TM User Guide HD600 and HD2000 MATCHES: • BrightSign Software Version: 1.1.28 (HD600); 2.0.94 (HD2000) • AutoPlay Script Version: 1.1.7b (HD600); 2.0.0.43 (HD2000) www.brightsign.
Copyright Copyright © 2008–2009 by BrightSign, a division of Roku, Inc. All rights reserved. Roku, the Roku logo, and the BrightSign logo are trademarks of Roku, Inc. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Contents •••••• Chapter 1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 What is BrightSign? ....................................................... Sample BrightSign setups ................................................. Video or slide show loop .............................................. Interactive presentation .............................................. Examples .................................................
Chapter 4 Working with Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 What is a playlist? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Creating a playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Playlist commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Roku Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Using the GPIO control port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Chapter 7 Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Learning more and support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using the registry (HD2000 only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Writing to the registry from an interactive playlist (HD2000 only) . . . . . . 88 Displaying registry contents from an interactive playlist (HD2000 only) 89 Copying registry contents from an interactive playlist (HD2000 only) . . 89 Setting the date/time on BrightSign (HD2000 only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Using a custom boot script and logo . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 1 Introduction •••••• What is BrightSign? BrightSign HD600 and BrightSign HD2000 are standalone digital signs or kiosk controllers that play content from standard Flash memory cards. You can use BrightSign with almost any standard or high-definition monitor or TV to play continuous video or image loops.
Sample BrightSign setups You can connect BrightSign to a wide-range of devices based on your audio, video, and interactivity needs. Video or slide show loop Place a video or set of still images on a CompactFlash card, and connect BrightSign to a display.
Interactive presentation By connecting powered speakers to BrightSign, you can add audio to your display, and you can add interactivity by connecting an input device such as a keyboard, touch screen, button board, or LED. The example below uses an off-the-shelf USB keyboard.
Examples Here are some examples of what you can do with BrightSign: • • • • • Display a looping video with DVD+ quality on a variety of monitor types Display a looping video with HD quality on a variety of display types Display a looping slide show in high definition Play looping music Display videos and images simultaneously in different parts of the screen (also referred to as zones)—videos in one zone, slideshow in a second zone, and an RSS feed in a third zone • Schedule any of the above to play at a s
Chapter 2 Getting Started •••••• Step 1: Get the hardware you need To start using your BrightSign, you need the following hardware: Display Any monitor, TV, or Elo touch screen with one of the following types of inputs: • VGA • Component • Composite (HD600 only) • HDMI (HD2000 only) Storage card Either of the following: • CF card (see Selecting Compact Flash cards for more info) • USB Flash card (HD2000 only) • SD card (HD2000 only) Card Reader/Writer The card reader/writer must be connected to your Mac o
• GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) button board TIP: To use the BrightSign demo you need one of the following: GPIO button board, ELO touch screen, or USB mouse. • SoundBridge Remote • Null modem cable Step 2: Get the latest BrightSign software Depending on when you purchased your BrightSign, you may need to download and install the latest software from the BrightSign web site.
Extract the software update file onto your CF/SD card. (The file name is UPDATE.ROK.) 4 Insert the CF/SD card into your BrightSign and apply power. • HD600: Wait for your BrightSign to boot. (The display will be blank.) After several seconds one of the LEDs on the front panel starts to flash. When the LED stops flashing, the upgrade is complete and BrightSign reboots automatically. • HD2000: Wait for your BrightSign to boot.
7 Use the touch screen, mouse, or button board to select one of the four hot spots. You can also use the demo to try BrightSign with different types of monitors: Connect your BrightSign to a monitor or TV using a VGA, component, or HDMI connection. 2 Make sure your monitor is configured to receive input from the cable you’re using. 3 Start the demo by inserting the CF/SD card you created in the previous set of steps. You should now see the demo in various video modes.
Chapter 3 Playing Media with BrightSign •••••• Ways to play media There are several ways to play media files on a BrightSign device: • Play media automatically from a CompactFlash or SD (CF/SD) card when you turn on a BrightSign • Play media via a script on a CF/SD card • Use the serial shell commands to test media playback NOTE: The HD600 outputs video through the VGA connector in 1024x768 resolution, unless you change this in your playlist, interactive playlist, or script, or by using the front panel vi
BrightSign can autoplay the following types of media: • MPEG-2 video. You can use a single file as a loop, or multiple files. For the HD600, files must contain an audio track; if you don’t need audio, include a silent audio track. • MP3 Audio. Any audio (in a video or mp3 file) must have a sample rate of 48KHZ (or 44.1KHZ on the HD2000). • WAV Audio (HD2000 only). WAV files must contain16 bit linear PCM data. • Bitmap files. For still images, use an 8-bit, 24-bit, or 32-bit BMP file format.
Auto-playing a video upon power-up To autoplay a video file on power-up or reset, do the following: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Copy the video file into the root directory of a CF/SD card and name it AUTOPLAY.VOB or AUTOPLAY.MPG. Go to www.brightsign.biz/support and click the Software Downloads link. Click the AutoPlay Script link under the appropriate model (HD600 or HD200) to download the AUTOPLAY.ZIP file. Expand the AUTOPLAY.ZIP file, which contains a script named AUTORUN.BAS. Copy AUTORUN.
