The 50th Annual Grammy Awards

February 11th, 2008, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA - The 50th Annual Grammy Awards was a cavalcade of stars as expected. The Staples Center in Los Angeles was bursting at the seams with the music industry’s hottest talent of yesterday and today. One performance after another rocked the house for three and a half hours, while millions of viewers watched live from their living rooms.

A show of Grammy proportions, both in size and complexity, is what ATK Versacom is all about. While broadcasting live from coast to coast, a score of musical performances, dozens of presenters, orchestras and gospel choirs alike, were supported by a massive technical crew. The very best operators, technicians, stage managers and directors, each uniquely talented harmoniously worked together like a well oiled machine, thanks to a communications system customized specifically for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

The task was to design and implement an intercom system, which enabled constant communication between the main stage live performances inside the Staples Center and the Foo Fighters live concert outside the Staples Center. In addition, ATK Versacom interfaced telephone coordination lines with the satellite uplink to London, for the Amy Winehouse live cut-ins. All wireless intercom users needed complete mobility to go anywhere in the venue and have uninterrupted communication.

One of the biggest challenges ATK Versacom faced was the threat of outside wireless devices infiltrating the venue and creating interference with the intercom systems. This was due to the quantity of active frequencies used on talent microphones and instruments. ATK Versacom strategically placed a very sophisticated distributed antenna system consisting of over 20 receive and transmit antennas around the venue. This enabled Stage Managers and other mobile users to communicate in areas that were previously very difficult.

ATK Versacom spent a lot of time on the planning stage. This included the integration of communications for the TV production trucks, venue intercom positions and the design of the wireless intercom infrastructure. This is typical of ATK Versacom’s dedication to event planning that pays off in the end.