Supported Video Formats and Codecs

Owned by BrightSign TechDocs
Last updated: Sept 26, 2024
6 min read

To play video successfully on BrightSign players, see the following requirements. Bitrate information for older players is available on this page.

IMPORTANT: Portrait-orientation video (1080x1920, 2160x3840, etc) support has specific limitations by player model. See the Portrait Video section of Optimizing Video Quality for details.

XD5, HD5, LS5

  • 4K Video Codecs: H.265/HEVC, H.264/AVC (max 30p), VP9

  • 1080p Video Codecs: H.265/HEVC, H.264/AVC, VP9, MPEG 4 part 2, MPEG1 video, MPEG2 video

  • Containers: .MP4, .MOV, .MKV, .WEBM, .TS, .MPG, .MPEG, .PS, .M2P, .MPV, .AVI, .HEVC, .H264, .AV1, .VP9, and .MJPG

  • Resolution: Video sources larger than 1920x1080 resolution must be in HEVC (H.265), AVC (H.264) or VP9 format. AVC/H.264 is limited to 30p at 3840x2160.

  • HDR: HDR10 (Single Video Zone only, No Graphics)

  • Color Space: RGB color space, YUV420 

  • Bit Depth: 8 bit and 10 bit (10 bit is only supported at 30p)

  • Profile: Main and Main10

  • Level: 5.1 and below

XCxx55, XTx45 (4K Resolution and Below)

XCxx55, XTx45 (Resolutions Above 4K)

  • 8K Video Codecs: H.265/HEVC, VP9

  • Containers: .MP4, .MOV, .MKV, .WEBM, .TS, .MPG, .MPEG, .PS, .M2P, .MPV, .AVI, .HEVC, .H264, .AV1, .VP9, and .MJPG

  • Resolution: The maximum supported resolution is 7680x4320x60p. Video sources larger than 3840x2160 resolution must be in HEVC (H.265) or VP9 format. Neither AV1 nor AVC (H.264) will work at 8K video resolution.

  • HDR: HDR10 and HLG are supported

  • Color Space: RGB color space, YUV420 

  • Bit Depth: 8 and 10 bit (the XC2055 supports 8bit at 8K 60p, and 10bit at 8K 30p)

  • Profile: Main and Main10

  • Level: 6.1 and below

  • Bitrate: The bitrate selected by your software should be supported by the codec, given the constraint that the level can’t be over 6.1. Wikipedia has more information about bitrates at different profiles and levels (for example, H265 (High Efficiency Video Coding) and VP9).

XTx44, XDx34, HDx24

4K Video

  • Video Codec: H.264, H.265, or VP9

  • Resolution: The maximum supported resolution is 4096x2160x60p.

  • Color Depth: 4K video can be encoded at 4:2:0 subsampling with 8 bits (Main Profile) or 10 bits (Main 10 Profile) of depth.

  • HDR and Dolby Vision: XTx44 players support both HDR10 and Dolby Vision.

  • Display Hardware: The maximum supported framerate and color depth are also affected by your display hardware. See this section of the 4K Video Encoding tech note for more details. 

BrightSign players support both H.265 version 1 profiles: Main and Main 10. However, we do not support the recently ratified version 2 profiles.

  • Container Format: The following container formats are supported: .TS, .MOV, .MP4, .MKV, .WEBM

XTx44/XDx34 models currently support .WEBM video with the Opus audio codec (not Vorbis), while HDx24 models support .WEBM with the Vorbis audio codec (not Opus).

  • Bitrate: The XTx44 and XDx34 models support a constant bit rate (CBR) of 95 Mbps. This value applies to both the primary and secondary video decoders. HDx24 models support a CBR of 50Mbps*.

  • Merge Mode: If you are using B-frames as references in H.265 “merge mode”, the size of the references list should be limited to two or less.

  • Audio Support: AAC audio (CBR/VBR) up to 288Kbps

  • Fast Start: Enabling fast start (-movflags +faststart) is recommended, especially for videos used in synchronized playback and BrightWall, as well as videos of large filesize and/or duration

HD Video

  • Supported Codecs: H.265, H.264, VP9, MPEG-2

  • Resolution: The maximum supported resolution is 1920x1080. Note that some supported VESA video modes have limitations, as outlined in the “Why is my 1280x800x60p video dropping frames?” FAQ. 

  • Supported Extensions/Containers:  .TS, .MPG, .VOB, .MOV, .MP4, .M2TS

  • Additionally Supported Extensions: Players also support .WEBM video with Vorbis audio (the Opus audio codec is not supported).

  • Specs for H.265 Extensions/Containers: Support for Main and Main 10 profiles up to level 5.1

  • Specs for H.264 Extensions/Containers: Support for Main and High profiles up to level 4.2

  • Maximum Recommended Video Bit Rate: 25Mbps

  • Audio Support: AAC audio (CBR/VBR) up to 288Kbps

  • Fast Start: Enabling fast start (-movflags +faststart) is recommended, especially for videos used in synchronized playback and BrightWall, as well as videos of large filesize and/or duration

XTx43, XDx33, 4Kx42

4K Video

  • Video Codec: 4K video must be encoded as an H.265 (HEVC) file. 

  • Resolution: The maximum supported resolution is 3840x2160x60p.

  • Color Depth: 4K video can be encoded at 4:2:0 subsampling with 8 bits (Main Profile) or 10 bits (Main 10 Profile) of depth.

  • HDR and Dolby Vision: XTx43 players support HDR10

  • Display Hardware: The maximum supported frame rate and color depth are also affected by your display hardware. See this section of the 4K Video Encoding tech note for more details. 

