The Top 10 things to see and do at NAB 2026

From AI pipelines and immersive cameras to lighting gear and keynotes from Roger Deakins, here's our essential guide to NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas.

So here we are, NAB Show 2026. Our inbox is flooded with press/PR updates on new features, tools, products, upgrades and (interestingly this year) mergers and acquisitions. 2025 was dominated by talks of tariff implications, this year there seems to be nothing serious going on in the world that could possibly affect business,? Okay, maybe not, however there are signs that NAB 2026 will be well attended by film, TV and moving image professionals, enthusiasts and (increasingly) creators.

This is our annual RedShark guide to things we are excited to see and do in Vegas at the NAB Show. It’s supposed to be a top 10 but I usually get carried away and add a few more items, so keep coming back to this. Also if you see something I have missed that is a must-see add it in the comments and we will update the article.

1. AI

2026 is definitely the year AI stops being a side feature and becomes embedded across the entire production pipeline. You will see it *everywhere*. We’ve seen it coming and it’s here for good. From mundane tasks like automated logging and transcription to (sometimes) intelligent editing and versioning, AI is now actively managing projects, not just assisting with them.

Tools like Eddie AI (N1672) are pushing this further, acting as assistant editors that can organise timelines, suggest cuts, and streamline workflows. Eddie even works overnight using its new Night Shift features and responds to text messages. Expect to see a wave of AI-driven asset management from vendors like Editshare (N1251), search, and collaboration tools on the show floor, all aimed at helping teams move faster and focus on storytelling rather than process. You will even see it in hardware, just look at the vast array of lav mics with AI noise cancellation built into them, and that’s just scratching the surface!

2. Adobe

Going from AI to Adobe is a nice segue. Adobe has (rightly IMO) been recognised as one of the “AI good guys”, putting safeguards in place on their AI image generation tools before anyone else and also at least *trying* to ensure artists whose work “inspires” gen AI images/video get properly compensated. I use the new Firefly Quick Cut feature and it is absolutely amazing for the sort of content we make at NAB, short video interviews that need some B-roll added.

However, the news that will make the most noise not just at the Adobe booth but potentially across NAB is the new Color Mode feature in Premiere. This move into professional color grading using a workflow for editors (not necessarily colorists) is essentially the opposite to what Blackmagic did with Resolve. Will it keep more people in the Premiere/ Creative Cloud eco system? Yes. Will it make more people choose Adobe over Resolve? Who knows. What we do know is that Premiere and Resolve are the de facto NLEs of choice for younger editors and increasingly post houses, the market is growing, the pie is getting bigger, and the software features are getting bigger which is good for everyone.

I should also add that the Adobe team do killer demos and workshops, their team are awesome, and you can learn a ton from their on-booth team so absolutely check them out.

3.Blackmagic Design

They’ve done it again… massive new product updates and news. We’ve covered this extensively in RedShark but we just know Resolve 21 will get a huge amount of attention. 100+ new features including the new color grading tool for still photos. For anyone interested in immersive video the new URSA Immersive 100G camera, made for live sports (which still has money to invest in new tech for viewers like me that pay silly $£ for live sports subscriptions) will be a must-see demo.

Speaking of demos, the Blackmagic stand is usually the busiest at NAB with a large section dedicated to them. Long-time friend of RedShark, internationally respected colorist and now one of Resolve’s top YouTube channels, Darren Mostyn, will be demoing Resolve 21 along with several other industry professionals. You can see and test all their cameras, cards, consoles and switchers with great real-world demo setups.

4. Saramonic

If you want a perfect example of how far creator tech has come, look at Saramonic. We’ve been testing the new Air SE wireless lav system and honestly, it’s kind of ridiculous. A dual wireless mic setup starting at $49 that actually sounds good and just works. Setup is instant, the form factor is tiny, and it even includes AI-powered noise cancellation trained on thousands of real-world scenarios. Not long ago, decent wireless audio meant bulky gear, serious money, and a sound engineer. Now it’s pocket-sized, affordable and easy enough to use that even I can do it.

Companies like Saramonic are lowering the barrier fast, and it shows. There are a bunch of other great lav mics out there across various stands. Whatever one you choose just remember to please clip it on, it still works and you don’t have to hold it to your mouth TikTokers!

