• Design & Integration
    • House Of Worship
      • Overview
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        HOUSES OF WORSHIP

        When it comes right down to it, the main function of a sanctuary is assembly for the purpose of worship, which requires communication between the pulpit and the congregation. If that communication is not easily intelligible at every seat in the room, then the room cannot perform its primary function. Music in worship can be a powerful communicator and connector between people. Whether intended to sooth or stir the soul, raise the spirit, or engage our emotions, your attendees need to be able to clearly hear and feel it. When the complex sound of music is marred, smeared, unbalanced, too loud, too soft, or otherwise affected by reflective or reverberant room acoustics, inadequate or poorly tuned equipment, or untrained volunteers, that worship ministry will not be as fulfilling, enjoyable, or effective as it could be. Room acoustics play a crucial role in the design and selection of a sound system.

        A sound system is a signal chain which is only as strong as its weakest link. Any equipment that is low quality, functionally inadequate for it’s task, or poorly maintained is likely limiting the entire system’s capabilities. However, even the best equipment does only one thing all on its own- depreciate in resale value. The real value for the user is in the capabilities it offers and how creatively it is used to engage your audience and maximize the impact of your message and music.

        At ATS Communications we are sometimes asked to perform a specific task, more often we find that our house of worship clients come to appreciate and benefit the most from a long-term relationship and the assurance of an ongoing service contract.

        To work with ATS Communications is to engage in a relationship where we bring several decades of engineering and production experience and expertise to you.

        • We can advise and help guide your system upgrades and design and install an Audio & Video system tailored to your specific needs.
        • We can do an acoustical analysis and  tune your sound system for your room and install acoustic treatments when needed.
        • We offer training programs for your volunteers or staff in the skills of live mixing and recording.
        • We hold our installations to the highest standards of professional work.

        One of our transformations:

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        HOUSES OF WORSHIP

      • Hybrid Ministries Tech Forum

        Announcing the Hybrid Ministries Tech Forum

        A Live weekly Zoom show about maintaining and expanding your on-line congregation, transitioning from virtual to Hybrid worship and community.

        Each week our panelists and special guests will discuss the many aspects of and questions about evaluating the resources, challenges, and technologies available to live stream your activities.

        Extensive time will be given to Q&A from attendees and we maintain a Discord platform as a 24/7 resource for discussion and curated information.

        Register Here:

        Hybrid Ministries Tech Forum

      • Webcasting

        VIRTUAL & HYBRID WORSHIP

        Virtual and Hybrid worship webcasts have have reinvented church and ministry, and for many good reasons are likely to continue. During the Pandemic, churches are signing new members from across the country and beyond. No longer is your membership growth limited by physical size, number of parking spaces, or physical location.
        No longer do parents with sick children have to miss church.
        No longer do children with sick parents have to miss R.E.

        However, the ease of attending services from home means that presentation quality can be a competitive differentiator between churches.

        We can help by providing strategic and technical consultation, systems design, installation, training, and maintenance services.

        No matter what streaming platform you use, a good webcast requires several basics:

        • Good Sources-
          • Audio at a good level, free of distortion, well balanced, low in room ambiance and free of distracting noises.
          • Video that is well lit, correctly framed and colored, with a complimentary background.
          • Pre-produced video segments that look and sound good and will hold the viewer’s attention.
        • Internet connections with enough bandwidth to support the number of HD video signals required. That includes both inside and outside the buildings. Never rely on WiFi for hosting.
        • Good advance planning- every program element of the webcast must be in place before the start of the webcast. This is part of ....
        • A good workflow- Prerecorded videos should be pre-tested. Live participants should have their lighting, audio and video evaluated prior to “airtime”. There should be enough trained “hosts” to perform all the roles needed for a smooth webcast.
        • Correctly optimized platform settings for high quality audio and video transmission and reception.
        • And most of all, a great worship service whether in person or on-line, has to foster ENGAGEMENT.

