A Morning Built Around What Comes Next

Every two years in Las Vegas, Evolve Technology brings together clients, partners, manufacturers, and industry friends for TechForward, a breakfast event designed to do exactly what the name promises, look forward.

TechForward Breakfast 2026 was more than a showcase of new gear. It was a conversation about where live event technology is heading, how teams can prepare for what is next, and why education, access, and trusted partnerships matter more than ever.

Hosted by Evolve President and CEO Robert Huskey and Evolve’s Kevin Ring, the event highlighted Evolve’s continued commitment to helping production teams rent smarter, buy with confidence, and learn the skills needed to stay ahead in an industry that never stops moving.

Celebrating 20 Years of Evolve

Robert Huskey opened the morning by reflecting on a major milestone: Evolve Technology is celebrating 20 years.

From humble beginnings to becoming a trusted resource for some of the most advanced video, projection, processing, LED, and media server technology in the live events industry, Evolve has always been built around the same core idea: support the people doing the work.

Evolve was founded by technicians, operators, problem-solvers, and show people. That foundation still drives the company today.

As Robert shared, Evolve’s role has never been about replacing production teams or taking over shows. It has always been about supporting the people who create them, with the right tools, the right knowledge, and the right team behind the gear.

Rent. Buy. Learn.

At the heart of Evolve is the company’s long-standing trifecta: Rent. Buy. Learn.

Evolve began as a rental company focused on high-end technology, the kind of gear clients may not need every day, but absolutely need when the show demands it. That included brighter projectors, advanced image processing, media servers, LED technology, and the type of specialized equipment that can change what is possible on site.

Over time, that rental foundation naturally expanded into sales. Because Evolve was constantly investing in new technology, manufacturers began seeing the company not only as a rental partner, but also as a reseller and distributor. Today, Evolve helps clients purchase both new and used equipment, including through BStock Gear, while continuing to stock the tools clients need when availability matters.

The third piece, Learn, is where Evolve’s long-term vision becomes especially important.

Training the Next Generation of Technicians

Evolve Academy was created to help solve one of the industry’s most important challenges: developing the next generation of technicians.

Robert spoke about the need to bring new talent into the industry and give them access to real training, real gear, and real-world knowledge. To date, Evolve Academy has helped train approximately 1,800 students, giving freelancers, technicians, and production teams a path to grow their skills and increase their value in the field.

That idea is summed up in one of Evolve Academy’s core beliefs:

Learn More = Earn More.

The more technicians understand, the more prepared they are to support complex shows, raise their day rates, and build sustainable careers in live events.

Quality Control Is Still the Difference

Technology matters, but Robert also emphasized something that has always separated Evolve from simply being another company with gear: quality control.

Every piece of equipment has to be show-ready. Every screen, every cable, every case, every processor, every projector, and every LED tile needs to arrive prepared to do the job. That level of consistency does not happen by accident. It comes from a team that understands what is at stake when gear leaves the warehouse and heads to a live event.

In an industry where everyone owns equipment, the difference is not just having the gear. The difference is having gear that is maintained, tested, supported, and backed by people who know how it behaves under pressure.

The Shift Toward AV Over IP and ST 2110

Kevin Ring continued the morning with a deep dive into the technology shaping the next chapter of live events, starting with one of the biggest shifts happening across the industry: AV over IP and ST 2110 workflows.

Instead of relying only on traditional baseband connections like HDMI, SDI, and DisplayPort, more systems are moving toward fiber, Ethernet, and network-based signal routing. In this world, the network switch becomes the matrix router, and signal flow becomes more flexible, scalable, and software-driven.

For production teams, this shift is not just about new cabling. It changes how systems are designed, deployed, managed, and supported.

Many of the manufacturers featured at TechForward are already building products with ST 2110 and IPMX support, giving teams a clearer path toward future-ready workflows.

Manufacturer Highlights and New Technology

TechForward Breakfast 2026 featured a wide range of manufacturer updates and product highlights across projection, processing, LED, media servers, tracking, networking, and more.

AV Stumpfl

Kevin highlighted AV Stumpfl’s continued leadership in projection screen technology, including new screen surfaces designed to improve contrast and create more display-like projection experiences. Evolve continues to rely on AV Stumpfl projection surfaces across both rental and sales inventory.

Barco Encore3

Barco’s Encore3 platform was discussed as a major part of the image processing conversation. Kevin noted the progress being made through firmware updates, including expanded multiviewer functionality, wider DisplayPort support, Encore3 linking, ST 2110 support, and more flexible connector use.

