"This year's package included all of the wireless microphones, in-ear monitors and IFBs for the technical production and musical elements, as well as the wireless communication for the production crew for both the main show and pre-awards red carpet show," says Brooks Schroeder, project manager, PWS.
Since 1999, the awards ceremony has been broadcast on the Telemundo television network, where it has become the network's highest-rated music special.
For the main show, PWS used the new Shure Axient wireless microphone system along with the Shure PSM1000 personal monitor system. "The Axient Wireless microphone system provides us with an innovative and fail-safe system," adds Schroeder. "Features like the advanced planning, setup and control capabilities of the Axient make it an extremely reliable product, especially in the very populated Miami television environment."
The PSM1000's diversity bodypack receiver is suited for large awards shows and other special events with a high noise floor from LED walls and the other wireless systems. According to Schroeder, "We chose to use the PSM 1000s because it outperforms the other equipment on the market and comes loaded with operational features that no other equipment has. This is critical for live broadcast because you want to hedge your bets as much as you can by using the most reliable equipment available. This equipment allowed us to focus on all of the other things we needed to do."
Additionally, for the pre-show red carpet activities, PWS' John Garrido utilised Shure UHF-R wireless microphones and BTR 800 intercoms. In addition to the equipment provided, frequency coordination was another large part of the service PWS performed for the show. During the festivities, PWS' team of experts was busy monitoring the RF spectrum to ensure there were no issues with the large amount of media covering the event.
"Trying to manage the local and international press that are in attendance and make sure they do not interrupt the frequencies used for the shows is a big challenge," concludes Schroeder. "Our goal is to have a perfect, interference-free show every time and we do whatever it takes to accomplish that. By using customized gear and bringing in our filtered products, RF monitors and antennas, we are able to pull off these large shows. This year's Billboard Latin Music Awards was another successful event for us."
(Jim Evans)