        Planning to webcast from the sanctuary with people in the pews is a very different affair than an all virtual service. In general, a good looking webcast utilizes multiple cameras and support equipment, a separate sound mix that's different than the sanctuary mix, a way to incorporate live content with prerecorded or remote content, careful attention to the Local Area Network, a technical design to make everything work together, a production plan, and a Technical Order Of Service that all the techs can follow.

        For live and hybrid streaming, many equipment related questions need to be considered -

        • How many cameras are needed?
        • Where /how should they be mounted
        • What kind of lenses do they need?
        • What kind of video switcher do you need, and which type of connection should be used between the cameras ans switcher?
        • How will you bring the online attendees together with the attendees in the room?
        • Will video projection or imaging be needed in the sanctuary to show prerecorded or remote presenters?
        • How will you do audio?
        • Will your internet and Ethernet networks handle the bandwidth of web streaming?

        However before even thinking about equipment, or more importantly to some, how expensive will it be, it is vitally important to establish certain non-technical project parameters.

        • Within the scope of sanctuary sound & video and online streaming, what are your goals, why, and how important do you see those goals to the church's mission and/or success?
        • Given the prospect that a financial investment in equipment may be necessary, have you thought about how to measure or define its success?
        • What elements or segments would make up your services and/or streaming events?
        • How happy are you with your current online worship, and what would you change if you could?
        • After your doors are reopened, how important do you predict a continuing online worship service to be to the church?
        • What people resources are available to operate equipment?
        • How much funding would be available, and would you consider alternative funding?

         

        No matter what streaming platform you use, a good webcast requires several basics:

        • Good Sources-
          • Audio at a good level, free of distortion, well balanced, low in room ambiance and free of distracting noises.
          • Video that is well lit, correctly framed and colored, with a non-distracting background.
          • Preproduced video segments that look and sound good and will hold the viewer’s attention.
        • Internet connections with enough bandwidth to support the number of HD video signals required. That includes both inside and outside the buildings. Never rely on WiFi for hosting.
        • Good advance planning- every program element of the webcast must be in place before the start of the webcast. This is part of ....
        • A good workflow- Prerecorded videos should be pre-tested. Live participants should have their lighting, audio and video evaluated prior to “airtime”. There should be enough trained “hosts” to perform all the roles needed for a smooth webcast.
        • Correctly optimized platform settings for high quality audio and video transmission and reception.
        • And most of all, a great worship service whether in person or on-line, has to foster ENGAGEMENT.
      • Image Displays

        Image Projection

        In the Before Covid era, image projection was used in the sanctuary to enhance attendee engagement and to convey information, Spiritual imagery, image magnification, announcements, hymn lyrics, all effectively served one of those two functions.

        In the Post Covid era, where continuing to provide online worship will be expected, there will be two audiences- one physically in the sanctuary and one virtually. It will not be practical to address them or to engage with them separately, but it will delight both audiences when they engage and interact together as one congregation, one community. All predictions are that the ability to grow a congregation regardless of building size or time of worship will be a boon to any church that does it well,

        To accomplish this during live worship or events, both audiences will have to see and hear each other without feedback loops and without missing any communications. Image displays /projection will be an important key to this engagement.

        • What type of display will be most appropriate for our room?
        • How many displays should there be?
        • What size should the display(s) be?
        • How will they connect to the video production system?
        • Should the image on the display be different than the webcast?

        These are considerations we can explore together before we make recommendations.

      • Wireless Microphones

        Wireless Microphones

        Wireless microphones are available with a very wide range of quality and in a wide range of prices. It is one area of communications technology where cost almost always relates directly to sound & build quality and reliability. Reliability is also directly related to your geographic location. Rural areas will have fewer interfering traffic than urban areas which can be critically congested with wireless transmitters.

        Everyone loves the convenience and ease of using a wireless microphone. However as miniature radio transmitters and receivers, they have to compete with radio & tv stations and a plethora of other wireless devices in your neighborhood for clean frequencies to communicate on. If you use multiple wireless mics, then they may even be competing with each other.

        We use sophisticated spectrum analyzers to detect “other traffic”, and then do a complex set of analysis to determine which frequencies each of your mics can operate on without interference.