Auto-playing a playlist upon power-up A playlist is a text file that describes the items you want to play and the order in which you want to play them. A playlist can include still images, video clips, or audio clips. For details on creating playlists, see Working with Playlists. To autoplay a playlist file on power-up or reset, do the following: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • • • 12 • • • Create a playlist file and name it AUTOPLAY.BSP (see Working with Playlists for details).
Auto-playing an interactive playlist upon power-up BrightSign can also play a sophisticated presentation that is described in an interactive playlist. An interactive playlist is a simple text file that contains a table of information. Using Microsoft Excel, you can easily create a file that describes a sophisticated interactive presentation. The interactive playlist describes which media to play upon power-up, and which media to play when a user presses a button or triggers other events.
Auto-playing a script upon power-up Creating a BrightScript script gives you the most control over your interactive presentation. To autorun a script, do the following: Create a script using a text editor and name the file AUTORUN.BAS (see Working with Scripts for details). 2 Copy the script into the root directory of your CF/SD card. 3 Insert the CF/SD card into your BrightSign. 4 Turn on your BrightSign. After a few moments, BrightSign runs the script and plays the media referenced in the script.
Auto-playing content at a scheduled time (HD2000 only) To play videos, still images, playlists, or interactive playlists at scheduled times, do the following: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Create a scheduling file using a text editor and name the file AUTOSCHEDULE.TXT (see Scheduling playback (HD2000 only) for details). Copy AUTOSCHEDULE.TXT into the root directory of your CF/SD card. Copy all video, still image, playlist, and interactive playlist files listed in AUTOSCHEDULE.
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Chapter 4 Working with Playlists •••••• What is a playlist? A BrightSign playlist is a text file that ends in BSP (BrightSign Playlist). It contains the names of the files you want to play and the order in which you want to play them. Files in a playlist are played in sequence, one after the next. This means that you cannot use a playlist to play files simultaneously. For example, you cannot play an audio file and a video file at the same time unless you add your audio to your video file.
The files in a playlist don’t have to be bitmaps; you can use video or audio files too. You can also mix media types in a single playlist and trigger GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) pins. In addition to filenames, there is a set of about 16 commands that you can use in a BrightSign playlist. For example, if you want the playlist to pause for 5 seconds between images, the slideshow playlist above could be modified like this: slideinterval 5 slide1.bmp slide2.bmp slide3.
Creating a playlist Using a text editor, such as Notepad, enter the names of the files you want to play in the order in which you want them to play. 2 (Optional) Enter any commands you want to add to your playlist. See the next section, Playlist commands, for a description of available commands. 3 Use the Save As command to the file with a BSP extension.
Playlist commands Here is the list of commands that you can use in a playlist: BMP, MP3, MPG, VOB, PNG (HD2000 only), JPG (HD2000 only) Any line that is a file name and that ends in one of these extensions is valid. Names may contain spaces. debug Use this command to view debug information on the display (serial port). rem Any line starting with rem is ignored, so you can include comments in your playlist. Rem is short for remark.
audiooutput # (default is 0) BrightSign has 5 different audio outputs. If an output is not specified, BrightSign uses analog audio 0 in stereo as the default. Of the 5 outputs, there are five audiooutput modes that are set with the audiooutput command. The audiooutput command can have one of the following values: • • • • • 0: Outputs analog audio. 1: Outputs USB audio. 2: Outputs SPDIF audio in stereo PCM. 3: Outputs SPDIF audio in raw AC3. 4: Outputs analog audio with SPDIF mirroring raw AC3.
videomode (HD600 default is 1024x768x60p; HD2000 default is 1280x720x60p) Set the output framebuffer format.
imagemode # (default is 0) The imagemode command specifies whether the image is scaled to the display. • imagemode 0: Centers the image without scaling (may result in cropping if the image is larger than the current videomode resolution). • imagemode 1: Scales the image to fit the display. The whole image is displayed as large as possible with correct aspect ratio. • imagemode 2: Scales the image to fill the display while maintaining aspect ratio.
waitbuttonany Use this command when you want the playlist to pause until any GPIO buttons is pressed. pause # Use this command when you want the playlist to pause for a specified number of seconds. The number must be an integer. For example, to pause for 5 seconds, the command would be: pause 5 stop Use this command to stop playback of the playlist. Creating interactive presentations With BrightSign you can create presentations that respond to input from the user.
Using Excel to create interactive presentations BrightSign can play a sophisticated sign that is described in an interactive playlist. An interactive playlist is a simple text file that contains a list of information separated by commas. Using Microsoft Excel, you can create an interactive playlist to describe a sophisticated interactive sign using a text table. The table describes which media to play, and which media to play when a user presses a button or triggers other events.
