Fox Sports has introduced a groundbreaking innovation in live broadcasting with the creation of what it hails as the world's most extensive live multi-camera LED volume. This technical marvel, known as Stage B, isn't just about size; it's about overcoming obstacles that have traditionally hampered the use of virtual production in live settings.
Stage B is powered by 32 coordinated render engines, enabling real-time, multi-perspective virtual environments for daily and weekly programs, and also for future major events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The infrastructure is designed to overcome limitations that often forced broadcasters to choose between editorial flexibility and robust virtual production. Unlike Stage A, which blends an LED volume with traditional sets, Stage B is a fully immersive LED environment. The LED volume measures nearly 20 feet tall, with left and right walls stretching 42 feet wide, a back wall spanning 72 feet, and a complete LED floor using panels from ROE Visual.
Zac Fields, SVP of graphic tech and innovation and technical lead on the Stage B project at Fox Sports, notes, "We’ve only done a few shows, but the ability for talent to move around in the space... Those grand shots, those wide shots that you see of the set, really helps sell that realism."
The sheer scale of Stage B is evident in its specifications: the LED walls contain over 35 million pixels, while the LED floor adds over 12 million more, totaling over 48 million individual LED elements synchronized for each camera's perspective. Megapixel's Helios processors manage this intense pixel density, coordinating content across the LED panels using GhostFrame technology. This system maintains microsecond-level synchronization while delivering unique perspectives for up to four cameras simultaneously.
The facility supports the "Fox NFL Kickoff" pre-game show, using the full capabilities of the LED environment to create what Fields calls "a grand set that has a multitude of functionality." Building on experience from Stage A, the new stage features 24 dedicated render workstations organized into GhostFrame slices. Each slice includes six render engines synced with individual camera tracking data, enabling four simultaneous perspectives across the LED environment. "Each GhostFrame is comprised of six renders that are timed perfectly with the assigned camera and its tracking data," explained Fields. "There are four available slices, and there’s essentially 24 render engines running all timed up to power those different angles on the LED volume."
Jeremy Hochman, CEO and co-founder of Megapixel, explained, “Each cluster is rendering for an individual camera perspective. Before we even get into the processing and the LED system itself, we’ve coordinated where every camera knows where it’s looking." Eight additional render engines handle augmented reality, bringing the total to 32 concurrent rendering processes. This allows for layering virtual elements over the LED environment while maintaining correct perspective for each camera.
Megapixel's GhostFrame technology, also used on Stage A, enables pixel-level content switching based on camera exposure timing. The Stage B implementation scales this across nearly 48 million LEDs, with each camera operating at slightly different exposure intervals while the processing system displays the correct rendered content. “Our technology can switch the content based on the timing of the camera,” Hochman said. “We’re able to simultaneously have all of those images up at the same time.” This synchronization restores workflow flexibility, which early virtual technology limited. "There was kind of a time period in which LED was somewhat limiting to the editorial creativity," Hochman noted. "Now we’ve been able to bring this back with GhostFrame.”
The studio houses ten cameras, including pedestals, a Steadicam, and a 24-foot Techno Jib, all equipped with stYpe for camera tracking. For "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," Fox Sports has implemented the XR workflow with automation through Ross Video’s OverDrive system.
“A show every single day is not going to have the same personnel and budget as your NFL show that’s once a week,” Fields said. “To be able to fire up that studio, to utilize it, you have to come up with new and efficient ways.” The automation integrates multiple systems through APIs: Megapixel processors, Pixotope rendering software, Ross Video switching, and custom middleware developed by Fox Sports’ software team. A single operator controls set environments, lower thirds, augmented reality, and camera switching, dynamically revealing content throughout the broadcast. "All of the content that you see, whether it’s lower thirds, full screens, the set environment, augmented reality, every one of those is driven in an automated fashion," Fields stated. "The OverDrive operator functions as a technical director, a director, a graphic operator.”
While "The Herd" demonstrates the automated workflow, "Fox NFL Kickoff" showcases the full creative potential, with a futuristic scenic design by Architecture Van Brandenburg and Jack Morton Worldwide, translated into Unreal Engine models by Fox Sports' internal Creative Services team. Physical elements were built by IDF Scenic Studios, infrastructure and automated systems provided by Showfab, LED integration by NEP Sweetwater, and lighting systems by Airtime Lighting.
Fox Sports has also configured Stage B for feature production with a separate GhostFrame slice optimized for Sony Venice cameras. This allows the network’s feature producers to create premium content without needing to build practical sets or rent external facilities. "Our feature producers – rather than having to go somewhere and build a practical set or rent a space – can utilize the stage to tell some pretty interesting stories," Fields said. The network has accumulated a growing library of virtual environments for rapid deployment. As Fox Sports prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the new studio’s capabilities will expand even further. "From right now to the end of the football season … compared to what you’ll see for the World Cup is going to be tremendous," Fields said. "It’s been amazing to see what you can achieve with this commitment to innovation. Fox sees that there’s so much more in this avenue… they’re willing to invest in it to see this innovation through to help the overall product.”