New AV System

[Wattsuk]

You're probably right on the level. Balanced outputs typically sit in the range of +20 to +30dbV whereas taking the signal passively in an unbalanced approach will cause a -6dbV to -10dbV drop so still more than enough for amateur audio production.

The issue that may be more relevant is the ground noise.
Especially with power supply noises in PC's and even worse if they are using a laptop with some of their associated transformers.

I've wrestled with this in the past and an active converter or mixer is the safest and easiest way to overcome the ground noise issues in most cases.

[shanedyork]

Thank everyone for the help so far. I grabbed a 30 buck xlr to usb converter of Amazon and will try that and also will try the ground and hot only cables. This makes for sense to me now. Regarding the output ports needing to be configured, I can just double up on one of the current ports being used right?

[tmilne]

Many are not answering my original question. I'm not interested in the sound signal (we run that through a sound board anyway), what I want to do is send a digital to the extron switch controller so we don't have to manually make a selection with the buttons on the front of the switcher.

That said, we did find workarounds for all of the above, so this is no longer as critical.

[russellhltn]

Regarding the output ports needing to be configured, I can just double up on one of the current ports being used right?

It depends on what kind of load your device puts on the unit. It could lower the volume.

As for your adapter, make sure it can handle line-in and isn't mic level only.

[kgechols]

The touch screens are Ivies... https://www.ivie.com/index.php/itc-1

We are getting wonderful audio and video outputs from the new system, so no need to go back to the old Crabbox. What I really need is programmatic access to the Ivie, so I can set it programmatically...

And for an update, we have figured out a way to configure the system so all sound routes through our sound board, so we avoid any nasty feedback loops, and can leave the Ivie set to Extron Selection. This also gives the sound engineer full control of all audio from the AV room.

I've prepared a detailed system layout and attached it.

I've also done extensive testing with many broadcast setup and streaming options, also attached.

This post and especially the PPT attachments are the most helpful thing I've found on the "new" AV system that we just got in Oct. 2025. Unfortunately, the integrator either messed something up or some of the devices are defective because they do not work as intended.
Regardless, were you provided the ATEM switcher, PTZ joystick and Yamaha audio mixer or was all of that personal gear of a member or acquired through Stake / Ward funds?
I have all of that type of gear (except the PTZ joystick) and have been using it for broadcasts for years, but want to make sure our stake can carry on without me one day...

[tmilne]

I'm glad you found this useful. I spent many hours alone, during COVID, researching and configuring this system. I have since moved back to Utah, and was able to leverage this documentation to help setup our new stake center in 2024 as well, so most of the information is still good.

About your questions:

All of the extra equipment was purchased with stake funds: ATEM, PTZ joystick, and Yamaha sound board.

One other thing I should note: our stake had also previously purchased a much better PTZ camera (we leveraged unused activity funds during COVID), and when the installers came to install the one provided by the church, he saw ours and installed that instead, saying it was a much better camera. The church installer ran a usb line back to the cabinet to plug the joystick into, but our camera had an ethernet jack, so I was able to run another ethernet cable up to the camera and connect it into the building's network. With that, I was able to connect to and control the PTZ camera with OBS Studio, thus eliminating the need for other hardware controllers.

So at the end I was not using the joystick as much, because I installed and configured OBS Studio on a notebook in the control room. This was able to preprogram and automate the camera positions including panning and zooming, and control all of the ATEM options. WIth a "button push" in OBS studio I was able to mute the chapel and sacrament table mics and stop the video feed during sacrament, for example, and also pan and zoom to the chorister during hymns. Another member donated an extra Steam Deck, and I was able to push all of our OBS programs to that, or run it virtually on the laptop.

So there are many options, and we got it running so smoothly that we called several 16-18 year olds in the units to run it for their weekly broadcasts. My new Stake Center in Utah had the church issued PTZ camera without the ethernet option, so Your mileage may also vary.

Feel free to reach out if you need any other help.