        Even then, wireless traffic is constantly changing. New transmitters can be turned on at any time, and existing ones can change frequency, and there will be no advance warning. It could happen in the middle of a service. A new transmitter across the street appearing on a frequency you’re using can disable your microphone.  This is why we encourage the use of a “better” class of systems with built-in monitoring and remote control capabilities that allow us to log in, look at the data, and make adjustments without having to schedule a visit.

      • Sound & Mixing Systems

        Sound & Mixing Systems

        How would we define Good Sound vs. anything less, or a Good Sound System for that matter? There are dozens of books written on this topic, but my elevator pitch would sound something like this:

        A Good Sound System would deliver the same volume level, frequency response, clarity, presence, intelligibility, and articulation to every attendee in the room, regardless of whether the sound is from music or speech, performed live or pre-recoreded. Further, a Good Sound System would make enough inputs, outputs, tools, and controls available to its operator to make the critical adjustments necessary to accomplish the first criteria.

        Sounds pretty easy, right? NOT!

        In the Post Covid era, where live streaming will be imperative, mixing doubled in complexity. A streaming mix and a sanctuary mix are very different things, particularly when music is performed. There must be two different mixes, and this requires additional features from a mixing system.

      • Audio Training

        SOUND MIXING AND RECORDING

        Mixing sound is part science, part craft, and part art. A good mix achieves an even frequency balance, a high level of speech intelligibility, musical articulation, clarity. imaging, emotion, a controlled dynamic range, and most importantly is invisible to the audience. They are not there to hear loudspeakers. It is a good idea for anyone who mixes to have a comfortable understanding of the equipment under their control, a good understanding of music and speech, and to know what to listen for and how to translate what they hear to how to manipulate the mixer controls to get the desired results. They have the power to shape the performer's and presenter’s sound and to ensure that the intended impact and emotion is delivered. Whether in-person or watching from home, a good quality audio mix is easy to appreciate, while a poor quality mix is easily recognized and can reflect poorly on the host.

        After 45 years I still get the thrill of watching an audience respond to a great performance and mix, and I still learn something new every day. And I enjoy passing on the knowledge I've gained to others.

        If you are fortunate enough to have talented musicians singing and playing for you or a skilled orator in the pulpit and if these elements play a major role in your worship style, there are few better ways to pay tribute for their work and contributions and your church's culture than to deliver great sound capture great recordings. One church I set up now has 8 years worth of fabulous music recordings which they use for a 30 minute prelude before every virtual service. This prelude enjoys a high level of pre-service engagement in the chat room and appreciation for the music.

        Multitrack recording allows you to get better sermon and music recordings, and then allows you to remix every input again, to clean up tracks, add effects and really polish it up. Today's digital mixers and software make it easier and less expensive than ever to do live recording.

         

      • Video Training

        Video Production Training

        Have you adapted well to virtual worship services? Have you developed a style that engages viewers, creates a sense of community, and holds people’s attention long enough to get the day’s messages across?

        Webcasting, like television production, is about NOT losing your audience. It is about visual, audible, physical, and emotional engagement, It is about assembling a series of content elements into a seamless flow of information that is engaging to watch and easy to comprehend and retain.

        And let’s realize that with so many churches now online, you are competing for viewers, for new members, and for contributions. Therefore the quality of your presentation is critical to success. Your video and audio quality, transitions, themes, and story lines, all tell a story about your church. Your webcast is your virtual sanctuary and visitors will form and impression from it.

        Fortunately, we live in an era where high quality video production tools are both affordable and relatively easy to learn. But tools alone do not make great products.  Their real value is in what you do with those tools.

        How we can help you produce better webcasts:

        • Develop a Signal Chain
          • The signal chain of video and streaming devices can limit your productivity if it’s not well configured.
        • Develop a Work Flow
          • Successful video production is very detail oriented. There are many different segments and many people to work on them. Things have to happen in a particular order and within a time frame that allows on-time completion.
        • Learn how to improve camera work, editing, and switching skills
          • Video editing can manipulate images and footage in amazing ways, and fancy tricks can either help tell a story, or detract from it.
          • Simple things like camera angles, framing, lighting, and depth of field can be used to focus the viewer’s attention.
          • Transitions between shots and between segments should not be distractions. Smooth transitions usher the viewer along the story line, rather than interrupt it.
      • Rental Opportunities

        Post-Covid Revenue Opportunities

        Many churches depend on the revenues from event rentals such as weddings, funerals, coming of age celebrations, meetings, etc. Now that your sanctuary and perhaps your community hall is equipped with video web streaming technology, your events can go online!

