NAB Show Vegas 2026 is just a few weeks away, and if you’re into virtual production like we are, it’s kind of like the Super Bowl for us. The National Association of Broadcasters Show is where the world’s leading innovators in virtual production, including LG, Mo-Sys, ROE Visual, and AOTO, showcase their latest releases and show us what’s next for the industry.

In this blog post, we’ll cover what to watch out for in virtual production at this year’s NAB Show and some of our highlights from 2025 that you should check out if you missed them last year. 

What to look out for at NAB Show 2026 

With so many exhibitors set up throughout the show floor, it can be overwhelming. Here are the exhibitors we think you should check out if you’re in virtual production. 

Adobe

Adobe’s going all-in on AI-powered creative production, and for folks in virtual production, that could mean faster pre-production & asset generation. 

• ‍Firefly Custom Models just hit public beta in March 2026, allowing users to train AI on their specific visual style and generate consistent assets across projects. While the main focus is on generating 2D images, this can also help with creating consistent 3D-rendered textures.‍
• Firefly Video Tools are helping speed up the process for pre-vis and animatics with AI video generation, custom soundtrack creation, and voiceovers through ElevenLabs.‍
• Firefly Creative Production (currently in private beta) is making batch-editing less of a chore by handling texture variations, colour grading, and background replacements at scale with AI. 

Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic hasn’t teased any of their 2026 releases (yet) and they tend to unveil new launches during NAB, but here are some things they announced last year that we think you should check out this year. 

• ‍Blackmagic Camera ProDock is a collaboration with Apple unveiled in September 2025 and has since been under-hyped (in our opinion). The dongle allows users to film open gate footage, save directly to an external SSD, and use camera tracking for virtual production — all on an iPhone. 
• ‍PYXIS 12K is the latest camera in their lineup and is one of the most budget-friendly compact box cameras for virtual production. Its 12K full-frame RGBW sensor that helps crews offset any pink skin tones caused by LED walls. 

Mo-Sys

Mo-Sys stole the show last year with their StarTracker Mini, which won a Product of The Year award, and we’re willing to bet they’ll do it again with this year’s lineup.

• ‍CarRig System is a game-changer for car processing on LED walls. The kit mounts to almost any car to sync steering and rumble in perfect sync with video plates and/or virtual backgrounds, making car processing on virtual super realistic. 
• ‍MoStudio is an all-in-one workflow solution intended to make virtual production accessible. Features include drag-and-drop functionality and MoViewer, which makes multi-camera shooting possible for virtual production by re-compositing the correct perspective for each camera. Our teams have had BTS glimpses at what these systems can do, and being able to easily add things like XR set extensions from an easy-to-use interface is a game-changer. 

XGRIDS

XGRIDS was a hidden gem last year when we discovered their booth, so we’re excited to see how they’re continuing to tackle turning real-world locations into virtual environments quickly and accurately. 

• ‍PortalCam is their latest handheld 3D Gaussian Splatting camera that combines LiDAR with a four-camera array to capture real environments. The scanner quickly produces a photorealistic 3D model that can be used for quick pre-vis, or can be cleaned up for use as a virtual background. 

VOLINGA

Volinga is on a mission to streamline 3D rendering workflows, and their recent partnership with XGRIDS just made turning real locations into virtual environments a whole lot easier. 

• ‍Volinga Plugin for Unreal Engine recently got an exciting update in collaboration with XGRIDS that completes the pipeline for turning 3DGS data into working virtual environments. After scanning with XGRIDS’s PortalCam and processing the data with Lixel CyberColor Studio, users can download the model as a PLY file and easily import it into Unreal Engine through the Volinga plugin — making the scanned data VP-ready in just a couple of hours. 

AOTO

Compared to other LED providers, AOTO is tackling both high-end LEDs and more accessible options with their MetaBox system.