BlackTrax

One of the most creative moments of the breakfast came through BlackTrax, a spatial tracking system that allows media servers, lighting consoles, audio systems, and cameras to understand where talent or objects are in physical space.

Kevin demonstrated how tracking data can be used to drive interactive visuals, lighting, spatial audio, and automated camera movement, opening up new creative possibilities for live events and immersive environments.

Brompton

Brompton’s Tessera SQ200 was highlighted as a powerful 8K LED processing solution with support for DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1, quad 12G-SDI, ST 2110, and IPMX. Kevin also pointed out Brompton’s tiered approach, allowing users to start with a 4K raster and upgrade over time.

Exact Solutions

Exact Solutions was featured for its projection cages, gimbals, hardware solutions, monitor stands, and interactive display technology. Their Radar Touch Neo solution allows LED or projection displays to become interactive touch surfaces.

Netgear AV

As AV over IP continues to grow, networking becomes essential. Kevin highlighted Netgear AV switches as a strong solution for rental staging and live event environments, with pre-built profiles for workflows like Dante, AES67, Art-Net, sACN, NDI, and ST 2110.

Evolve also announced Netgear as its newest trifecta partner, meaning Netgear is now part of Evolve’s Rent, Buy, and Learn ecosystem. Evolve Academy will offer in-person Netgear Level 2 training and ST 2110 training built around Netgear workflows.

NovaStar

NovaStar’s MK6000 processor was presented as part of the next generation of LED processing. Kevin highlighted its rack-mounted card-based ecosystem, ST 2110 and IPMX support, custom resolutions, and ability to replace multiple older processors in a more compact system.

Panasonic

Panasonic had several major highlights during the presentation.

The Panasonic RQ45 projector was featured as a 42,000-lumen, 3-chip DLP laser projector with 12G-SDI built in and support for future AV over IP workflows through SDM input cards.

Kevin also discussed Panasonic’s UC100 and UB100 camera systems, which can output ST 2110 directly from the camera head without requiring a CCU. These cameras also include improved imaging features designed to help reduce common LED wall color issues.

Panasonic Kairos was also highlighted as a flexible, AV over IP-capable video switching platform supporting ST 2110, IPMX, 12G-SDI, HDMI 2.1, custom resolutions, edge blending, LED walls, warping, media playback, and more.

Pixelhue

Pixelhue continues to play a major role in Evolve’s image processing lineup. Kevin highlighted the Pixelhue Q8, its large-scale 4K input and output capabilities, and the company’s strong technical support and responsiveness to customer feedback.

One of the biggest announcements was the Pixelhue U5 Mini, a compact controller designed to fit in a backpack while still supporting serious show programming and control workflows.

PIXERA

PIXERA was highlighted as one of the most robust and versatile media server platforms available today, supporting real-time generative 3D playback, multiple timelines, live inputs, effects, projection mapping, and more.

Kevin also discussed new PIXERA hardware options, including systems designed for high-end generative workflows as well as a Corporate Edition built specifically for rental staging and live event playback needs.

Theatrixx

Kevin described Theatrixx as an AV “life hack,” highlighting the company’s LED products, power solutions, converters, and rugged design philosophy.

Theatrixx Nomad LED was praised for its extremely low pixel failure rate, and the upcoming Nomad V2 was highlighted for offering the same reliability at roughly half the weight. Kevin also discussed Theatrixx mini converters, Totem tile updates, V-Raw tile, and other LED display solutions.

Unilumin

The presentation closed with Unilumin and Evolve’s new UR 3.9 indoor/outdoor LED tile. Kevin highlighted its flexibility, curvature, 90-degree corner options, half-meter and one-meter tile formats, and ability to become more than just a screen, acting as scenic display and visual architecture.

Ready, Set, Show

TechForward Breakfast 2026 was a reminder that the future of live events is not built by one piece of equipment, one manufacturer, or one workflow.

It is built through curiosity, training, partnerships, technical expertise, and a willingness to keep learning.

From AV over IP and ST 2110 to projection, LED, media servers, processing, cameras, interactive tracking, and networking, the tools are evolving quickly. Evolve’s goal is to help clients understand those tools, access them, train on them, and deploy them with confidence.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Las Vegas for TechForward Breakfast 2026, and thank you to our manufacturing partners for helping push the industry forward.

Ready, Set, Show.