When Univision presented the 29th annual Premio Lo Nuestro at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) was onsite to supply wireless and audio equipment, and perform all frequency coordination services for this year’s Latin music awards show.
PWS coordinated and managed more than 200 frequencies for the entertainment program, including the red-carpet festivities and main event.
For this year’s production, the PWS team, led by Lead RF engineer James Stoffo and wireless intercom technician Gary Trenda, worked together with RF technicians Kasey Gchachu and Jordan Smith to ensure that the main event performances and the pre-show red carpet, led by Brooks Schroeder and Chad Meise, of Frequency Coordination Group, remained free from RF interference.
This year marked an increased number of bands on stage, which required PWS to provide more equipment and coordination than previous years. In 2016, the awards show featured two large bands, while this year the total number of bands increased to 10, all which needed the proper sound support for a successful performance.
PWS supplied a wireless equipment package that included Shure Axient and UHF-R wireless microphone systems, as well as Sennheiser 3732 systems to accommodate the artists endorsed by Sennheiser.
Two PWS Helical Antennas covered the wireless microphones on stage, with one positioned stage-left and the other stage-right. Multiple PWS Dome Antennas were installed under the stage to accommodate the 16 channels of Shure PSM-1000 in-ear monitors for the artists, totaling 48 packs deployed.
To accommodate this year’s additional band performances, an expanded number of wireless communications systems were required. A total of 76 wireless intercom belt packs were used by the production staff. To facilitate the large number of belt packs, it was necessary to deploy systems across the entire radio spectrum, from VHF to 1.9 GHz.
All the stage managers, along with other departments, relied on 36 Radio Active Designs (RAD) UV-1G VHF Narrow Band belt packs. Additionally, 24 ClearCom FreeSpeak II belt packs and 16 Telex TR-825 belt packs were deployed.
The RAD and Telex systems used PWS DB-VIC and DB-IC receive multicouplers. The Telex system also used PWS GX-8 transmit combiners, with the RAD system using the TX-8 combiner. This facilitated deployment of a multi-zone antenna system to increase wireless intercom coverage throughout the venue.
Comtek BST-25s were utilized for the talent IFBs. These systems operate in the VHF spectrum, which proved crucial for spectrum management during the main show performances. Additionally, stage personnel relied on two Sennheiser transmitters with 20 in-ear receiver packs for monitoring program audio.
PWS managed the show’s frequencies with its own Intermodulation Analysis System (IAS) software. In this environment, with equipment from a variety of manufacturers across multiple frequency bands, IAS proved to be a key tool in the frequency coordination process.
As television’s longest-running Latin music awards show, Premio Lo Nuestro has been entertaining audiences across the Americas since 1989, featuring performances and appearances from famous Latin American personalities, including Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin and Pitbull, among others.
