Disguise powers China’s most-watched broadcasting event of the year

Photo Credit: CMG Spring Festival Gala


The CMG Spring Festival Gala breaks records every year as the world’s most-watched television programme. The four-hour live variety show celebrates the countdown to the Lunar new year and has become a legend in the Chinese broadcasting calendar. 2026’s Spring Festival gala was no different, with its live broadcast reaching over 600 million users across all platforms.

Due to the size and spectacle of the show, it is one of television’s most demanding broadcasts for real-time playout, rendering synchronisation, and complex visual stability. Disguise technology once again played a pivotal role in the broadcast, allowing for content synchronisation and advanced stage visuals across multiple performances.

World-Class performers, supported in real-time

Year on year, the CMG Spring Festival Gala pushes boundaries for what is possible for a live broadcast. The 2026 show saw more than 40 acts performing opera, acrobatics, dance, comedy, music, and more, which gave multiple opportunities for immersive storytelling and groundbreaking visual effects.

The 2026 Gala saw a concentrated focus on real-time generative on-stage visuals. This included floating AR graphics, depth-rich spatial lighting simulations, and real-time visuals that synchronised with the performers’ movements.

Video Credit: CMG Spring Festival Gala

One example of this was during singer Li Jian’s performance of the ballad “Resonance of the World”. As he walked across the stage, expanding ripple effects appeared dynamically under his footsteps – adding to the emotionally grounded nature of the song.

Meanwhile, AR-driven visual elements were also used for the futuristic cinematic pop song “Intelligent Future”. Performed by Mandopop idols Chen Xiaochun, Vanness Wu, Luo Hao, and Jackson Yee, the graphics aligned precisely with the camera movement on stage in a way that enhanced the experience both for the venue’s audience and the viewers at home.

Photo Credit: CMG Spring Festival Gala

Low-latency, high-performance

Disguise’s VX 4+ media servers and RX II render nodes played a critical role in processing the highly-complex visuals, while allowing for seamless real-time synchronisation with low latency, and a consistent output across live workflows. 

Disguise technology was able to elevate moments where screens were critical. For example, during Deng Chao’s performance of the slow-tempo pop ballad “Mom Has A Cinema”. Deng stood in front of LED screens that gave the effect of archival film footage of mothers, which added to the emotive nature of the song. 

Video Credit: CMG Spring Festival Gala

 

Although similar interactive techniques have appeared in previous Galas, the 2026 show further highlighted the importance of visuals, spatial depth and response precision.

Thanks to the power of the VX 4+ media servers, Disguise was able to handle these high-bandwidth performances with ease and low-latency rendering to enable a seamless integration between virtual graphics and the live performance – with 79% of the live broadcast viewership share, a new high in 13 years.