VIDEOMODE IMAGEMODE EVENTS STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE STATE • • • 26 • • • 1024x768x60p 1 demo_menu.bmp Dalmations.mpg Cars.mpg art1.bmp art2.bmp art3.bmp art4.bmp bs1.bmp bs2.bmp bs3.bmp bs4.bmp bs5.bmp bs6.bmp bs7.bmp bs8.bmp bs9.bmp bs10.bmp elo:110:180:350:200 elo:510:180:350:200 elo:110:400:350:200 elo:510:400:350:200 elo:0:0:1024:768 Dalmations.mpg art1.bmp cars.mpg bs1.bmp demo_menu.bmp demo_menu.bmp demo_menu.bmp demo_menu.
Keywords You can include any of the following keywords at the beginning of your playlist file: VIDEOMODE – HD600 • • • • • • • ntsc pal 640x480x60p 800x600x60p 1024x768x60p 720x480x60p 1280x720x60p NOTE: If you set the VIDEOMODE, this locks the front panel button on your BrightSign. If you leave this option off, BrightSign defaults to 1024x768 VGA, and you can use the front panel button to change the video mode.
IMAGEMODE • 0: Centers the image and no scaling takes place. If the image is bigger than the screen, BrightSign crops the image. • 1: Scales the image to fit so that it is fully viewable with its aspect ratio maintained. • 2: Scales and crops the image so that it totally fills the screen with its aspect ratio maintained. • 3: Scales the image so that it fills the screen and the whole image is viewable. This means that the is stretched and the aspect ratio may not be maintained.
VIDEOPLAYERAUDIOVOLUME (HD2000 only) Sets the volume when playing a video. The volume parameter can be any number between 0 and 100. AUDIOPLAYERAUDIOOUTPUT
FLIPELO Reverses the coordinates of the touch screen. This keyword isn’t used in the example above, and it should be used only if the touch screen coordinates appear to be reversed. FLIPELO IMAGEMODE EVENTS 2 elo:110:180:355:210 REGISTRYSECTION (HD2000 only) Specifies the registry section where registry input is stored. If the registry section name is not specified in the interactive playlist, registry input appears in the User section of the registry.
EVENTS After the keywords, the first line of the interactive playlist is the EVENTS row. For every event type you want to respond to, you must make an entry in this row. You do not need to enter events you don’t use. BrightSign supports the following event types: elo Triggers with a USB Mouse or Elo Touch Screen press within a rectangular touch area.
button Triggers on a GPIO Control Port button press. Use this format to define the button number: button:number • number represents a number between 0 and 12. timeout You can use a timeout event when a video or slide is displaying, or an audio file is playing. For example, use timeout when you want to advance a slide show to the next slide or to exit a looping video after a certain number of seconds of playback. You can have only one timeout event per interactive playlist.
STATE After the EVENTS row, the interactive playlist may include one or more STATE rows. These rows begin with the keyword STATE. The first cell after the STATE keyword is the name of the video or image file to display, or audio file to play. When the state is entered, this file starts playing. The remaining cells describe what state to jump to when the corresponding event happens. For example, in the demo example, the first state is DEMO_MENU.BMP.
Examples Demo_menu.bmp:gpios(1;3;5) When BrightSign enters the demo_menu.bmp state, LED’s 1, 3, and 5 are turned on; the other LED’s are turned off. aq.mpg:gpiosOn(2) When BrightSign enters the aq.mpg state, LED 2 is turned on and the other LED’s are unaffected. ppt10.bmp:gpiosOff(0;2;4) When BrightSign enters the ppt10.bmp state, LED’s 0, 2, and 4 are turned off; and the other LED’s are unaffected. product1.bmp:gpios() When BrightSign enters the product1.bmp state, All LED’s are turned off.
Simultaneous states within a single interactive playlist (HD2000 only) Within a single interactive playlist, you can create an interactive presentation with simultaneous states. For example, you can: • Play an HDMI slide show at the same time as an analog audio file. • Plays a video with English audio in the main speakers, French audio in headphone #1, and Spanish audio in headphone #2. The various states can run simultaneously and independently.
Interactive playlist examples The BrightSign demo shows that you can design powerful interactive signs using interactive playlists. The following examples illustrate how easy it is to use and understand interactive playlists.
Example 2 contains two events: an elo event (used for ELO touch screens or any mouse input) and a timeout event. The clickable/touch area is defined as the whole screen. One touch or click starts the slideshow. When this demo starts, BrightSign displays MENU.BMP since it’s in the first STATE position. • There is no timeout entry for MENU.BMP, so if there is no mouse or touch screen input, MENU.BMP remains onscreen forever. • MENU.BMP has one touch/click event. When MENU.
EXAMPLE 3: Slideshow that advances only when a click / touch occurs Example 3 has only 1 event, the same elo event as Example 2. • There is an elo event entry for each image, so the next image plays when there is a mouse click or touch activity anywhere onscreen. • There are no timeout events in this demo. Because Example 3 only has an elo event, and no timeout events, the user must click or touch the screen to advance the slideshow.
EXAMPLE 4: Video and slide playback using button input Example 4 plays two videos and three images and it contains five events: three button events, a timeout event, and a videoend event. When Example 4 starts, BrightSign displays MENU.BMP, since it’s in the first STATE position. • If the menu is being displayed, pressing button 1 starts the attract video; pressing button 2 starts the showcase video; and pressing button 3 starts the slideshow.