        Now people who would not have been able to attend can join in remotely, and with a much better level of engagement than simply Facebooking live from a cell phone.

    • Entertainment
       
    • Retail
       
    • Corporate
       
  • Wireless Frequency Coordination

    RUNNING WIRELESS ON FAITH?

    airSleuthGraph2WiFi, Wireless Microphones, and Wireless Monitors are miniature radio transmitters, each one operating on a different radio frequency that must be clear of other wireless traffic for a clean signal. We identify good frequencies for you by using a radio spectrum analyzer.

    Simple scanners, such as those featured in wireless mic receivers, offer only a single, unreliable snapshot in time. Unknown transmitters can turn on and off seemingly at random, and usually at the very moment your event begins.

    Our portable spectrum analyzer allows us to scan from 10MHz to 6GHZ and report on RF activity at a location over time from minutes to 24 hours or more.

    We can focus on your specific frequency range of interest for your wireless mics, IFB, video, or WiFi data systems to identify which frequencies have continuous or intermittent traffic on them so you can avoid the interference they will cause.

    Whether you are in a permanent facility or setting up temporarily for an event, a frequency scan can help you predict which wireless frequencies will be most reliable. If desired, we can remain on site during an event to troubleshoot frequency problems or help locate rogue transmitters.

    Call us to discuss your event and location.

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  • Assisted Listening
    • Over view

      Assisted Listening Systems

      Studies have reported that as many as 25% of all Americans suffer from some degree of hearing loss.

      If you are frequently exposed to loud noise, such as concerts, night clubs, jets, guns, heavy machinery, gas powered yard tools, etc., you may notice a ringing or a persistent tone in one or both ears. It may be constant or intermittent, you may only notice it when it’s really quiet or In sever cases it is omnipresent. Known as Tinitis, it is one form of hearing loss.

      If you find it increasingly difficult to understand conversation in the presence of other loud sounds, such as at a concert or at a loud restaurant, this could be hearing loss at certain critical frequencies. A hearing test performed by an audiologist can graph out the frequency response of your hearing in each ear.

      Many people over 40 and some much younger find it difficult to understand and comprehend amplified speech in some rooms. Assisted Listening systems are intended to improve comprehension.

      There are four technologies that can support Assisted Listening systems. Each has their strengths and weaknesses, and should be evaluated against your particular needs.

      We can help you consider these options and we can install all of them.

    • Induction Loops
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      • LYR">Overview
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        A recent study determined that 17% of Americans suffer from hearing loss. Induction Loop hearing assist systems are in increasing demand in the United States by a population that is seeing higher rates of hearing loss and at younger ages than ever before. Studies show that our world is getting noisier, given accellerated construction projects, public transportation, and of course portable electronic devices with earbuds focusing sound directly  down our ear canals.

        Fortunately, hearing aides are also benefiting from ultra miniature electronics and computerization. They are now widely available with Telecoils (T-Coil), which allows them to receive audio signals from any induction loop system without any additional equipment. This helps preserve the privacy and dignity of the wearer by eliminating the effort, embarrassment, and stigma of having to seek out and wear a belt pack and headphones during an event.

        Even better, because they are listening through their own hearing aides, the sound each person hears is optimized by their audiologist for their particular hearing loss. Plus, because hearing aides are in-the-canal devices, a person in the next seat is not bothered by the spill from headphones that are too loud.

        Headphones, on the other hand, amplify all frequencies equally, including those the wearer cannot hear, which is why a hearing impaired person will often not know that they are too loud.

        For those with hearing loss too minor for a hearing aide, but still desire hearing assistance, belt packs with headphones are available.