  • Container Format: The following container formats are supported: .TS, .MOV, .MP4, .MKV, .WEBM

  • Bitrate: These models support a CBR of 50 Mbps*. This value applies to both the primary and secondary video decoders.

  • Merge Mode: If you are using B-frames as references in H.265 “merge mode”, the size of the references list should be limited to two or less.

  • Audio Support: AAC audio (CBR/VBR) up to 288Kbps

  • Fast Start: Enabling fast start (-movflags +faststart) is recommended, especially for videos used in synchronized playback and BrightWall, as well as videos of large filesize and/or duration.

HD and SD video

  • Supported Codecs: H.265, H.264, VP8, MPEG-2, MPEG-1

  • Resolution: The maximum supported resolution is 1920x1080. Note that some supported VESA video modes have limitations, as outlined in this "Why is my 1280x800x60p video dropping frames? FAQ. 

  • Supported Extensions/Containers: .TS, .MPG, .VOB, .MOV, .MP4, .M2TS

  • Additionally Supported Extensions: BrightSign players support .WMV files that are exported from PowerPoint (i.e. video-only .WMV without .WMA audio). Players also support .webm video with Vorbis audio (the Opus audio codec is not supported).

  • Specs for H.265 Extensions/Containers: Support for Main and Main 10 profiles up to level 5.1

  • Specs for H.264 Extensions/Containers: Support for Main and High profiles up to level 4.2

  • Specs for MPEG-1 Extensions/Containers: System streams only (elementary streams are not supported)

  • Maximum Recommended Video Bit Rate: 25Mbps

  • Audio Support: AAC audio (CBR/VBR) up to 288Kbps

  • Fast Start: Enabling fast start (-movflags +faststart) is recommended, especially for videos used in synchronized playback and BrightWall, as well as videos of large filesize and/or duration

LS424

  • Supported Codecs: H.265, H.264, MPEG-2

  • Resolution: The maximum supported resolution is 1920x1080. Note that some supported VESA video modes have limitations, as outlined in this "Why is my 1280x800x60p video dropping frames? FAQ. 

  • Supported Extensions/Containers: .TS, .MPG, .VOB, .MOV, .MP4, .M2TS

  • Additionally Supported Extensions: Players also support .WEBM video with Vorbis audio (the Opus audio codec is not supported).

  • Specs for H.265 Extensions/Containers: Support for Main and Main 10 profiles up to level 5.1

  • Specs for H.264 Extensions/Containers: Support for Main and High profiles up to level 4.2

  • Maximum Recommended Video Bit Rate: 50Mbps*

  • Audio Support: AAC audio (CBR/VBR) up to 288Kbps

  • Fast Start: Enabling fast start (-movflags +faststart) is recommended, especially for videos used in synchronized playback and BrightWall, as well as videos of large filesize and/or duration

HDx23, LS423

  • Supported Codecs: H.265, H.264, VP8, MPEG-2, MPEG-1

  • Resolution: The maximum supported resolution is 1920x1080. Note that some supported VESA video modes have limitations, as outlined in this "Why is my 1280x800x60p video dropping frames? FAQ. 

  • Supported Extensions/Containers: .TS, .MPG, .VOB, .MOV, .MP4, .M2TS

  • Additionally Supported Extensions: BrightSign players support .WMV files that are exported from PowerPoint (i.e. video-only .WMV without .WMA audio). Players also support .WEBM video with Vorbis audio (the Opus audio codec is not supported).

  • Specs for H.265 Extensions/Containers: Support for Main and Main 10 profiles up to level 5.1

  • Specs for H.264 Extensions/Containers: Support for Main and High profiles up to level 4.2

  • Specs for MPEG-1 Extensions/Containers: System streams only (elementary streams are not supported)

  • Maximum Recommended Video Bit Rate: 50Mbps*

  • Audio Support: AAC audio (CBR/VBR) up to 288Kbps

  • Fast Start: Enabling fast start (-movflags +faststart) is recommended, especially for videos used in synchronized playback and BrightWall, as well as videos of large filesize and/or duration

XDx32, XDx30, HDx22, HDx20, LSx22, HDx10

  • Supported Codecs: H.264, MPEG-2, MPEG-1

  • Resolution: The maximum supported resolution is 1920x1080. Note that some supported VESA video modes have limitations, as outlined in this "Why is my 1280x800x60p video dropping frames? FAQ. 

  • Supported Extensions/Containers: .TS, .MPG, .VOB, .MOV, .MP4, .M2TS

  • Additionally Supported Extensions: .WMV files that are exported from PowerPoint (i.e. video-only .WMV without .WMA audio).

  • Specs for H.264 Extensions/Containers: Support for Main and High Profiles up to level 4.2

  • Specs for MPEG-1 Extensions/Containers: System streams only (elementary streams are not supported)

  • Maximum Recommended Video Bit Rate: 25Mbps

  • Audio Support: AAC audio (CBR/VBR) up to 288Kbps

  • Fast Start: Enabling fast start (-movflags +faststart) is recommended, especially for videos used in synchronized playback and BrightWall (not applicable to HDx10 models), as well as videos of large filesize and/or duration

HD600

  • MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Standard video files

  • Supported extensions: .MPG and .VOB

  • Must be a Program Stream (System Stream for MPEG-1)

  • Must contain an audio layer at a 48Khz sample rate, even if it's just silence.

  • Maximum bit rate supported is 9Mbps

  • Maximum video resolution supported is 720x480

HD2000

  • MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 HD or Standard video files

  • Supported extensions: .MPG and .VOB

  • Must be a Program Stream (System Stream for MPEG-1)

  • Maximum bit rate supported is 25Mbps

  • Maximum video resolution supported is 1920x1080i (interlaced)

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*Values are for regular file playback and can be seen as playback in ideal conditions. See Performance Limiters for more information.