EXAMPLE 5: Simultaneous states in a single interactive playlist • • • 40 • • •
Example 5 contains three simultaneous states. • The first state specifies the video mode, image mode, and audio output for video. In this case, the keyword VideoPlayerAudioOutput directs BrightSign to output stereo PCM via the SPDIF audio connector. This machine uses button 0 and the videoend event to control the videos and the image. • Note the NEXT keyword on line 10; it signals the beginning of another state. • The second state uses analog audio output through the Audio 2 connector.
Using rollover events You can define either a rectangular or circular rollover region. To setup a rollover region, use either of the following keywords in the events row: NOTE: When the x_origin : y_origin are set to -1:-1, the starting position for the ON and OFF images are also the starting coordinates for the rollover region. This is true for both rectangular and circular rollover regions.
• off_bitmap represents the name of the bitmap image that displays when the mouse is not within the defined region. • x_origin,y_origin represents the coordinates for the center of the rollover image. EXAMPLE 6: Rectangular rollover region Example 6 shows what you would enter in the interactive playlist to define a rollover region. In this example: • Starting position is 765, 674 • Rollover region is 96 pixels wide and 43 pixels high • Rollover region is enabled • On and off images are NEXT_ON.
Example 7 plays a simple slideshow with three images. It has two rectangular rollover region events and one timeout event. Examples 7.1 and 7.2 are the same as Example 7, but they are expanded to make them easier to read. • If nothing is clicked or touched, the slide show starts automatically after the 10 second timeout, and then returns to the menu after it finishes. • Similar to a standard elo entry, entering the rollover area, advances to the next slide until you reach MENU.BMP.
EXAMPLE 7.2: 3 images with rollover regions Example 7.2 shows that each of the 3 images has a rollover region that is 95 pixels long by 43 pixels tall. • When the cursor is outside this area, BrightSign displays BACK_NOTLIT.BMP. • When the cursor is inside this area, BrightSign displays BACK_LIT.BMP. Scheduling playback (HD2000 only) You can play videos, still images, and playlists at scheduled times using the autoschedule.txt file.
Valid syntax for Date/Time parameters: • • • • • • Year: 4 digit integer from 2000 to 2038 Month: 2 digit integer from 01 to 12 Day: 2 digit integer from 01 to 31 Day of Week:the following 3 letter abbreviations: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat Hour: 2 digit integer from 00 to 23 Minute: 2 digit integer from 00 to 59 In the AUTOSCHEDULE.TXT file, the line following a date/time specification must be an interactive playlist file, playlist file, video file, or image file.
Another example AUTOSCHEDULE.TXT file: 2009/12/15-*-15:20 image.png 2009/12/25-*-16:16 music.bsp 2010/1/*-WED-16:00 video.mpg 2010/1/*-*-07:00 breakfast.bsp 2010/1/*-*-14:00 demo.csv In this example, BrightSign displays the image IMAGE.PNG starting on December 15, 2009 at 3:20 PM. On December 25, at 4:16 PM, the playlist MUSIC.BSP starts. The next specification indicates that VIDEO.MPG starts playing at 4:00 PM every Wednesday in January, 2010. The playlist BREAKFAST.
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Chapter 5 Working with Zones •••••• What are zones? With BrightSign zones you can divide the screen into rectangles and play different content in each rectangle. You can create the following types of zones: • VideoORImages: This zone supports videos and images. This is the only zone that supports videos. • Images: This zone supports playback images. You create multiple image zones. • RSS: This zone supports playback of a single RSS feed. • Text: This zone plays static text.
EXAMPLE 1: Multi-zone examples Can I customize the zones? Here are some of the things you can customize in your zones: • Background screen color: Specify the background color for the display. • Font: Choose a true type font for Text and RSS playback. • Parameters: Control settings for RSS and Text zones.
Using zones with playlists The easiest way to use zones is with playlists. However, to use zones, you must update to the latest software and AUTORUN.BAS file from www.brightsign.biz/support.
Example 2 shows a presentation with five zones: • Zone 1 is the a main video zone. • Zone 2 is clock zone in the top right. • Zones 3 and 4 are the two image zones to the right. • Zone 5 is the RSS zone at the bottom. The following explains each line in the Example 2 playlist: • EnableZones: This must be the first keyword in your playlist when using zones. • VideoMode: This keyword sets the video resolution (see Playlist commands for details).
EXAMPLE 3: 5 zones with clock and text • • • • 53 • •
Example 3 is similar to Example 2, but the RSS zone is replaced with a Text zone. The following explains the Text zone entry: • DefineZone TEXT: This keyword creates a text zone. In addition to providing the size and location of the zone, you must also specify the strings you want to display by using the STRING keyword. You can use as many STRING entries as you want.
When specifying the color values, the a (alpha) value is optional. If you don’t specify an alpha value, it defaults to 255. The alpha value has no effect on the foreground text color or background screen color. However, the alpha value does effect the background color for individual zones (RSS, Text, and Clock) as well as the background text color. The alpha value is between 0 and 255 (0 [zero] is transparent and a value of 255 is opaque).
