Background

Wimborne Minster is a church set in the historic market town of Wimborne, Dorset. Originally built in Saxon times, it’s now the main Christian religious church for the town and surrounding villages. In November 2019, the church contacted Dacombes of Wimborne, a local AV specialist company, looking to digitalise their services for their congregation. The church wanted to incorporate digital screens for a better audience experience during sermons. First and foremost, they wanted to be able to use the screen as a monitor connected to a new camera system to give people in the side aisles a better view. They also wanted to be able to connect devices to other screens, such as staff members’ own laptops.

With the global pandemic forcing the world into lockdown in the first half of 2020, the total project was put on hiatus. It was only in June 2020, when lockdown was slowly starting to be lifted across the UK, did Dacombes of Wimborne get in touch with us looking for a commercial grade display that met their requirements. At this point, the displays were urgently needed as part of the church’s reopening plans, not only to utilise the screens as per their original brief but also now to help to display social distancing messages across the congregation.

Challenges

The church wanted to invest in large displays that could easily be moved into place around the nave as required so that the largest possible section of the audience had a comfortable view. This meant the screens had to be as big as possible within their budget. Being a place of worship, the church wanted a display that was not too garish or inappropriate for its environment. This also meant cables had to be hidden from view or addressed in a fashion that would not affect the original architecture of the building.

During sermons, the church wanted the flexibility to use the screens in a couple of different ways. From displaying staff members’ own devices, to connecting the displays to the CCTV cameras to use as monitors. The church wanted to be able to easily switch between the two, which meant the solution needed to be able to connect easily via HDMI.

Finally, the church needed screens that could easily be mounted with the minimum number of installers possible to conform to social distancing guidelines.

Solutions

Based on the requirements that were presented to us and the urgency of the project, we knew exactly the screen to recommend. We supplied Wimborne Minster with four of our recently upgraded 65” 4K Large Format Displays. The large screen size, plus its 4K resolution and ultra-wide viewing angle, ensured that the audience would be able to see the display clearly no matter where they were sat. With unassuming narrow bezels and no unappealing manufacturer brand names plastered over the screen, the monitor was the perfect solution for the church environment.

Although the 4K Large Format Displays have a powerful integrated Android PC, the screen is just as useful as a large-scale monitor which is what the church needed. As part of a larger control system that Dacombes of Wimborne put together, the screen was easily able to switch the port that the screens were displaying via a tablet device. This meant staff members could easily do this without the need for removing and connecting various cables which is time consuming and unsightly. With the solution that Dacombes of Wimborne integrated, there were virtually no messy cables on show.

The upgraded version of the 4K Large Format Displays are extremely lightweight thanks to the aluminium enclosure and polymer rear. This made installation onto the movable floor trolleys extremely easy and kept the install team as small as possible.

Results

The screens were prepared and dispatched swiftly from our UK warehouse. The installation was done in time, before the easing of lockdown restrictions on the 4th July 2020. Wimborne Minster were exceptionally happy with their new solution that has allowed them to connect to a wider audience during these times where they may not be able to physically connect. After the success of this project, Dacombes of Wimborne are looking to further promote this kind of solution to churches. Chris Lakins, Head Technician at Dacombes of Wimborne, said the following about working with Allsee:

“Dacombes of Wimborne chose Allsee monitors for this project due to their simplicity of use and professional looks. The project has had to be very precise in what products we have had to use due to the Wimborne Minster being one of the largest and important churches in the Dorset area.

Our 4K IP HDBT system works seamlessly with all the 65” monitors installed giving our client system control and independent input use at ease. It is great to use a product that is plug and play and also can be simply added into an IP controlled system. Being able to use the built in CMS portal adds a bespoke feature enabling our clients to produce marketing material which can be downloaded over the internet outside the workplace to any of the monitors.

Allsee have given us full support from helping us choose the correct product through to delivery and IT support when installed. Overall Dacombes of Wimborne Smart Home installation team and our clients have been supremely satisfied with Allsee products and full support.”

Beyond lockdown, Wimborne Minster now has a full solution to improve the experience for their community.

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