2026 BSC Expo and HPA Tech Retreat: What to Expect in London and Palm Springs

Two very different events are just about to kick-off, the 2026 BSC Expo in London and the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat in Palm Springs. Both are important to the industry in different ways.

The 2026 BSC Expo takes place 13–14 February at Battersea Evolution in London, and has made the most of its position in the calendar in recent years. Following IBC announcements in September, it is often the first place where people get to see the fully fledged products emerge. As such it is an increasingly key early-season showcase for cinematography and production technology that tends to punch a little above its weight.

As such, this year, Sony will use the Expo to preview significant firmware upgrades for its flagship cinema cameras, including new versions for VENICE 2, BURANO, FX6 and FR7, alongside practical demos covering drama to documentary workflows. The company also plans to host a podcast studio showcasing professional audio, video and workflow solutions - reflecting strong demand for high-quality and affordable filmmaking and broadcast technologies from the burgeoning online content creation community. 

Back to the cameras, and RED will place its V-RAPTOR XE in the spotlight, giving attendees hands-on access to the latest lower-cost addition to its cinema lineup. It will also be demonstrating its newly released beta firmware, 2.2 for the V‑RAPTOR [X] platform. Among the most interesting improvements here are optimized power draw — measured by RED at up to 5W of savings for longer, more predictable battery life — and boot times reduced by as much as 10 seconds, helping crews get back up and rolling faster between takes.

Also well worth checking out will be the Ovide Smart Assist 12G, a complete redesign of the company's video assist system, now featuring a 21.5” HDR OLED touchscreen and the ability to record four 4K cameras simultaneously with ultra-low latency. And DCS is introducing its Lens Link, a new handset for long-range lens control that extends the reach of existing Preston lens control systems, helping DITs, DoPs and 1st ACs stay in control at extended distances up to a massive 2 km from the camera.

Elsewhere, it is the attendees' first chance to get hands on with plenty of new gear that's been introduced recently.  In terms of lenses, that means the new ZEISS Aatma Primes, the new TLS Vega65s, and Laowa will be showcasing its new Probe Zooms, as well as promising 20% off prices at the show. Plus, of course, CVP will have set up shop on the mezzanine and its stand features a dedicated Lens Bar, partner zones with Angénieux and Canon, and hands-on services including ProRepairs and the Used Marketplace.

On the lighting front, it will be the first time people anywhere in the world will get to see the Astera QuikBeam ultra-compact 200W-equivalent LED spotlight and NANLITE PavoSlim 360C in the flesh. These sit alongside other new lights elsewhere including the latest additions to the Aputure lighting ecosystem in the shape of the high-output STORM series and the flexible INFINIMAT systems; LiteGear's LiteMat Spectrum 4 and LiteTile Spectrum 8; and DoPchoice's new SNAP RABBIT Octa 5 SNAPBAG. This is the company's first product to feature its new Convertible Mount, which lets users swap from an NL or Bowens Mount, to an Aputure A Mount, with a host of other compatible fixtures to be announced soon. 

As usual there will be more too, and we're keeping our ear to the ground for any announcements that come out from the show. There's only two months to go to NAB, and sometimes manufacturers like to get things out of the door ahead of the opposition...

2026 HPA Tech Retreat 

Meanwhile, the sold out and very much behind closed doors 2026 HPA Tech Retreat offers a different but often complementary viewpoint on industry trends. There's far less actual news that comes out of this event, but the Awards are always worth keeping an eye on, the Innovation Zone can often throw up interesting announcements, and the debates that are had on industry trends are often informative. 

This year’s Retreat will be the final one curated by longtime program head Mark Schubin. He's going out presiding over an expanded HPA Awards Innovation & Technology program which now recognises tools and workflows from AI-driven pre-production platforms to virtual production pipelines and post-production innovations.

Here's the list of this year's nominees. Winners are announced February 18.

Innovation in Pre-Production

Bria AI – GenAI Attribution Technology
RivetAI, Inc. – RivetAI
Yamdu – AI Script Breakdown and Management Add-On

Innovation in Production & Capture

American Society of Cinematographers – Media Hash List
Creamsource – Slyyd Lighting Control App
Méduse Inc. – Safe Guns Phase-Synced Flash-Gun System

Innovation in VFX, Virtual Production & Animation

Foundry – Nuke Stage
Nerfstudio and Industrial Light & Magic – Nerfstudio
Volinga and XGRIDS – Virtual Production Pipeline

Innovation in Post-Production

Adobe – Generative Extend in Adobe Premiere
Flawless – TrueSync
Storj – Production Cloud

Innovation in Distribution & Audience Experience

Cineverse – CINESEARCH
SyncWords Inc. – LiveCore + Kobe Muxer
V-Nova Studios – V-Nova PresenZ

A good example of the sort of thing that takes place there is Tuesday’s Supersession which takes a direct look at the forces reshaping media creation under the deliberately blunt banner, “WTF Is Going On in the Media Industry?” The programme examines AI filmmaking, creator-led economies and next-generation workflows. Ed Ulbrich addresses the artistry and ethics of generative tools, Jessie Hughes of Leonardo.AI explores the relationship between algorithms and creativity, and Emmy-winning creator Bernie Su joins Chad Nelson of OpenAI and Pojo Riegert of CrunchLabs to discuss the Creator Economy.

The business implications are also front and centre, with Seth Hallen moderating a session featuring Ethan Jacks, Vince Pizzica and Joe Harkins on how executives can respond to — and potentially benefit from — disruption across the media supply chain. Additional sessions examine the impact on traditional film and television workflows, the growth of cloud-based production and the way AI is influencing vendor strategy as new supply structures take shape.

Further programming across the week includes roundtables and sessions covering AI-assisted editing, cloud-era media pipelines, trends from CES 2026, and a technology year in review. We'll pass on anything worthwhile that we hear...