Player General FAQ

What happens if a player loses its network connection or power?

If the player loses the network connection, it will attempt to reconnect until the connection is re-established. If a player loses connection while a presentation is displayed, it will continue to display the presentation until new content is downloaded. If a player is downloading content when the connection is lost, it will resume downloading once the connection is re-established.

When using BrightAuthor:connected the player's status is accessible in the Network tab. The player's status is displayed to the immediate left of the Player ID in All Devices, or within the group where the device is assigned to. Player status is only available for devices connected to the internet.

If a player loses power, it will automatically start playing your content, presentation, or custom script when it powers up again. If there is a presentation script (autorun.brs) on a storage device, the unit will start the presentation from the beginning. If there is no presentation script present on the storage device(s), a unit will play alphabetically any content it finds in the root of the storage.

Do BrightSign players support IPv6?

BrightSign players support both IPv4 and IPv6. To use IPv6, players must be running BOS 6.0.x or newer. There is no need to configure the player for IPv6 since it will be selected automatically when the player connects to a network. Note that:

• The BrightSign Network is not yet available via IPv6.

• Network interfaces on the player automatically assign themselves a link-local IPv6 address.

• SLAAC (automatic routable IPv6 address allocation) is supported if a router sends router advertisements.

• Players support RDNSS and DNSSL for DNS configuration from router advertisements.

• Players support DHCPv6 in combination with router advertisements.

What is the revision (rev) of my player?

BrightSign players go through a number of revisions ("revs") during the hardware production lifecycle. Revs are lettered starting with A (for example, "rev A", "rev B", "rev C", etc.).

The player hardware rev is the third character in the serial number, which is on the label located on the bottom of the player. For example, the serial number "33H769000122" is rev H of that player model.

Can I play a presentation from an NTFS formatted card?

Formatting your SD card using NTFS allows you to play files that are larger than 4GB in size, but the player will not be able to receive network updates or generate logs. In other words, BrightSign players can read from NTFS formatted cards, but cannot write to them.

For Series 5, 4, and 3 players, we recommend using the exFAT filesystem (which requires firmware version 6.2.94 or later). This allows you to play files larger than 4GB without restrictions on writing to the card.

If you are using an earlier player model and are publishing via BSN.cloud, Web Folder, or Local Network, you need to format your SD card using FAT32.

The GPIO status at boot is set to high. Can it be changed to low?

Currently the GPIO status is set to high and there is no setting for GPIO status at boot time. Hardware is the best solution to prevent the GPIO high signal at boot-up. You can use a hardware device such as a relay board that is designed not trigger the relay at boot-up, such as the HMS Electronics BS-4X4R-REV2 or BS-4X4-HC.

Is my BrightSign player 32-bit or 64-bit?

All Series 3 (XTx43, XDx33, HDx23, LS423) and earlier players use 32-bit chip architecture, while all Series 4 and 5 players use 64-bit chip architecture and operate on 64-bit Linux.

Do BrightSign players support security protocols for HLS streaming?

Yes. Players support the EXT-X-Key tag and AES-128 encryption method, as described in sections 3.4.4 and 5 of the draft HLS specification.

Note that the HLS protocol does not specify how to acquire the rights to access the key. This is normally dictated by the content provider.

How do I calculate the broadcast address?

The broadcast address is based on your IP address and subnet mask. For example, if your IP address is 10.11.12.100, and your mask is 255.255.255.0, then your broadcast will be 10.11.12.255.

Many websites will calculate the broadcast address for you (for example: https://jodies.de/ipcalc).

Do BrightSign players support 3D video?

BrightSign players support two types of 3D video in side-by-side mode and top-over-bottom mode, using either mpeg2 or h.264 content. You can specify the 3D mode of a video state in an Interactive playlist:

1. Double-click the Video state

2. Go to the Advanced tab

3. Select the Video Display Mode from the drop down list at the bottom of the window.

Do BrightSign players support FTP?

You cannot network a BrightSign player using FTP, but if the player is set up with Web Folder/Simple File Networking, you can use FTP to transfer files to your web folder. Once the content is published in a folder on your computer you can use FTP software to copy the files to your web folder. 

Do BrightSign players support serial control?

Any BrightSign player with a serial port can send and receive commands over serial using BrightAuthor:connected/BrightAuthor or a custom script (for example, to turn displays on or off and interact with devices with controllers such as Crestron, Alcorn or AMX).

Newer player models have a 3.5mm serial port, older models have a DE-9/DB-9 serial port:

• 3.5mm: XC4055, XC2055, XD1035, XT1145, XT2145, XT1144, XD1034, HD1025, HD1024, XT1143, XD1033, HD1023

• 3.5mm via USB: LS425, LS424, LS423 (via USB converter cable, available on the BrightSign store)

• DE-9/DB-9: 4K1142, 4K1042, XD1132, XD1032, XD1230, HD1022, HD1020, AU320. The DE-9/DB-9 connector is fully RS-232 compatible but the 3.5mm serial transmit pin does not comply with voltage levels for RS-232 signaling (which requires a voltage below -3V for logical 1). The serial port can interoperate successfully with most RS-232 receivers, but some devices (including some projectors and Crestron equipment) will not accept 0V as logical 1. In these instances, you can connect the player to the serial device using a USB-to-serial cable.

See Serial Port Configurationfor more information.

Do BrightSign players support storage hot swapping?

Yes, SD and USB storage devices are detected as soon as they're plugged in. So, if you plug in a USB stick with a firmware update, then the player will try to install it immediately upon detection. 

Note that removing a storage device will unmount the file system for that drive until the device is rebooted. This means that you cannot, for example, remove an SD card and then insert one containing a new presentation to switch playback--the player will need to be rebooted for the new content to play.