Case Study: Canare provides connectivity for Joyce Meyer Ministries

Joyce Meyer Ministries is a Christian non-profit organization that produces a daily television program called “Enjoying Everyday Life” hosted by New York Times best-selling author, Joyce Meyer. The program is translated into more than 100 languages and is syndicated around the world. In the United States, “Enjoying Everyday Life” airs on all major Christian television networks including TBN and Daystar. With modern broadcasting evolving to 4K productions, the ministry’s technical team knew it was time to make the move from HD. In doing so, all of the organization’s cables and patchbay panels needed to be replaced for a successful upgrade. The organization turned to Broadcast Technical Services (BTS), a broadcast systems integration, production and engineering solutions company based in Houston, Texas, to assist with the changes.

For the 4K transition, BTS and Joyce Meyer Ministries worked together to select Canare’s 12G-SDI/4K video patchbays, panels and coax cables with various connectors. “I have used the brand in the past, but this was first time we’ve done a Canare install of this caliber, and we have been very pleased with the results,” says Bill McKee, Broadcast Technical Services CEO. “The solutions have been great—the connectors went on easily and we have had no issues. In fact, we just did another 12G/4K install for another church and ordered all the same materials we used for Joyce Meyer Ministries.”

Now fully upgraded to 4K, the team at Joyce Meyer Ministries reflects on the benefits that Canare brings to the organization. Since the organization broadcasts globally, long-lasting connectivity was a major consideration. “The connectors are easy to terminate; we bought the right tools and all connections passed testing after termination,” says Joyce Meyer Ministries Broadcast Engineer Brian Laschober, who was pivotal in choosing the Canare solutions. “Every connector works flawlessly.” Laschober further emphasized Canare’s durability, which is important for an integration of this size. “I think Canare is a leader in the industry; the quality is on par, or better than, a lot of the other manufacturers,” he shares. “From past experiences, I know I will get the same durability with these new solutions as I have with the older models, which all continue to perform flawlessly.”

Laschober adds that the ministry also needed a product that would integrate well with the cameras they use. “We use the Sony HDC-F5500, which is a full-size, 4K broadcast camera—six of them for the studio and another six on the road,” he explains. “The integration between Canare and the Sony cameras has been great, and everything works perfectly. When the time comes to upgrade the remainder of our road fleet to 4K, we will use Canare for that as well.”

As a longtime Canare user, Laschober knew the brand was the right solution to assist Joyce Meyer Ministries. “I have been using a variety of Canare and used cables and connectors since the 1990s,” he continues. “I especially like the design of their BNC connectors—they don’t seem to tarnish. I have a 20-year-old Canare connector, and it still looks brand new compared to other connectors I have used in the past. On top of that, Canare provides higher specs at a lower cost and with a quicker turnaround time than any other competitor on the market. Best of all, Canare was able to meet the need and get it done within our timeline.”

Price and time are typically two major considerations for house of worship installations. “One of our objectives is to try and save money for the churches we partner with,” explains McKee. “Canare equipment falls into a price point that makes it possible to use the brand with smaller churches. This was a major install of Canare products, and everything went flawlessly—from ordering to installation. With all the equipment shortages the industry is facing, it was hard to find a brand that could deliver in the timeframe we were faced with, but Canare was able to get us everything we needed to meet our 12G spec quickly. Since Canare builds all its solutions, I also know that the equipment will always be in stock.”

This is not the first installation that Joyce Meyer Ministries and BTS have worked on together. The two organizations have partnered on various other projects over the past 20 years. BTS specializes in providing system design, installation and equipment recommendations for sports venues, houses of worship and television networks. An industry veteran, McKee worked in the industry for many years prior to starting the company, providing component level repair and maintenance on a variety of intercom systems, switchers and routers. He is perhaps most well-known for his role in the creation of the HSC Sunshine Sports South Prime Network, which is now known as FOX Sports Network.

Laschober got his start in house of worship AV productions at a local church before landing at Joyce Meyer Ministries nearly 25 years ago. Today, Laschober serves as the organization’s broadcast engineer, overseeing the technology supporting video and post-production in three studios, as well as location production capabilities. He has also been involved with system integration of all the editing suites, broadcast studios and control rooms at Joyce Meyer Ministries, and as a broadcast engineer for the organization, traveling with the team to its conferences in larger-scale stadiums and arenas.

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Joyce Meyer Ministries has a large global presence that connects with millions of individuals each month through its website and social media platforms. The non-profit also shares its message through TV, radio and live conferences around the globe, and provides global humanitarian aid built on the foundation of faith.