Blackmagic Design has been steadily building Fairlight into its larger production ecosystem, and at NAB 2026, the company showed off a major step forward: Blackmagic Fairlight Live, a standalone audio mixing system built for live production.

Fairlight has long been known as the audio engine inside DaVinci Resolve, giving editors and post-production teams tools for mixing, EQ, compression, gating and audio cleanup. But this new version pulls Fairlight out of Resolve and gives it a dedicated live workflow, designed for people who need to mix audio during events, broadcasts, houses of worship, livestreams and video productions.

The big thing to understand about Blackmagic Fairlight Live is that the hardware panel is a controller. The actual processing runs on a computer, with Blackmagic showing the system running through a Mac at NAB.

That means the console itself is not a traditional all-in-one audio mixer with every input and output built directly into the back. Instead, your audio I/O connects through the computer using interfaces, virtual sound cards or networked audio workflows. The Fairlight Live panel then gives you hands-on control of the mix.

That approach may feel different from a traditional soundboard, but it also makes the system more flexible. If your venue already has audio running over Ethernet, Dante Virtual Soundcard, AES, USB, Thunderbolt or another digital audio interface, Fairlight Live can fit into that existing setup without requiring a completely new wiring plan.

While Fairlight Live can operate as a standalone audio mixer, Blackmagic is clearly positioning it as part of a larger live production chain.

The system can pair with ATEM switchers, allowing a dedicated audio operator to control audio separately from the video switcher. That could be a big advantage for churches, live music venues, schools, conference rooms and production teams already using Blackmagic ATEM hardware.

Instead of forcing one person to manage both video switching and audio control from the same panel, Fairlight Live gives the audio side its own dedicated surface.

Blackmagic showed multiple Fairlight Live hardware options at NAB, including 10-channel, 20-channel and 40-channel panels. The larger models include multiple screens, giving operators direct access to processing tools and master controls.

Those screens can show channel strips, EQ, compression, gates, expanders and other controls, making it feel closer to a traditional digital mixing console. Multiple banks also allow users to layer deeper channel counts beyond the physical faders in front of them.

Because Fairlight Live runs its processing on the computer, the available CPU power matters. Blackmagic suggested that a newer Mac mini would be a professional baseline, while something like a Mac Studio would offer far more headroom.

The system supports the same kind of audio processing users may already know from DaVinci Resolve’s Fairlight page. That includes Blackmagic’s built-in effects as well as AU and VST plugins from third-party manufacturers.

For live production, that means common tools like reverb, delay, EQ and dynamics processing should be available inside the Fairlight workflow. More demanding plugins could introduce latency, so the computer and plugin choices will matter for larger productions.

For venues already using compact digital mixers, Blackmagic audio workflows could become a serious option. Fairlight Live is designed to replace a traditional soundboard, but with one important caveat: you still need a computer and an audio interface or network audio system to bring signals in and out.

The back of the panel includes features like XLR talkback inputs, XLR monitor outputs, Ethernet connections and USB for updates. But the main audio I/O is handled outside the console.

That makes Fairlight Live less like a self-contained mixer and more like a control surface for a computer-based live audio system.

Blackmagic also noted that the system can be controlled remotely, including from an iPad. That opens the door for operators to adjust audio from different locations in a room, stage or production space.

For live events, that could be especially useful. A venue could have the main Fairlight Live surface at front of house, while another operator or technician checks levels from another position.

At NAB 2026, Blackmagic said the Fairlight Live software beta was already available on its website, and the hardware panels were expected around the July to August timeframe.

The system was shown running on Mac, and while Blackmagic’s broader software ecosystem often supports Mac, Windows and Linux, the final platform support for Fairlight Live was still being worked on at the time of the NAB demo.

The biggest takeaway is that Blackmagic Fairlight Live brings Blackmagic’s audio tools into the same live production conversation as ATEM switchers, 2110 workflows and modern networked production systems.

For creators, venues and live production teams already using Blackmagic gear, this could become a more integrated way to manage blackmagic audio without relying on a separate traditional console.

It is not just an audio mixer in the old-school sense. It is a computer-powered, software-driven live mixing system with dedicated hardware control — and for Blackmagic users, that could make Fairlight Live one of the most interesting NAB 2026 announcements.

Last Updated on June 9, 2026 5:16 pm by Jeffrey Powers

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