Comix Tour example The Comix Tour demo illustrates zones in action. This section provides the playlist that created the demo, so you can see how the playlist controls the demo. You can download the Comix Tour demo (1080i) at this location: www.brightsign.biz/support/demos. NOTE: To view the Comix Tour demo, you need BrightSign software version 2.0.58 or higher.
The sections that follow show the playlist for Comix Tours demo: Global settings EnableZones VideoMode 1920x1080x60i BackgroundScreenColor 181:181:181 'color gray71 Zone 1 – video or images REM ************************************************************************ DefineZone VideoOrImages 40,60,1344,756 audiochan 0 'analog audio NewEnglandFishingWithFlyByLogo-ZonesDemo.
Zone 3 - images REM *********************************************************************** DefineZone Images 1384,520,536,356 Slideinterval 4 '4 seconds between images Transition 19 ' slides from right ZoneWorld_00.png ZoneWorld_01.png ZoneWorld_02.png ZoneWorld_03.png ZoneWorld_04.png ZoneWorld_05.png ZoneWorld_06.png ZoneWorld_07.png ZoneWorld_08.png ZoneWorld_09.png ZoneWorld_10.png ZoneWorld_11.png ZoneWorld_12.png ZoneWorld_13.png ZoneWorld_14.png ZoneWorld_15.png ZoneWorld_16.png ZoneWorld_17.
ZoneWorld_26.png ZoneWorld_27.png ZoneWorld_28.png ZoneWorld_29.png ZoneWorld_30.png ZoneWorld_31.png ZoneWorld_32.png ZoneWorld_33.png ZoneWorld_34.png ZoneWorld_35.png Zone 4 - text REM *********************************************************************** DefineZone Text 160,890,1600,120 3 0 1 ForegroundTextColor 75:75:75'silver 16 BackgroundTextColor 200:200:200:0 Font CF:/ComicSansMSBold.ttf STRING COMIX TOURS. Prices so good, they're comical! http://wwww.comixtours.
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Chapter 6 Working with Scripts •••••• What are scripts? A script is a simple program that controls behaviors based on events, such as changing video playback when the user presses a button. Scripts are commonly used on PCs and Web Sites. For example, Microsoft Office macros are often Basic Scripts. Adobe Flash apps often rely on ActionScripts for their logic, and web pages are often driven by scripts written in PHP, Perl, or JavaScript.
Sample script Here is how to create a very simple script: 1 Using a text editor, create a file called HELLO.BAS by entering this line: print “hello world” 2 3 4 5 6 7 Save HELLO.BAS into the root directory of a CF/SD card. Insert the CF/SD card into BrightSign. Connect the serial port of BrightSign to your PC using a null modem cable. On your PC, run HyperTerminal (see BrightSign shell for details). Turn on BrightSign and wait for the Roku> shell prompt to appear. Type: script /hello.
Examples A good way to learn BrightScript is to look at or modify existing scripts. You can find links to example scripts at www.brightsign.biz/support/demos. On the demos web page, enter brightsign as the username and demos246 as the password. The AUTORUN.BAS in the HD600 Demo is an example of a more sophisticated script. You can also test BrightScript commands using the shell. Here is an example: Welcome to the Roku Shell version 1.1.28 Release Type '?' for help or 'help ' for help on .
Using the GPIO control port BrightSign has a DB25 General Purpose Input Output (GPIO) Port. This port has 12 inputs that you can directly connect to buttons or switches, and 6 outputs that you can use to directly drive LEDs. To use this port you must create a simple but custom cable that connects a DB25 connector to your buttons or LEDs. See the BrightSign Hardware Manual for more information and example circuits.
Chapter 7 Getting Help •••••• Learning more and support The following resources can help you get the most from your BrightSign: • Visit www.brightsign.biz • Refer to each of the following BrightSign documents at www.brightsign.
Troubleshooting If you are still having problems after following the troubleshooting tips in this section, contact customer support at www.brightsign.biz/support for assistance. Autoplay and general troubleshooting AUTOPLAY.MPG does not play automatically Make sure that AUTOPLAY.MPG is spelled correctly. 2 Make sure that AUTORUN.BAS and AUTOPLAY.MPG are both in the root of the CF/SD card. NOTE: HD2000 1.3 software requires AUTORUN.BAS v1.3x or later, and HD2000 2.x software requires AUTORUN.BAS v2.
General playback problems If you’re having general problems playing content with BrightSign, try the following: 1 Make sure you have the latest AUTORUN.BAS file that is compatible with your BrightSign software. You can download the latest Autoplay script from www.brightsign.biz/support NOTE: HD2000 1.3 software requires AUTORUN.BAS v1.3x or later, and HD2000 2.x software requires AUTORUN.BAS v2.x or later. 2 Download the BrightSign demo and make sure it plays (see Step 3: Try the demo for details).
Video output is red On an HD2000, if the video is configured for component / HDMI out and the HD2000 is connected to a VGA monitor, the video output displays in red. Since the video output defaults to component/HDMI out, you must set the video mode to 1024x768 when using a VGA monitor. For playlists (AUTOPLAY.BSP) and interactive playlists (AUTOPLAY.CSV), add the following line: VIDEOMODE 1024x768x60p No audio during playback The Autoplay script defaults to the Audio 1 output.