5. DJI, Insta360, and GoPro

Head to the Central Hall and you’ll find one of the most fiercely contested battlegrounds at NAB. DJI, Insta360 and GoPro are colliding across cameras, drones, gimbals and now audio. The teased Insta360 Luna, a dual-lens pocket vlogging camera set to rival DJI’s Osmo Pocket 4 (releasing today), is a perfect example of how fast this space is moving. Meanwhile GoPro is gearing up for a new generation of Mission cameras built around its GP3 platform. Add ongoing patent battles into the mix and this feels less like competition, more like an arms race! With the creator economy now worth an estimated $250 billion plus globally, the prize is huge and creators are the real winners.

All three stands are within a 60-second walk of one another, so do all three and compare whilst you can!

6. Atomos

Atomos has come into NAB 2026 with serious momentum. The big news is its acquisition of Flanders Scientific, one of the most trusted names in reference monitoring, giving Atomos a credible foothold right through to high-end color grading and finishing.

What’s interesting here is the bigger picture. Atomos already covers on-camera and on-set monitoring with the Ninja, Shinobi, and Sumo ranges, and now it’s building a true end-to-end ecosystem that stretches from capture all the way to final delivery. I wanted to recommend Atomos even before the FSI acquisition news, that’s because it’s a fun stand and the Aussies always put on a great show with brilliant demos and (top tip this) a great place to see all the top cinema cameras side by side in one place.

Expect a strong showing on the stand, with monitor-recorders, new Studio Pro displays and a clear push into higher-end post workflows. This is Atomos moving up a gear in my opinion and great to see the impact new CEO Peter Barber is having there.

7. ASUS

If AI is driving the workflow, ASUS is building the machines to run it. The ProArt lineup continues to impress and dominate the pro display sector from a price/performance perspective, from last year’s frankly bonkers 165” PQ09 microLED display (some more “room-friendly” sizes rumored to be shown this year), to new QD OLED panels like the PA32UCDM-K, and the stunning 8K PA32KCX, a reference-grade monitor aimed squarely at high-end color and finishing.

What’s new this year is a serious push into on-set production. ASUS entered this space recently with a 24” display (PA24US) but now with 12G-SDI monitors like the 16” PA16USV and the 27” rugged PA27USD, ASUS is no longer just a post-production player; it’s now firmly on-set too, so expect these models to come to a DIT cart near you soon.

The laptops bring all of this power into the real world though. The new ProArt P16 is a beast, combining Ryzen AI processors with dedicated NPUs and high-end RTX graphics, making AI-assisted editing, grading and rendering genuinely viable on the move. We’ve tried it and we love it. The Lumina OLED display is a standout, offering the kind of color accuracy you’d previously expect only from a studio monitor, which is cool if you are also using ProArt displays as separate monitors for color consistency in your workflow.

The new more portable ProArt PX13 and PZ14 models (announced at CES) deliver a similar experience in a smaller form factor, perfect for creators working on location. And then there’s the ProArt RTX 50 series graphics card series, a major step forward for AI acceleration across video, VFX and 3D.

On Monday April 20 ASUS is also hosting a creator event at the Flamingo (sign up here) where you can get hands-on with all of this along with food and drinks! Back on the stand there is a series of excellent Master Talks sessions featuring industry pros like Brett Danton. Both are well worth your time, so check them out.

8. Matrox Video 

Matrox Video (N2451) is 50 this year (happy birthday!). An NAB staple, they may not have the flashiest stand at NAB, but it’s one of the most important if you care about where broadcast is heading. The company’s NAB presence centres around Matrox ORIGIN, a software-defined media framework designed to move production away from fixed hardware and into flexible, scalable IP and cloud-based environments. In simple terms, this is about replacing traditional SDI and tightly synchronised systems with distributed, software-driven workflows that can run on standard IT infrastructure. It’s a big shift and they’ve made it easy to implement. Alongside ORIGIN, Matrox is showing its wider IP ecosystem, including Monarch EDGE (we’ve seen it and absolutely rate it), ConvertIP and Vion, all designed to bridge today’s broadcast setups with tomorrow’s fully software-defined pipelines.

Whatever you do though, please be polite and don’t mention the Olympics Men’s Ice Hockey Final to our Canadian friends — it’s their birthday, remember!

