Grammys Use Grass Gear on 3D Broadcast

Producers of this year’s live Grammy Awards telecast used Grass Valley’s Kalypso HD video production center for the special Michael Jackson 3D broadcast during the show.

On-site mobile production trucks from NEP Supershooters outside the Staples Center used the Kalypso as well as a Grass Valley Trinix video router to handle the multi-camera broadcast. NEP also deployed its ND4 truck in L.A., which produced the “Red Carpet Show” for the E! Entertainment Television channel. The truck features a Grass Valley Kalypso HD switcher and a Trinix router as well.

In addition, AEG Digital Media, which owns the Nokia Theater and the LA LIVE complex where it is located, purchased a Grass Valley K2 Summit production client server to record, store and prepare HD video segments for inclusion into the Grammy Award Show. The K2 Summit recorded baseband video and created clips in the XDCAM HD 50 4:2:2 format. These files were then transferred to Final Cut Pro workstations, where they were edited in the same XDCAM format and then made immediately available to the NEP production truck producing the Grammy telecast.

The K2 Summit production client includes HD/SD operation, smooth slow-motion playback and up to four bi-directional channels in a rugged two RU chassis. The server features agile playback of DV, MPEG, HD, and SD content with built in aspect ratio conversion and can provide 60 hours of HD internal storage. It can be used as a standalone device or connected to a shared storage area network.

NEP’s two trucks, with the same Grass Valley equipment, were also used at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center for the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2010, which were simulcast live on TNT and TBS.