 

Why did Dayalbagh get in touch with you? 
Dayalbagh is a self-sustaining spiritual and educational community based in Agra, about 200 kilometers south of Delhi, India. Dayalbagh, which means “merciful garden,” is home to a five-acre campus and runs centers in over 90 other countries. Everything they do is for the betterment of their society, and they rarely purchase anything from outside their grounds. 

They came to us looking for a multimedia van that would allow them to produce, stream, record, and archive community activities, meetings, and worship sessions. They wanted a multi-camera setup with full switching, graphics, streaming, and recording capabilities. They also wanted to be able to integrate live feeds from virtual meetings across centers into productions. We developed an UltraHD workflow using AJA KUMO 1616-12G routers, Ki Pro Ultra 12G recorders, Mini-Converters, and KONA 5 I/O cards, among other equipment. 

How is Dayalbagh using the UltraHD multimedia van?  
The head of the institution uses the van to produce and live stream a range of community activities, including agricultural work and worship. Given the outdoor nature of many of these streams, the Dayalbagh production team relies on a solar-powered uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in the van and point-to-point connectivity, with one big antenna on the top of the van connecting to the main building’s internet. They can then stream content to different centers in geographies like Bangalore, Europe, and the US. Followers at these centers are provided with login credentials for an app so that they can access and participate remotely in the live streams of the activities taking place in Agra.  

What core tools in the van drive these productions? 
All the gear lives on a Tata Motors Winger van, which the customer provided. We customized it with the help of a Delhi fabricator. It includes all the standard traditional production control room equipment, largely 12G-SDI gear. ENG cameras, wireless microphones, and antennas are built into the vehicle so the Dayalbagh production team can capture live event coverage. Cooling, ventilation, lighting, and other tools are also integrated.  

On the outside of the van is an external, weatherproof access port that lets them connect cameras, wireless and wired microphones, external speakers, and internet to the production control rack that sits in the van. Audio and video sources are fed through that cavity to the on-board rack, which includes a mixing console, live video production suite, KUMO 1616-12G-SDI router, and Ki Pro Ultra 12G recorder. From the router, the team feeds the sources they want to leverage to their live video production suite for switching as well as to the Ki Pro Ultra 12G for ISO recording. 

An output from the live video production suite may also be distributed to a web meeting, hosted on a laptop inside the van. To utilize the laptop in an SDI-based broadcast workflow, we advised that they integrate HDMI to 12G-SDI to USB converters and a KUMO router into the workflow for flexible routing to all connected laptops to the desired destinations.

Most day-to-day operations are recorded and streamed in the HD 1080 format, with special events often recorded and streamed in an UltraHD format. These recordings are shared with an in-house post production team to create a final master for archiving. 

How did the pipeline come together? 
Prior to KUMO, the Dayalbagh production was point to point without an SDI router, but once we sat down with them and illustrated how they could make the setup more versatile with a dedicated router, their team was on board. It was easy for them to instantly see the flexibility these devices would provide. They realized they’d be able to route multiple signals wherever they need to go across their campus, whether to a team member for QC, audiences in an auditorium, a laptop, or another destination. As for the converters and capture card, we recommended AJA to ensure stability. AJA technology is built to last, so you get a lot of value out of your investment in the long run. 

Recording was the last piece of the workflow we had to consider. The client initially wanted to use the built-in recording capabilities of its live video production suite. Instead, we suggested external recorders to provide the quality they’d need today and in the future. Ultimately, we decided to go with Ki Pro Ultra 12G because we knew it would give them the ability to record four channels of HD now, and a single channel of UltraHD; it's future proof. And since the van is always outside, if there is a fluctuation in power, Ki Pro Ultra 12G ensures they won’t lose their content because of the device’s Ki Protect feature.  

What made this project memorable for your team? 
Deploying this workflow in such a confined space presented design and equipment selection challenges. We spent time listening to and understanding our client’s requirements. Then we mapped out the workflow, and the reaction was positive. They told us they’d visited other vendors before us who didn’t understand the requirements they wanted, but we did, which was rewarding. 

We also spent a lot of time on the ground with them, including two full days of in-depth training on all aspects of the workflow. They appreciated how we anticipated the things they’d need without them even telling us, like a digital clock and temperature meter that works on Wi-Fi, so they can always access the temperature of the van remotely. 

How would you describe your experience working with AJA and ARK on the project? 
Dayalbagh has been impressed by the live stream quality that the van supports, which was made possible with help from AJA and ARK (AJA’s India distributor). They’re thrilled about the products we chose, the design, our provisioning for ventilation, and the flexibility the setup provides to upgrade tools in the future. We love the AJA team and products, and ARK is a great partner. They’ve taken care of the AJA portfolio, and we’re very happy with their sales and support teams. If a challenge arises, ARK is quick to respond and help us fix it. 

What’s next for Sun Broadcast? 
We will continue to move the needle forward for new and returning clients, and leverage AJA gear across our work. Our aim is to continue collaborating with clients to understand their challenges, formulate plans to solve them, and then deliver on our commitments, with a focus on total solutions, not just products. It’s an ethos that has helped ensure that over 70 percent of our sales are repeat business. 

As an example, we helped facilitate an installation for a University in India, including a three-studio setup comprising a control room, an area for post production, and more. We opted for all AJA routers and Mini-Converters, and this was our second project for them. We did a similar previous installation for another one of their campuses, and they were so happy that they came back to us.

What advice would you offer to professionals just getting started in solutions integration?
Listen to your customers and don’t go to them with predetermined ideas. Ask and understand their requirements and pain points first. Then, design a workflow that fulfills those needs. And avoid selling anything just for the sake of making a sale. What’s most important is understanding their goals and recommending the right products to help them achieve them. This will help build loyal, repeat customers. 

About AJA Video Systems 
Since 1993, AJA Video Systems has been a leading manufacturer of cutting-edge technology for the broadcast, cinema, proAV, and post production markets. The company develops a range of powerful, flexible video interface and conversion technologies, digital video recording solutions, and color management, streaming, and remote production tools. All AJA products are designed and manufactured at our facilities in Grass Valley, California, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world. For further information, please see our website at www.aja.com. 

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Media Contact:
Katie Weinberg
Raz Public Relations, LLC 
310-450-1482, aja@razpr.com