        While the Europe Union recognized the value of induction loop hearing assist systems decades ago and have required them by law in places of public assembly as well as many customer service points, legislation and regulations in the U.S. are fairly new. See the Regulation section of our web site for more information.

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      • LYR">What is an Induction Loop?
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        Essentially, an induction loop is a  wire embedded into a room and connected to a voltage source amplifier. When activated with an audio signal, a magnetic field is generated within the confines of the loop. When an induction receiver is within the looped area, the magnetic energy is converted back into an audio signal.

        For certain applications where the required coverage area is small (such as a service counter or a kiosk), a small loop can be embedded into furniture.

        The magnetic field is not a radio frequency, and is not susceptible to interference from wireless mics or other radio or television transmitters. The range is very limited, and can be contained entirely within a room. Reception does not require line of sight as infra-red systems do.

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      • LYR">Why Use A Loop?
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        Of the three types of assisted listening systems available (Radio /RF, Infra-Red), Induction Loops have unique advantages.

        Hearing loss is not linear. People lose the ability hear certain frequencies or in severe cases they can hear only certain frequencies. Assisted hearing receivers with earphones amplify all frequencies equally, including those that people with hearing loss cannot hear.When coupled to a hearing aide, the frequency response is tailored ad optimized for each individual wearer, resulting in higher intelligibility at lower volumes.

        Induction Loop adapters in the form of a neck loop can be offered with IR & RF receivers to enable the use of hearing aides.

        With Infra-red and RF systems hearing challenged attendees must find and request belt pack receivers and headphones, then must return them at the end of the event. To many people, these devices feel like a badge of disability, along with a loss of dignity.

        Infra-Red systems require a direct line of sight from radiator to receiver. The signal can disappear if a body, a chair, or other object gets in the way. IR radiators age after a few years and must be replaced, increasing the system’s total cost of operation. Infra-Red has a  security advantage in that their signal cannot be picked up outside the walls of the room.

        RF systems can transmit an unintended distance outside the room, and is subject to interference within the room from other radio and some lighting systems.

        The technical specifications for the transmission of RF or IR audio is not standardized. A receiver from one manufacturer is not guaranteed to work with another manufacturer’s transmitter. Therefore a consumer cannot rely on a personally owned receiver. They must use a house receiver.

        Installed Inductions loops are the only technology that is rigorously standardized and does not require an attendee to use a house receiver. Those who have a Telecoil (aka T-Coil) enabled hearing aide need no additional equipment. They hear the event directly through their hearing aide, which is tuned by their audiologist for their specific hearing loss, amplifying only the frequencies they need to hear, and in the correct proportion. Unlike headphones, hearing aides are not heard by people in neighboring seats.

        Induction Loop systems saves the venue money by reducing the number of house receivers and headphones required to be maintained and batteried, reduces long-term maintenance costs, and provides attendees an improved customer and event experience.

      • LYR">Can Anyone Do It?
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        Induction loop design is unique amongst its audio and video system cousins, including other assisted listening system designs. An Induction Loop system is a magnetic field generator with audio modulated on the field. The field strength and the audio frequency response must be uniform throughout the field in order to meet certification specifications.

        Architectural elements such as building steel, rebar, reinforced concrete floors and even some ceiling tile grids can interfere with or absorb magnetic fields, negatively affecting performance. Insuring the field's uniformity throughout a room and adherence to ADA magnetic and audio performance specifications requires specialized equipment and training.

        We are certified for all levels of induction loop design and installation and have installed loops in
        churches, court rooms, auditorium theaters, and more. We draw on equipment from manufacturers we have selected for their reliably high quality equipment and performance.

        Our experience has enabled us to overcome “magnetically challenging” rooms that would not have met certification requirements with the typical loop designs.

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      • LYR">How Is It Done?
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        International performance standards have been developed in order to standardize the performance of an induction loop system. Similar to the standards in place for the broadcasting of television and radio signals that allows any receiver to work with the transmitted information to produce the proper picture and sound qualities.

        An improperly designed or installed loop or driver will not meet the standards and will not produce a uniform signal strength or frequency response in the room, and can not be certified to meet the ADA law or performance standards.

