At Life.Church, we make use of the Ross Switcher in a simple and intentional manner. This article covers the basic operation of the switcher and provides all the information you need to run it during service at Life.Church.
How to best utilize this article:
This article is the landing page for several articles teaching the various parts and functions of the video switcher. We will provide links within this article to the other articles, but remember to refer to this one as a guide. We have a video that very quickly covers all these topics as well.
Our team recommends one only uses the T-Bar to transition between sources on the video switcher. Please only use the T-bar; it allows the option to 'go back' if the preview source was incorrectly set.
For more information on the T-Bar and the other transition methods, please refer to our article Ross Switcher - T-Bar Best Practices.
The two most common rows of buttons we use on the switcher are referred to as the "program" and "preview" rows or buses.
Row = Bus
Program = Live - It also indicates what is going to the side screens.
Preview = Labeled Preset Bus - The source that's coming next.
For more information on the Program/Preview Bus and its functions, please refer to the article Ross Switcher - Program/Preview Explained.
At Life.Church we put up a code to let a parent know if their child needs attention in a room. We reserve one button on the switcher to display the 'LifeKids Code.'
A specific button on the switcher labeled "LK" is setup and ready to display the LifeKids code when needed. There is no need to do any preparation on the switcher, as the button is preconfigured to display the output of ProPresenter. It is necessary to do a small amount of prep work in ProPresenter such as clearing the background and entering the code in the messages field.
All you have to do when you're ready is hit the LK button once. When you are ready to take it down, press the button again.
For more information on the LifeKids button and the reason behind its use, please visit our article Ross Switcher - LifeKids Code Best Practices.
We ask that volunteers control three different screens or switcher outputs: the two side screens, the scenic screen and the center motorized screen. All three can be controlled via three buttons on the switcher.
The Side PJ button - Selects the layer that controls the output to the two outside projectors.
- The output of this source is referred to as program or live.
The Scenic PJ button - Selects the layer that controls the output to the scenic projection or the large backdrop of the stage.
The Center PJ button - Selects the layer that controls the output to the center motorized projector.
For more information on the three buttons check out our article Ross Switcher - Side/Scenic/Center Screens.
For more information on the Multiviewer TV, please visit our article Ross Switcher - Multiviewer TV.
For more information on the Ross Switcher service workflow, take a look at our article Ross Switcher - Service Workflow (With Scenic Images).
There are a lot of terms we use that may be confusing at times. If you'd like to learn more about video terminology we use at Life.Church, check out our article Video Terminology 101.
Alternative Learning: Ross Switcher Basic Operation Video