[lit-ideas] Signs of the Times

CNET reports that,

"LAS VEGAS--Tech companies are getting religion.

Companies such as Sony, Panasonic, Avid and Hitachi are helping
churches spread the gospel as part of an effort to cash in on an
exploding market known as "house of worship technology."

In recent years, members of the clergy have begun competing with MTV,
video games and the Internet by jazzing up sermons with image
magnification systems and large-screen video displays, a la Apple
Computer's Steve Jobs at a product launch. The trend has evolved, and
churches now are Webcasting to distant parishioners with sophisticated
multicamera operations and pumping up the volume inside worship areas
with state-of-the-art sound systems.

"It's like going to a rock concert," says Patrick Teagarden, one of
the growing number of sound-and-video technicians whose main customers
are churches. "It's a fact: Media helps make it easier for people to
pay attention."

An illustration of the market's growing clout came this week at the
National Association of Broadcasters 2006 electronic media conference.
For the first time, NAB dedicated an exhibit area to tech and consumer
electronics companies that are catering to churches.

The titles of some of the conference sessions included "Radio
Frequency Interference & The Church Sound System," "Worship Software
to Expand Your Media Presentation" and "Microphones & Religious
Applications."

--
John McCreery
The Word Works, Ltd.
55-13-202 Miyagaya, Nishi-ku
Yokohama 220-0006, JAPAN
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