        There are more than six different basic induction loop designs, each with their own unique properties and applications such as perimeter, low loss, low spill, cancellation, phased array, and others. Then there are several types of wire and a number of different loop drivers available.

        Our process starts with a site survey to test and measure the intended space to detect conditions that would hamper or prevent the loop from meeting the certification requirements and to determine the engineering requirements needed to meet the project specifications. We take room to room privacy concerns into account as well as adjacent spaces with induction loops to prevent interferences.

        For new construction we work closely with the architect and general contractor. We also work closely with your AV integration and service contractors. We then design the system and run proof tests when necessary. The installation occurs before the finished floor is installed, whether that be carpeting, wood, tile, etc.. We take integrity tests before and after the flooring and furniture is installed, and we perform the final certification test after everything is in place.

        For retrofit installations we consider the rooms’ architecture, decor, flooring, furniture, walls, & ceiling, and more. We also consider the room's intended use, and the typical attendee demographics. We will run the same series of tests and work with your AV people.

      • LYR">Regulations & Standards
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        The U.S. ADA law specifies that “In each assembly area where audible communication is integral to the use of the space, an assistive listening system shall be provided.” For induction loops It specifies the signal to noise ratio, the uniformity of field strength & frequency response, and for all technologies the minimum number of receivers to be available,

        The ANSI A117.1 standard now states that any induction loop system must meet the requirements of the performance standard IEC 60118-4.

        The result is that it is now a legal requirement to ensure that loop systems in new buildings (or substantial refurbishments) perform at a level that really makes a difference for the end user. It will be illegal to install a sub-standard hearing loop and those responsible may be subject to criminal or civil penalties, and furthermore that claimed ignorance of the law shall not excuse noncompliance.

        These regulations ensure that hearing impaired users with telecoil enabled hearing  aids or suitable receivers will be guaranteed a good quality experience  from a system that complies with standards for frequency response, field strength, background noise and area coverage.

        The ADA Law also specifies how many publicly available receivers a venue is required to have available. It is based on the seating capacity of either each room or all rooms together. In addition, a percentage of receivers are required to be hearing aid compatible. Having an installed loop reduces the required number of compatible receivers.

      • LYR">Loop Applications
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        • Auditoriums
        • Theaters
        • Meeting Rooms
        • Conference Centers
        • Health Care Facilities
        • Service Counters
        • Kiosks
        • Help Centers
        • Drive Through Order Kiosks
        • Emergency Call Boxes
        • Elevators
        • Huddle Spaces
        • Museum Displays
        • Airports
        • Class Rooms
        • Transportation platforms & Terminals
        • Taxi Cabs
        • Busses
        • Digital Signage / Wayfinding Displays
        • Visitor Centers
        • Trade Show Exhibits & Education Theaters

      Induction Loops

    • WiFi
       
    • RF
       
    • Infra-Red
       
  • Volunteer Training

    Even the most sophisticated equipment does only one thing all on its own-
    depreciate in resale value.

    The real value for the user is in the capabilities the technology offers and how creatively it is used to engage your audience and maximize the impact of your message and music.

    By this time in the pandemic and the age of virtual worship, I hope that we have all come to appreciate the value of training for tech volunteers. It can make the difference between a broadcast with smooth transitions, engaging imagery, attractive graphics, informative visual overlays, high quality sound, and standard audio levels, or one rife with errors, distractions, poor sound quality, and wildly swinging audio levels.

    Sound & Video production can be fun, spiritually satisfying, and very gratifying if you have the confidence in your skills and accomplishments. Training is the key to confidence. Some of our training is equipment-centric, what are these things and how do you operate them? However much of our training is about strategy, technique, objectives, and workflow. How to listen to a mix, what to listen for, how to choose between corrective or creative adjustments and how to make them. What visual or sound modifications work, when they work, and why?

    Learn how to maximize the impact of your events by making them look and sound great

     

  • Sound /Video System Tuneups
     
  • Wired /Wireless Networking
     
  • VoIP /Unified Communications
    • About VoIP

      Have you noticed?

