XD5 Hardware Interfaces

This section describes the characteristics and operation of all connectors on the XD235 and XD1035.

Ethernet/PoE

A single RJ45 jack is provided for connection that supports 10/100/1000 Base-T operations, as well as Power over Ethernet (PoE). 

This ethernet connection delivers power on PoE Type 1 at up to 12.95W and as PoE Type 2 (PoE+) at up to 25.5W to the XD235 and/or XD1035 units.

Power Connector

The power connector for the XD235 and XD1035, which connects the power cord to the device, is rated for 12V @3A. The plug is a right-side positive, locking 2-pin (1x2) connector.

HDMI Output

The HDMI^®-out connector is used to send digital video and audio to HDMI-enabled sink devices. The HDMI output on the XD235 and XD1035 is HDMI 2.0a. CEC control is supported over the HDMI interface independently. This connector can output a maximum video resolution of 3840x2160x60p. 

The XD235 and XD1035 support HDR video, video rotation at 2160x3840x60p, and at least two simultaneous 1920x1080x60p decodes. 

GPIO 

The XD235 and XD1035 have a 12-pin GPIO switch and an LED connector, which allows the player to control external LEDs or other devices. The port can supply 3.3V@300mA to PWR pins (available in Rev G and higher) and sink or source 24mA on each button pin. Auxiliary power is 1A.

The GPIO port is a standard design manufactured by Phoenix Contact, Wurth Electronics, and others. Pluggable GPIO terminal blocks can be inserted into the GPIO connector to make bare-wire contacts (see here for an example part). These terminal blocks can be purchased from the BrightSign Store. If you wish to source your own terminal blocks, make sure to use 4-pin or 6-pin blocks (12-pin blocks are extremely difficult to remove from the GPIO port).

Connect the LED outputs to the LED ANODE and connect the LED CATHODE to the ground. If you want to connect another device, then the output is capable of sourcing or sinking up to 3.3V at 24mA, but there is a series resistor of 100Ω in each line.

The GPIO also allows for connecting of external contact closures to the ground. In order to connect a switch, connect one side of the switch to the switch input, and connect the other side to one of the ground pins on the GPIO connector.

If one BrightSign player is driving the inputs on another BrightSign player, then you can drive at most three inputs from one output. The following calculations explain this limitation:

The GPIO outputs have 100Ω series resistors; the GPIO inputs have 1K pullup resistors to 3.3V; and the input threshold is 2V high and .8V low. The high voltage is not problematic, but the low voltage can be if there are too many inputs connected to one output.

GPIO Pinout

The following table illustrates the pinout of the GPIO on the XD235 and XD1035:

The following schematic illustrates the pinout of the GPIO connector:

Open

IR Input/Output

The IR blaster generates or receives a space-encoded NEC or Pronto Hex signal. The two transported bit values of the signal (0 and 1) are encoded using differing lengths of low-time IR pulses.

The 3.5mm IR in/out port has the following pinout:

• Tip: 3.3V@50mA

• Ring: IR Input

• Sleeve: IR Output

Serial

The XD1035 has a UART (asynchronous serial) interface in a 3.5 mm mini-jack that uses RS-232 levels for communication. The receiver will tolerate input voltages between -30V and +30V, with anything below 3V interpreted as a logical 1. The transmitter drives +8V for logical 0 and -8V for logical 1. 

The default baud rate of the interface is 115200, with no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit. These settings can be configured in the software. The serial interface supports TX, RX, and ground only—RTS/CTS hardware flow control is not supported. The following diagram illustrates the behavior of the TX and RX signal:

Open

This 3.5mm serial port has the following configuration (from the perspective of the player):

• Tip: Receive

• Ring: Transmit

• Sleeve: Ground

BrightSign players are DCE devices, so communication with another DCE device that uses a 3.5mm port would require a null-modem cable or converter that transposes the TX/RX signals. If the device communicating with the player is a DTE device with a DE9 serial port (performing asynchronous transmission), the serial cable should be wired as shown in the following diagram:

Audio Connector

The XD235 and XD1035 have a 3.5mm combination analog/optical audio jack. To transmit a digital audio signal, use a TOSLINK optical audio cable with a 3.5mm connector. Analog and digital audio cannot be transmitted simultaneously.

The full-scale voltage output of the analog audio is 2V RMS. The minimum load impedance is 32Ω.

The analog audio connector has the following pinout:

• Tip: Left audio

• Ring: Right audio

• Sleeve: Ground for audio signal

USB

The XD1035 has one USB-A and one USB-C port to connect USB-compatible devices. The USB-C port supports both device and host mode and USB-C to any GP800-C device. Both ports meet USB 2.0 specifications.

The XD235 does not support USB ports.

WiFi & Antennas

The XD235 and XD1035 models come equipped with an M.2 connector slot and two SMT-mounted SMA connectors. The M.2 slot supports M.2 PCIe cards for WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity (sold separately), while the SMA connectors facilitate the connection of external antennas.

SSD Interface

XD5 players will accept NVMe SSDs in M.2 2242 or 2280 (but not 2260) form factors of SX id type (single-sided form factor). Double-sided drives (DX id type)* will not fit because the back side of the SSD is essentially flush against the motherboard. For example, a 2280-S1 module will fit a BrightSign player but a 2280-D2 module would not.

NVMe drives with heat sinks are not compatible with our players.
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*D4 drives may fit but have not been tested