The places I worked certainly went thought them like water. Every time something like a lav pack or mic came off a performer it got a new procell. There were buckets of them at the end of the day. They never spent much time inside the devices but did come home with us for use in remotes and kids toys.
I understood the procell line to mean that the batteries each got tested for voltage before shipping. 20/30 years ago, for whatever reason, a percentage of consumer batteries would be already dead when they left the factory.
This demystifies something that had puzzled me. I got a nice wireless lav setup and I find it very annoying that they use alkaline cells. I thought rechargeable lithium batteries would be nicer because you can always top them up, but in a more professional setting it may be easier to just use fresh batteries every time. Of course using alkaline cells really annoys me because of the waste. Maybe I should get some good rechargeable AA cells, but I much prefer a device which can just be plugged in to charge without having to remove the cells.
At the pro level you need something that can be turned around in seconds. You dont want to hold up a rock concert or movie shoot because a battery has run flat. A constant flow of alkaline batteries is more reliable than organizing banks of gear-specific rechargeables. If mrs spears' pack died, a man in black would be running on stage with a new procell. Far easier to swap a battery than swap the entire pack integrated into her costume and sound systems.
The entertainment biz is special. They will bring thier own generators to run a rock concert because the power supply at every major stadium is too unreliable. A touring show would rather haul a generator truck (or three) than deal with the specifics of each stadium they visit and risk bad power. Better to spend the money and generate it yourself.
> Far easier to swap a battery than swap the entire pack integrated into her costume and sound systems
How do you get to the pack to change the battery if integrated into her costume? Backstage doesn't work on stage unless it's a quick handoff. Cinderella had to step off stage and manipulate her wardrobe to give access. But she stepped off upstage right. So the audience could see if they had been looking there. So I gave her the "follow me" wave and walked from the wings upstage to the wings downstage, where nothing could be seen from the house. I turned to work, and she wasn't there. She didn't see me give the "follow me" sign. She had her back to the audience and was bent over with her dress over her head in an attempt to give access to the transmitter and battery pack which was in a pouch in a harness she wore, basically it was secured in the small of her back. I checked the audience and they somehow hadn't yet noticed what Cinderella was doing (which was probably illegal given her age) and, in a stage whisper, I screamed her name to get her attention, then gave the sign again. She saw and came over, and was apologizing while I replaced the entire transmitter, batteries and all, without messing with the mic and cord. Funny girl, if she knew I doubt she cared about the peep show she gave as much as concern she had upset me somehow (which is absurd)
It's really only the cord that is difficult to replace, the mics and transmitter/battery packs swap faster than trying to muck around with loose batteries. Even so, it's an off stage operation. If it occurs in the middle of a number, I've walked out to hand a wireless mic to a singer.
Any interaction with the stage during a show means a sprint from the sound booth, under the house, and up to the back stage, and then back afterwards. It's nice when there's a small sound crew, but the audio engineer is expected to deal with it regardless.
I understood the procell line to mean that the batteries each got tested for voltage before shipping. 20/30 years ago, for whatever reason, a percentage of consumer batteries would be already dead when they left the factory.