      Telephones and phone services have dramatically changed over the last 10 years. Homes used to have a wired phone in multiple rooms. Today many homes have no land line service at all.

      Business offices still need desk phones, but the days of copper land line service are over. Today, phone services is delivered digitally via Internet service over fiber or coax (TV) cable. This type of phone service is known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), more accurately called SIP service(for Session Initiated Protocol.

      VoIP has many advantages over traditional copper, including

      • Consumer choice of service provider. -There are many providers that can deliver phone services using your standard internet service.
      • Unique features such as an incoming call ringing simultaneously on a cell phone
      • Transferring to a cell phone
      • Intercom with a cell phone
      • Remote Extensions - Take your desk phone home with you
      • Built-in full featured voicemail
      • Built-in Interactive Voice Recognition and Auto-Attendant
      • Buying a local phone number from another city
      • Call detail and audio recording

      Unified Communications

      More recently, the convergence that has occurred between digital audio, video, telephone, messaging, and security has come to be known as Unified Communications, meaning that the lines between these services and hardwares have all but disappeared. We listen to music and watch movies on our cell phones. We can message across platforms. We can keep an eye on security cameras from any computing device.

      Today’s IP-PBX’s are increasingly becoming UC hubs, capable of voice and video calling, text messaging,
      video teleconferencing, video surveillance, building access control with video doorphones and door lock controls.

       

      The Hardware

      As in the old days, there is a processor that translates incoming and outgoing calls between handsets and the outside world, known as a PBX, or in this case, an IP-PBX. Today, there is a choice of locating your IP-PBX within your premises or subscribing to a “Cloud” or “Hosted”  PBX.

      With an On-Premises PBX, all desktop phones (and related devices) are connected to the PBX over an Ethernet network, which can be the LAN that already exists for your computers or a separate network of CAT5e /Cat6 wires. The chief advantages are that you own the PBX and control and program the feature set. PBX’s used to be so expensive that most corporations would lease them. Today, a PBX that can handle hundreds of phones can cost less than a domestic airplane ticket.

      With Hosted or Cloud service, you are sharing a larger PBX in a data center and you pay a monthly subscription for each extension phone with it’s own phone #. All the extension phones are connected through your internet service.

      Either way, it is important to recognize that reliable internet service is essential for the service to work. If either your internet service or your LAN goes down, you have no phone service*. Therefore high quality service and battery backups are very important.

      Cell Phone Integration

      * One of the very cool features of both Hosted and Trunk systems is cell phone integration which benefits remote & home working. There are multiple ways to route calls between desk phones and cell phones -call forwarding, follow me, simultaneous ringing, and using a soft-phone app are just a few. With Hosted service, an enabled line can route a call to the extension owner’s cell phone even if the office’s internet service is down.

      Cell phone routing can be scheduled to prevent calls during off hours, The cell # can be easily changed or scheduled to change in advance to shift calls to a different person. The Voicemail box can remain on the VoIP system instead of using personal voicemail, making messages available to other staff members.

      Some organizations have even elected to eliminate desk phones altogether!

      Tenant Service

      If your facility offers rental office space, both hosted and on-premises PBX’s can be segmented to provide services to each entity, each with their own phone and extension #’s. Flat rate costs enable the facility owner to offer the space with service.

      The Service

      Rather than buying phone service from your traditional phone or cable tv provider (likely Verizon or Comcast), you can purchase SIP service from many providers. Prices are generally lower, sometimes considerably lower. Compare our own rate charts with your current phone bill.

      Hosted services are charged per extension phone. Trunk Service is charged as a package.

      On-Premises PBX’s use Trunk Service. A Trunk is traditionally a single Internet connection that provides multiple phone numbers. In VoIP, you purchase service based on how many conversations you want to be able to conduct concurrently, and how many phone numbers you want to have. A VoIP trunk typically starts with one phone number and 5 talk paths for 5 simultaneous outside conversations between all extensions. Phone #’s and talk paths can be added a la carte.

      Optionally, Hosted and Trunk services may also have a monthly time limit, or be limited to regional or national calling.