Make sure you do not have an AUTOPLAY.CSV or AUTOPLAY.MPG in the root of the CF/SD card. There should be only one autoplay file in the root of the CF/SD card. If you have more than one autoplay file in the root of the CF/SD card, you need to either rename or delete the extra autoplay files, or move these files to another folder on the card. 4 Do either of the following: • Windows: Set your PC to show file extensions and make sure that you did not accidentally name the AUTOPLAY.MPG file AUTOPLAY.MPG.
Interactive playlists Download the latest Autoplay script from www.brightsign.biz/support. Playlist support requires AUTORUN.BAS v1.1 or later. If you’re outside the United States, check the regional settings in Excel and make sure the list separator is a comma and the decimal separator is a period. Brightsign requires a commaseparated CSV file with periods as the decimal separator (international defaults may vary). 2 Make sure AUTOPLAY.CSV is spelled correctly. 3 Make sure that AUTORUN.BAS and AUTOPLAY.
BrightSign and accessories BrightSign isn’t booting up properly / random lights lit When BrightSign turns on, it cycles through the Connector Activity and Video Mode lights. The only two lights that should remain lit at the end of the startup process are the Video Mode light, normally 1024x768, and the Power light. Download and reinstall the BrightSign software (see Step 2: Get the latest BrightSign software for details).
CF/SD card is not recognized by BrightSign If BrightSign doesn’t see any content on your CF/SD card, that card may not be compatible with BrightSign. Reformat your CF/SD card in FAT32 format. 2 Try a different brand and/or size card. 3 Once you find a working card, download and install the latest BrightSign software (see Step 2: Get the latest BrightSign software for details). 4 After you update the BrightSign software, try the problem card again.
USB mouse is not responding BrightSign works with many different brands of USB mice. Before troubleshooting the mouse, download the BrightSign Demo, and try using your mouse with the demo (see Step 3: Try the demo for details). If the mouse works with the demo, then the problem is with your script or the coordinates used in the interactive playlist. 1 2 3 4 5 (HD600 only) Download and install the latest version 1.3 BrightSign software (see Step 2: Get the latest BrightSign software for details).
Elo touch screen coordinates aren’t working properly If the Elo coordinates appear to be reversed or flipped when using AUTOPLAY.CSV, try the following: Download version 1.1 or later of the Autoplay Script. 2 Open AUTOPLAY.CSV and add the FLIPELO keyword to the top of the interactive playlist. 1 FLIPELO IMAGEMODE EVENTS 2 elo:110:180:355:210 Copy the updated AUTOPLAY.CSV and AUTORUN.BAS to your CF/SD card. 4 Insert the CF/SD card into your BrightSign and add power.
Chapter 8 Advanced Topics •••••• Selecting Compact Flash cards When you use BrightSign, your content and scripts resides on a Compact Flash (CF) or Secure Digital (SD) card. Although the CF/SD interface is standardized, there are a wide range of performance, compatibility, and reliability issues among CF/SD card brands and models. BrightSign strongly recommends that you use industrial rated CF/SD cards with BrightSign.
various strategies. These strategies include wear leveling when writing, automatic error correction when reading, re-writing a block that is becoming susceptible to read errors, and moving blocks around in the NAND chip that are repeatedly read over and over. A typical BrightSign application includes an attract video loop. If this video is fairly short, then a small number of flash blocks are read repeatedly.
Other ways to update your BrightSign software Download the latest software. a Go to the BrightSign web site www.brightsign.biz/support. b Click the Software Downloads link. c Compare the software version number with the number on your BrightSign screen. d If your BrightSign software is older than the software on the web site, click the Software link for the appropriate model (HD600 or HD2000) to download the latest software.
• If you named the file UPDATE.ROK, the file deletes when the update finishes and the unit reboots. NOTE: If the card was formatted with NTFS or HFS+, then the UPDATE.ROK file does not delete and the unit does not reboot after the update. Instead, the Video Mode LEDs flash. • If you named the file UPDATE_SAVE.ROK, the Video Mode LEDs flash when the update finishes. The upgrade file does not delete and the unit does not reboot.
5 In the Inspector window, click Encoder (second button from the left) and make sure that the resolution, frame rate, and aspect ratio are correct. NOTE: Most HD sources (HDCAM, HDV etc) set the resolution to 1440x1080. Therefore, if you’re creating 1080i or 720p content, you need to click Change next to the appropriate field and adjust the settings for your content. 6 After you confirm that the settings are correct, click Submit.
8 In the Inspector window, click Encoder (second button from the left) to confirm that the resolution, frame rate, and aspect ration are correct. NOTE: Most HD sources (HDCAM, HDV etc) set the resolution to 1440x1080. Therefore, if you’re creating 1080i or 720p content, you need to click Change next to the appropriate field and adjust the settings for your content. 9 After you confirm that the settings are correct, click Submit.
