BrightSign players run on a highly efficient, embedded system specifically designed for connectivity and the processing of media files. Our players are purpose-built from the ground up for digital signage!

Software

The BrightSign operating system (BrightSignOS or BOS) is derived from Debian, an open-source Linux-based OS, with substantial BrightSign modifications that include a read-only root filesystem in NVRAM, a Chromium rendering engine, and additional components for audio/video processing and security.

Thanks to the built-in Chromium engine, BrightSign players are able to run any Chromium app. BrightSign players are highly specialized and although they are based on a Linux OS, they are not general-purpose Linux PCs. They cannot run Linux apps nor are they capable of running apps for Android, iOS, or Windows. However, if you have a native Android, iOS, or Windows app, talk to us about how we may be able to help you leverage your existing code to run natively on our players.

Some of BrightSign’s software components are open source, and the open source code is freely available on BrightSign’s website. See BrightSign Open Source Resources for more information.

Hardware

By utilizing a mobile-phone style chipset instead of a typical PC chipset, BrightSign players are able to be compact, highly-efficient, and, because they’re fan-less, completely silent. Performance is maximized by running all video decoding and encoding through dedicated hardware.

With an efficient heat-dissipating enclosure and no moving parts that can break down, BrightSign players are extremely reliable even when they're running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Indeed, the reliability and longevity of BrightSign players are widely viewed as unmatched in the industry.

You can learn more about the current BrightSign hardware lineup here.

Next, learn about Player Storage.