    • VoIP Hosted Service

      CLOUD HOSTED VoIP SERVICE

      Hosted or Cloud PBX Service makes VoIP easy. Other than the desk phones there's  no equipment on the premises and no programming required. All phone extensions connect to the Cloud PBX over your Internet service, and everything is programmed by the service provider.

      With Hosted Cloud Service, your desk phones are essentially computer terminals that talk to the cloud PBX. All external and internal calls travel over your Internet service. You will want to ensure that your network is configured properly and that your Internet service has sufficient bandwidth to handle the additional traffic.

      ATS Communications provides Hosted services through our partnership with Broadvoice business services. We make it easy by facilitating your contract, taking care of the technical details, and being your main point of contact.

      Our rates are very competitive and our service is first rate.

      We can help to evaluate your needs, provide you with a customized rate quote, and take care of the telephone installations.

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    • VoIP Trunk Service

      VoIP TRUNK SERVICE

      For larger systems, or when long term cost is considered, you'll want an On-Site PBX and Trunk service.

      With Trunk Service, you purchase phone numbers and call paths. A customer can have one or more phone numbers.Call paths determine the maximum number of outside calls that can happen concurrently. Extension to extension calls do not travel over trunks.

      ATS Communications provides Trunk Service through our partnership with Broadvoice Business services. We make it easy by facilitating your contract, taking care of the technical details, and being your main point of contact.

      Our rates are very competitive and our service is first rate.

      We can help to evaluate your needs, provide you with a customized rate quote, and take care of the installation.

       

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    • VoIP PBX's

      VoIP PBX SYSTEMS

      Owning and locating the PBX on your premises gives you and /or your local contractor total control for a lower long term cost.

      • Internet bandwidth is conserved because extension to extension calls stay on the premises (unless there's a remote extension involved).
      • All extensions, trunks, and features are programmed on your equipment.
      • You'll be buying SIP Trunk service which is similar to how analog phone lines were purchased, except that there are no lines from the street, they are all delivered over your internet service.
      • SIP Trunks are much less expensive than analog likes or hosted VoIP service.
      • We specialize in Grandstream PBX. Smaller than a notebook and able to handle up to 2000 users, these enterprise grade PBX’s start at under $400.00
      • Grandstream PBX’s are fully featured right out of the box. There are no additional feature fees, and firmware updates are free.
      • Free Soft Phone Apps for IOS & Android allow users to roam anywhere, any time at will.
      • Free Soft Phone App for Desktops enable you to make & receive calls and keep your phone book on your desktop or laptop.
      • Remote Extensions can be configured for satellite or home offices.
      • Surveillance video and door access control work very much like telephone extensions. They can call you with alerts or requests, you can call them to monitor what's going on.
      • Audio and Video teleconferencing becomes easy when it's done right through your phone system.
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    • VoIP Phones

      VoIP Phones, Cameras, Door phones

      One of the best features of VoIP telephony is that you can use nearly any VoIP phone from any manufacturer, and we can provide many of them. There are often advantages to matching phones to the on-site PBX however, and we really like the quality, variety, and features of Grandstream products.

      Choose from Basic Phones, Mid-Line feature rich phones, Cordless DECT phones, and Advanced Phones with cameras and Android screens for Internet browsing

      Video Teleconferencing, Doorphone viewing, Conference room phones, Surveillance cameras, and more.

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    • Installation & Programming

      ATS Communications provides a one-stop shop for VoIP systems, Service, and insallation.

      Because VoIP communicates over your Local Area Network and Internet service we can help to assess your current ISP service as well as your LAN infrastructure to be certain it can provide the low-latency traffic and security that VoIP requires.

      Careful data traffic management is very important. Voice communications requires high priority for low latency service, firewall access between the PBX and the outside SIP server, and different security protocols than file or browser based data traffic.

      We can work with your LAN contractor if you have one, or we can provide and install any additional necessary network hardware as well as changes to your router settings. We can also provide a Local Area Network assessment and complete upgrade.

    VoIP Telephony

 

ATS Communications offers audio, video, and acoustic consulting, systems design, and integration services for small to medium venues, commercial facilities, and Houses of Worship.

Click on the Services tab up top!

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