Create a CF/SD card with some test files on it (BMP graphics, 48KHZ MP3 files, MPEG-2 video, etc), and then insert the card into the BrightSign unit you connected to your PC. 5 Connect speakers and/or a monitor to BrightSign. 6 Turn on your BrightSign. 7 After a few moments you should see the BrightSign shell appear. It should also show you the software version number. Verify that the version is 1.0.72 or greater. NOTE: The current version of BrightSign software does not support hot-swapping of CF/SD cards.
To change the volume level (0 - 100) to 75% when playing a video or audio, use: videoplay volume 75 audioplay volume 75 To change the video mode, use this format with the videomode command: videomode 1024x768x60p To display an image, use this format with the imageplay command: imageplay slide1.bmp To specify an image mode, use this format with the imageplay command: imageplay slide1.bmp 0 imageplay slide1.
• For SD cards SD:/ When BrightSign runs an AUTORUN.BAS script, it sets the current drive to the drive containing AUTORUN.BAS, so references to files on the same card do not need the CF:/ or SD:/ prefixes. Testing CF cards BrightSign works with most CF/SD cards, but is not compatible with all CF/SD cards. You can test your card by using the dir / shell cmd, and/or using the shell cmd readperf. Examples: dir / readperf bigfile.
Testing scripts, playlists, and interactive playlists The BrightSign shell enables you to test playback and see debug output. From the BrightSign shell you can start your script manually and view output from the script. Manually starting a script You can start a script from the shell by using the script command. Follow the directions earlier in this section to connect BrightSign to your computer, and access it using HyperTerminal.
Testing autorun and interactive playlist files Running AUTORUN.BAS in debug mode provides detailed output to the BrightSign shell while the script is running. To begin testing the AUTORUN.BAS script in debug mode, do the following: Copy your content, interactive playlist, and AUTORUN.BAS to your CF/SD card. 2 Open AUTORUN.
To begin testing your custom script: 1 2 3 4 5 Copy your content and script file to the CF/SD card. Name your script RUN.BAS. You can call it anything, as long as it’s not AUTORUN.BAS, so it doesn’t start automatically. Add debug = true as the first line of your script. This command enables you to see output from the print statements you added to your script. Insert your CF/SD card into your BrightSign and add power. When the Roku prompt appears, type the following: script run.
Updating BrightSign software from the BrightSign Shell BrightSign is pre-programmed with two primary software images: a safe mode and a run mode. The safe mode software image is write-protected, and you cannot change it once programmed by the factory. The main purpose of safe mode is to validate that the run mode ROM image is not corrupt and to boot your BrightSign. In addition, safe mode can upgrade or re-program the run mode ROM image.
Using the registry (HD2000 only) BrightSign HD2000 has an I2C EEPROM with 2K bytes of memory that supports the storage of persistent settings. The BrightSign software uses the registry object to read and write BrightScript data to this eeprom. The purpose of the registry is to enable customers to store usage statistics and other small amounts of information that may change regularly. Individual items are stored in the registry through the use of registry keys and values.
Displaying registry contents from an interactive playlist (HD2000 only) To display the contents of the registry from an interactive playlist, add a row to the table with the word DisplayRegistry in the column to the right of the keyword STATE. The remainder of the row is like any other row in the table – it contains other states to transition to when events occur. Elsewhere in the table, add the state DisplayRegistry in the column for the event that you want to trigger the registry to display.
Setting the date/time on BrightSign (HD2000 only) BrightSign HD2000 has a real-time clock that you can use to schedule content playback. In order to use the scheduling features, you must first set the date and time on BrightSign. BrightSign has written a script that provides an interactive means for setting the date/time on BrightSign. The script is named SETDATETIME.BAS and is available at www.brightsign.biz/support in the software download section.
Using a custom boot script and logo With BrightSign software version 1.1, you can change the startup logo or add a boot script. Both the logo and boot script are stored in the internal FLASH and have a size limit of 200KB. Using your own boot logo 1 2 3 4 5 6 Save your logo in one of the following file formats: BMP, 8 bit indexed, or RLE encoded. Copy your logo to a CF card. Connect your BrightSign to a PC using a null modem cable (see Accessing the BrightSign shell for details).
Run a terminal emulation program such as HyperTerminal (see Accessing the BrightSign shell for details). 5 Insert the CF card into your BrightSign and apply power. 6 When the terminal prompt appears, type the following (where myscript.bas is the name of your boot script): 4 writebootfile myscript.bas autorun.bas 7 Reboot your BrightSign. NOTE: To restore the original boot files, reinstall the BrightSign software using UPDATE.ROK (see Step 2: Get the latest BrightSign software for details).
Using a custom script or modified autorun.bas, you can force a 16x9 video to be letter-boxed. Using ViewMode 1 sets the video to be letter-boxed and centered while maintaining aspect ratio. You can read more about ViewMode in the Object Reference Manual. The following example assumes you have a roVideoPlayer object called video: video.SetViewMode(1) video.PlayFile(“\Aq.mpg”) Displaying images When displaying images, BrightSign is smarter about the way the images display.
Using a manual IP configuration If you do not want to use DHCP or you can't because of your network setup, you can manually set the IP address on Brightsign in one of two ways: • Configure BrightSign from the system shell, by connecting the Brightsign to your computer using a serial cable. • Use a manual IP configuration script. We recommend the manual IP configuration script method because it is easier than using the system shell.
