NVIDIA Virtual Background
Updated: 11 Nov 2025
Generate a mask for an image using NVIDIA RTX to mask out human forms.
NVIDIA Virtual Background
Method #
This node uses NVIDIA’s Virtual Background technology running on NVIDIA RTX enabled GPUs to pick out human forms in video / images and remove them from the background, outputting a greyscale mask. This eliminates the need for green screen keying, allowing for use in much broader contexts.
The background removal is achieved using AI and was primarily developed by NVIDIA for use on webcam feeds, for video calls, and streaming, so has been trained primarily on those data sources. It will give the best results on video feeds that resemble those - e.g. front shots of a person’s head + shoulders. However, it still achieves good results on a much wider range of scenarios. A 16:9 aspect ratio input feed at HD resolution is recommended for best results.
Do not multi-parent this node. Multi-parenting breaks internal frame-to-frame coherence, resulting in significantly lower performance and reduced quality.
If your project contains multiple Virtual Background nodes, they must all use the same Quality Mode option. Mismatched settings can lead to significantly reduced performance.
In Notch versions later than 1.0.0.095, up to 8 Virtual Background node instances are supported across the entire block and all its instances. In earlier versions, the limit was 4.
This node requires NVIDIA Display Driver version 520.00 or higher as well as the installation of the NVIDIA Video Effects SDK and AR SDK, which can be downloaded here: NVIDIA Video Effects SDK
Make sure you get the correct driver for your GPU, Turing (20XX), Ampere (30XX) and Ada (40XX) use different drivers and they are not cross-compatible.
When using Disguise media servers please refer to this page for further information.
Parameters
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
Parameter Details Active
Turn the effect on or off. Values < 0.1 will turn the effect off.
Quality Mode
Select the quality mode for the background removal.
- Best Quality (Slower) : The best quality, but lower performance. In this mode, the height of the input buffer must be greater than 360 pixels.
- Fastest Performance (Lower Quality) : The highest performance at a cost of lower quality output. In this mode, the height of the input buffer must be greater than 288 pixels.
The properties control the time at which the node is active. See Timeline for editing time segments.
Parameter Details Duration
Control the duration of the node’s time segment.
- Composition Duration : Use the length of the composition for the node’s time segment duration.
- Custom : Set a custom duration for the node’s time segment.
Node Time
The custom start and end time for the node.
Duration (Timecode)
The length of the node’s time segment (in time).
Duration (Frames)
The length of the node’s time segment (in frames).
Time Segment Enabled
Set whether the node’s time segment is enabled or not in the Timeline.
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Active | Turn the effect on or off. Values < 0.1 will turn the effect off. |
| Quality Mode |
Select the quality mode for the background removal.
|
The properties control the time at which the node is active. See Timeline for editing time segments.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Duration |
Control the duration of the node’s time segment.
|
| Node Time | The custom start and end time for the node. |
| Duration (Timecode) | The length of the node’s time segment (in time). |
| Duration (Frames) | The length of the node’s time segment (in frames). |
| Time Segment Enabled | Set whether the node’s time segment is enabled or not in the Timeline. |
