Project Type
Corporate Event. A large-scale association conference and general sessions for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).
Project Name
NADA Show 2026.
The annual NADA Show is one of the automotive industry's premier events, bringing together thousands of franchised new-car dealers for several days of education, networking and industry programming. M2 Events Group provided full production support for NADA Show 2026 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, continuing a relationship with NADA that spans three decades. M2 managed every phase of production, from technical concept and creative development through load-in, rehearsals, three days of live programming and load-out.
Design Criteria
The goal for the NADA 2026 Show was to create a bold, high-impact stage design with the scale and visual presence that reflected the size and significance of the automotive industry.
The design needed to: create a strong visual presence throughout the room; provide a flexible, immersive canvas for three days of varied programming; support everything from high-energy show opens and executive presentations to large-format IMAG and video; and provide a distinctive setting for the TIME Dealer of the Year Award presentation.
The technical and creative teams needed to deliver that scale without sacrificing functionality. The design had to work equally well for 3D immersive content, live presenters and IMAG, while maintaining clear sightlines and visual impact throughout the room.
Project Description
M2 Events Group designed and delivered a 200-foot-wide by 30-foot-tall, three-screen LED environment that became the visual centerpiece of NADA Show 2026. The massive, curved stage incorporated concealed entrances between the center and side screens, allowing presenters to walk directly onto the stage without interrupting the continuous visual canvas.
The LED display was built from 1,189 ROE Visual Graphite GP 2.6 LED panels — 1,089 XL panels and 100 standard panels — creating a continuous canvas of more than 80 million pixels and weighing approximately 22,000 pounds.
Instead of treating the three screens as separate displays, M2 used them as one expansive visual canvas, giving content room to move, expand and transform across the stage. High-energy opening sequences sent vehicles racing across the canvas. 3D-animated speaker introductions took advantage of its width and scale to create dramatic entrances. Large-format IMAG integrated presenters into the larger screen compositions rather than confining IMAG to traditional screen boxes. For the TIME Dealer of the Year Award presentation, the canvas shifted again, becoming a multi-screen storytelling presentation combining imagery and biographical content to celebrate the dealers being honored. Beyond the general sessions, M2 supported four manufacturer meetings held in conjunction with the NADA Show.
Throughout the three-day program, the same 200-foot canvas continually transformed to support different speakers, content, presentations and branded moments while maintaining a cohesive visual identity for the show.
Photo credit: Fabian Fernandez | Fabeaux.co
Challenges and Solutions
Scale and structural load: At approximately 22,000 pounds, the LED installation had to work within the structural load limitations of the Las Vegas Convention Center. The lightweight construction of the ROE Visual Graphite panels was key to making a wall of this scale achievable while staying within the room's capacity.
Creating the curve: The design called for curved LED surfaces, but the wall was rigged from hinged straight truss. M2's technical team used Vectorworks/Braceworks to calculate a series of custom rolled 5-meter aluminum pipes that precisely followed the required curve. The ROE panels were attached directly to those pipes, which were mounted to the hinged trusses, creating an efficient method for establishing the curved screen geometry.
Managing more than 80 million pixels: A canvas of this size required an extensive signal-distribution infrastructure. A custom fiber system connected the processors across the footprint, with four MTP-24 fiber runs feeding custom opticalCON DUO breakout boxes and distributing signal to 34 XD distribution points across the wall. System-wide synchronization maintained consistent timing across playback, processing and display.
High-resolution source management: Two Pixelhue Q8 screen management systems were linked via CXP, providing the capacity required for the show's custom resolutions, UHD IMAG, media-server feeds and auxiliary sources. Together, the linked Q8s managed 48 4K inputs and 20 4K outputs, giving the team the capacity and flexibility to manage a highly complex show environment.
Redundancy and reliability: The video architecture incorporated redundancy throughout the playback and switching workflow, including redundant Disguise media servers and routing designed for rapid failover.
Pre-production: M2 prepped and stress-tested the complete system in its shop before it was packed for Las Vegas. The LED and video teams planned equipment, signal flow and responsibilities in advance, and custom fiber distribution components were built specifically to simplify deployment on site.
The result: across rehearsals and three days of live programming, not a frame of video was dropped.
Equipment
ROE Visual Graphite GP 2.6 LED: The lightweight construction of the XL and standard size Graphite panels was critical to achieving the scale of the design within the venue's structural load limitations while maintaining the brightness, color consistency and image quality required for both the live audience and cameras.
Brompton Technology Tessera processing: 16 SX40 LED processors and 40 XD distribution boxes provided processing and signal distribution across the LED environment. Brompton was selected for its processing capacity, color accuracy, calibration, image stability and low latency for IMAG.
Disguise media servers: Seven VX4+/VX2+ media servers provided the high-resolution, multi-canvas playback and redundancy required to drive the 80+ million-pixel display and its custom-resolution content.
Pixelhue screen management: Two linked Q8 screen management systems and a U5 Pro controller provided the I/O capacity and operational flexibility required for the production. Linked via CXP, the Q8s integrated Disguise playback, UHD IMAG and auxiliary sources across the production.
4K camera system: Four Panasonic AK-UC4000 4K cameras and four Panasonic AW-UE150K 4K PTZ cameras provided UHD IMAG that could be integrated across the large-format screen compositions.
The lighting package included 84 Martin Vipers and 50 Martin Aura XB fixtures, bringing the energy of concert lighting to the general session stage. Audio was delivered through a Meyer Sound Panther PA system, supported by two Yamaha DM7 digital consoles and Shure Axient Digital wireless.
Team
M2 Events Group: Full-service production partner responsible for technical design and engineering, production design, concept and creative development, LED, video, audio, lighting, show direction and onsite production.
Tom Grubbe, Executive Producer/Creative Director for M2 Events Group.
Key Technology Brands: ROE Visual, Pixelhue, Disguise and Brompton Technology.