TIP: You can also copy and paste the following into a text file, and then change the network settings to match your own. After you make the changes, save the file as AUTORUN.BAS. REM Start of script nc = CreateObject("roNetworkConfiguration", 0) nc.SetIP4Address(192.168.1.200) nc.SetIP4Netmask(255.255.255.0) nc.SetIP4Broadcast(192.168.1.255) nc.SetIP4Gateway(192.168.1.1) nc.AddDNSServer(192.168.1.1) nc.AddDNSServer(208.67.222.222 ) nc.AddDNSServer(208.67.220.220) nc.
Proxy servers There are three ways you might connect the Brightsign to a server on the Internet. • Direction connection: BrightSign has a routeable IP address and is accessible to the outside world. We do not recommend this configuration. • Intercepting or transparent proxy: BrightSign has a private IP address that is only routeable within the local network. This configuration is used in most home and corporate networks. We recommend this configuration.
• BrightSign Network Manager: This is a web-based solution that is designed for enterprise situations with a large number of BrightSign devices that require advanced networking features including: • Reporting: Track all BrightSign devices including the latest connectivity data, CF/SD card size, and current and upcoming presentations. • Unit Organization: Create groups and deploy content very quickly to one or more groups. • Scheduling: Pick the dates and times you want to deploy content to each group.
• NetworkTimer: Instructs BrightSign to check your network folder for new content at regular intervals based on the date/time parameter you specify. For example, you can check for new content every Monday at 6AM. The syntax of the date/time parameter is as follows: Year “/” Month “/” Day “-“ Day of Week “-“ Hour “:” Minutes NetworkTimer */*/*-MON-06:00 DOWNLOAD ‘Mondays at 6AM • NetworkTimerRange: Instructs BrightSign to check your network folder for new content during a specific timeframe.
Chapter 9 Product Specifications •••••• BrightSign features Display resolutions NTSC PAL S-Video (requires adaptor) 640x480 (VGA out) 800x600 (VGA out) 1024x768 (VGA out) 1280x768 (VGA out) 480p (Component out) 480p (HDMI out) 576p (Component out) 576p (HDMI out) 720p (Component out) 720p (HDMI out) 1080i (Component out) 1080i (HDMI out) HD600 HD2000 • • • • 99 • •
• • • 100 • • • Video compression standards MPEG-1 MPEG-2 HD600 HD2000 Picture formats BMP PNG JPEG HD600 HD2000 Audio formats AC3 pass through MP3 decode out to analog and SPDIF WAV decode out to analog and S/PDIF 5.
Front panel Power LED IR receiver Compact Flash (CF) card slot HD600 HD2000 (up to 128 GB cards) SD/MMC flash card slot (no SDHC support) (up to 4 GB cards) Video mode select button LEDs: connector activity and video mode Back panel connectors Power 3 audio out stereo 1/8” mini plugs VGA Component out 3 RCA jacks: Y-Pr-Pb HDMI out 2 high-speed USB host ports 10/100 ethernet jack DB25 control port (for buttons & LEDs) RS-232 serial port Optical SPDIF audio out 1/8” 5V serial port 8 position dip switch H
• • • 102 • • • Power Typical power consumption HD600 5 watts HD2000 10.
Supported media types BrightSign supports the following media types: MPEG-2 video files (also called VOB or MPG files) These are the same types of files that are found on DVDs. You can create MPEG-2 video files using any video editing software, such as Pinnacle Studio or iMovie. These video files should meet the following parameters: • Video size up to 1080i (1920x1080 interlaced) on the HD2000 or D1 (720 x 480) on the HD600. • Bit rate up to 25Mbps (HD200) or 9Mbps (HD600). • Scale.
MP3 audio files Stereo or mono files that meet the following parameters: • 48KHZ (HD600) • 44.1KHZ or 48KHZ (HD2000). NOTE: BrightSign has no sample rate conversion. Certain USB speakers only support a sample rate of 48 KHz. When using a USB speaker with this characteristic, BrightSign outputs all audio at this rate regardless of the sample rate it was recorded at. WAV audio files (HD2000 only) 16 bit linear PCM data. Dolby Digital (AC3) 5.1 audio in a video file o • 5.
Supported input devices With BrightSign software version 1.x you can connect the following devices to a BrightSign: TIP: If you have specific requests for device support, contact sales@brightsign.biz. We are constantly adding new device support and the ones we pick are customer driven.
USB mice BrightSign has tested the following mice with BrightSign: • • • 106 • • • Type Connection Brand Model Name Comments Ball Wired Belkin F8E841-BLK MiniScroller Mouse Optical Wireless Belkin F8E874 MiniWireless Optical Mouse Optical Wired Dynex DX-OM20 Optical Wireless Kensington 72216 PilotMouse Optical Wireless Optical Wired Logitech M-BE58 First/Pilot Wheel Mouse Optical Wired Logitech M-UV55A Mini Optical Mouse Optical Wired Logitech M-BT96a Optical Mouse (3