9. Godox/ LED Lighting

Let’s be honest, LED lighting is sexy now. It always pulls a crowd at NAB, and the big shift is that it’s no longer reserved for big-budget productions. Godox is a perfect example of that. The MA5R is a tiny, magnetic RGB light that doubles as a power bank and costs next to nothing (seriously, it's like $50!), but still delivers genuinely useful output for creators on the move. At the other end, lights like the FL200R show just how far things have come. A flexible 200W RGB panel that’s lightweight, foldable and powerful enough for interviews, product shoots and serious video work. We own one ourselves.

What used to mean bulky kits and big spend is now portable, affordable and ridiculously capable. That’s a huge deal for both pros and creators. There are a bunch of great lighting companies out there all in the Central Hall, so check them out.

10. Sony & Canon

It wouldn’t be NAB without massive crowds around the Sony and Canon stands. Whether you’re a “Canon person”, a “Sony person”, or neither, these are still two of the most important players in the industry and always worth spending time with.

Yes, the cinema cameras and lenses get all the attention, and rightly so (Canon’s new CINE-SERVO 40-1200mm T5.0-10.8 is stunning). Sony’s CineAlta line and Canon’s Cinema EOS systems continue to set the benchmark for high-end production and we see them everywhere (the FX3 has been the ultimate “gateway drug” to the Cine world for a while now). But don’t overlook the less glamorous gear. ENG cameras like the Sony PXW Z300 and live production tools are a huge part of their business, and still evolving fast. Sony’s latest XDCAM camcorders, for example, now integrate AI-powered subject tracking and cloud workflows for news and live production. This is cool stuff that will be used at scale all over the world and the perfect tool for students to learn their craft on.

Then there’s PTZ. Canon’s  CR-N400 )above) and CR-N350 are a great example, bringing 4K, 12G-SDI and IP streaming into compact, remotely operated cameras that are increasingly everywhere, from broadcast studios to live events. These might not be the headline grabbers (this year at least), but they’re the backbone of modern production and a big reason both stands are always packed.

11. Keynotes

It’s easy to get lost on the show floor, but don’t skip the keynotes and conference sessions. This is where you actually get a sense of where the industry is heading, not just what’s being sold today. NAB 2026 has a seriously strong lineup, from creators like Markiplier through to legendary cinematographers like Roger Deakins, alongside technologists and media leaders shaping the future of broadcast, AI and streaming. You’ll also find deep-dive sessions on everything from, of course, AI workflows to cloud production and live sports delivery.

This is a classic case of do as I say, not as I do as every year I try and do more sessions but get sucked in by the gear! If you take the time to sit in on a few of these, you’ll come away with something far more valuable than bags of (let's be honest) crappy swag; actual insight into what’s coming next.

12. The Cloud (and what comes next)

Remember when The Cloud was going to be a super solution to storage and remote workflows? Actually it kind of has been There is less focus on it thanks to AI, but cloud is still a huge part of NAB, especially at the enterprise level. Broadcasters and streamers are now running large-scale, distributed workflows across AWS, Azure, and private infrastructure, handling everything from live production to global content delivery. The big players here are companies such as Editshare, Avid, Telestream, Lucidlink, and also now Blackmagic and Adobe too.

But there’s a growing pushback, and that’s where things get interesting. Tools like Strada (above) and the new Frame.io Drive are rethinking the model entirely. Instead of uploading media to the cloud, they let you access and stream files directly from local drives, effectively turning your own storage into a secure, shareable cloud.

Strada is led by the industry’s most effective communicator IMO, Michael Cioni (follow their social channels and thank me later), and this “be your own cloud” approach is exactly the kind of disruptive thinking NAB is all about.

13. Las Vegas itself

Okay, so where are we now in my Top 10? 12? No, 13 you say! Right then, I’ll wrap it up now… So us industry folk all moan about being “sent to the desert”, but come on it’s fun! There are a ton of events/ mixers you can find with a brief search of Eventbrite, and yes, even if it’s your 24th NAB and it costs twenty bucks to get a Starbucks and a mortgage payment for a steak dinner, enjoy it. And if you can’t make it to the show, check out www.redsharknews.com and our YouTube channel for all the latest news!

Soooo many other things are happening already. Our Editor Andy and I will populate this section as more news gets released. Not actually something to go see, but his week we've already had ARRI getting acquired by Thomas Riedel and AJA buying Comprimato, and we wouldn't bet against there being more M&A activity at the show. Buckle up, people, news looks like it will come thick and fast this year!