• ‍RGBW Technology (SW Series) LED tiles include a dedicated white sub-pixel alongside traditional RGB LEDs. This lets brightness and colour be controlled independently, resulting in more natural skin tones and improved highlight detail on camera.
• ‍Wide Viewing Angle Technology (RM1.9 Series) LED tiles are built to ensure consistent brightness and colour even when viewed from extreme angles. For VP stages, this helps prevent colour or brightness shifts when moving the camera. 
• ‍MetaBox Studio is a compact virtual production solution aimed towards the creator economy. The setup includes the MetaBox 4KK LED wall & floor and uses Vormir AI & Coruscant rendering to create visuals from plain language descriptions. Basically, it’s an all-in-one setup that can get creators set up to livestream in about 15 minutes. 

What you might've missed at NAB Show 2025

When we walked the show floor in 2025, we noticed a huge emphasis on making virtual production more compact & accessible, with Mo-Sys’s StarTracker Mini and AOTO’s MetaBox 4KK. There was also a big focus on using AI and SLAM technologies to streamline workflows, with the Sony OCELLUS Camera Tracking System and XGRIDS’ line of 3D scanners and spatial cameras.

Here some of the things that caught our attention in 2025 that you should check out this year if you missed them:  

XGRIDS LixelK1

You can think of the LixelK1 LiDAR scanner as the PortalCam predecessor that focuses on quickly generating precise point clouds in real-time. 

We put it to the test by scanning the crowded show floor, once at a high height, and again at a lower height. The system then auto-stitches the scans to generate an accurate point cloud with all moving objects/people removed. 

These point clouds need additional processing through Lixel CyberColor Studio to create 3D Gaussian Splatting models. With the new PortalCam, this processing happens automatically, with an emphasis on accurate colours and textures.

Sony Ocellus 

The Sony Ocellus is a markerless camera tracking system with a multi-eye image sensor. As long as one of the five sensors can capture valid feature points, the Ocellus can accurately track data using Visual SLAM technology, which creates a 3D reference map before filming.

At the 2025 Sony showcase booth, Sony demoed the Ocellus by pointing a tracked camera at an LED corner (two LED walls positioned to create a 90º angle). The resulting image was seamless, even when the frustum moved through the corner. 

Mo-Sys StarTracker Mini 

As previously mentioned, the StarTracker Mini was awarded Product of the Year at NAB Show 2025, thanks to its small form factor. Compared to the StarTracker Classic and StarTracker Max, the Mini doesn’t require an external processing system. 

The StarTracker camera tracking systems are known for their accuracy and reliability. Because they track location using “stars” on the ceiling, they don’t require re-calibration between setups and aren’t susceptible to the light interference that often disrupts SLAM-based tracking systems. 

The Mini is meant to bring the benefits of the StarTracker line to creators, studios, and educators working in smaller spaces. We’ve had the opportunity to try all three StarTrackers, and we can confirm: size doesn’t matter here. The StarTracker system is one of our go-to’s for a reason. 

DZOFILM Arles Prime

The right lenses can make a huge difference between making virtual production look realistic and, well, like virtual production. Similar to anamorphic lenses, the Arles Prime lenses stretch light, softening and blending the hard digital LED look.

The best part? DZOFILMS’s Arles Primes are some of the most affordable, VP-ready cinema lenses on the market. We got to see them in action at NAB Show 2025, and we still think the price must be a typo. 

Hollyland Solidcom C1 Pro 

The Hollyland Solicom C1 Pro headsets aren’t necessarily VP-specific, but we thought we’d give them a shout since we won them in a giveaway hosted by Justin Porter at the Hollyland booth. Just being able to communicate on set without additional receivers or attachments, whether we’re in a small studio like AVRO or spread out across a block, has been invaluable. 

Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive 

Again, not necessarily a VP-specific product, but we definitely see some possible applications. The URSA Cine Immersive is the world’s first cinema camera purpose-made for Apple Immersive Video on the Apple Vision Pro. It uses dual sensors to capture each “eye” and records as a single Blackmagic RAW Immersive file. 

With this camera and now the ProDock for iPhone 17 Pro, we think it’s safe to expect more collaborations between Apple and Blackmagic on the horizon. 

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We’ve worked closely with many of the companies mentioned on this list to set up some of the best virtual production systems for Fortune 500 companies, so we’re excited to see what comes out of NAB Show 2026.  

Interested in building a virtual production production studio for your organization? Leave us a message: consulting@copilotco.io