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HOW TO AUTHOR and SETUP BRIGHTSIGN on a PC with BrightAuthor

Setup the SD Card

You will need a high grade MicroSD card, especially for 8K units:
Western Digital Industrial Micro SD, HC I U1 32GB,  3231DVAHC0WD
or
ADATA Premier ONE 64GB SDXC UHS-II
U3 Class10 V90 3D NAND 4K 8K Ultra HD 275MB/s Micro SD CardAUSDX64GUII3CL10-CA1

or

SanDisk 32GB Extreme microSDHC UHS-I Memory Card with Adapter - C10, U3, V30, 4K, A1, Micro SD - SDSQXAF-032G-GN6MA, Red/Gold

You may need a SD card reader:
Anker 2-in-1 USB 3.0 SD Card Reader for Micro SD Cards


FORMAT SD card as exFAT
Insert the card into your PC, go to This PC
Carefully right mouse over the correct drive, choose Format...
Select File system exFAT, Start
Eject the drive, right mouse over the correct drive, choose Eject
 

Software
Download the latest BrightAuthor software
(If an older version of BrightAuthor was installed, uninstall first.)
https://www.brightsign.biz/resources/software-downloads/
Select your model, ie XD234 would be XT4/XD4, XD235 would be XT5/XD5
Scroll Down to find BrightAuthor
You may need to tell Microsoft the download is safe, twice

In the Downloads folder double click BrightAuthorSetup.exe

Download the latest Brightsign OS for your player (Same location as BrightAuthor)
https://www.brightsign.biz/resources/software-downloads/
Select your model, ie XD234 would be XT4/XD4, XD235 would be XT5/XD5, XT2145 would be XT5.
Scroll Down to find BrightSignOS
You may need to tell Microsoft the download is safe, twice

In the Downloads folder Right mouse over the brightsign-update.zip
     Right mouse Extract All...

Keep the downloads in an archive for the future.

Install Bonjour using  iTunes64Setup.exe
Use this link or search the internet for iTunes installer:
 https://support.apple.com/en-us/118290
Open the bonjour_installer folder. (Bonjour allows local networking in Brightsign.)
     Uncheck Add iTunes shortcut to my desktop
     Uncheck Use iTunes as the Default player for audio files

     Install

     Uncheck Open iTunes after the installer exits

This also installs iTunes, you can remove iTunes.
     Control Panel
     View by Smal icons
     Programs and Features
     Select iTunes, Uninstall


Setup the player
Connect your player to your network with a CAT 5,6 or 7 cable (You may need a small network hub)
Connect to a monitor with HDMI cable
Plugin the Brightsign without an SD Card
Take down notes about the player, keep this info with the player in its box.

     Model number
     IP Address
     Serial number

     OS Software version
 

Update Brightsign Operating System
Use a browser such as Edge
Go to the IP address of the Brightsign (use http: not https:)

http://192.168.1.47  use your IP address

The user name will be admin, the password will be the serial number
Select
Go to Advanced tab
Select
UPDATE to install the latest BrightSign Production OS, you may already have it.

The BrightSign will reboot, this takes a while
 

Setup Player, skip if you have done this before

Insert the reformatted SD card into the Brightsign
 (You may need to unplug the Brightsign and plug back in; wait restart.)
Place the MicroSD cover over the SD card, it is stapled to the Brightsign box.

In browser go to http://192.168.1.47/setup page, use your IP address (use http: not https:)
Hit NEXT
Select Ethernet
Select USE CURRENT SETTINGS
Select NEXT - BRIGHTAUTHOR APPLICATION
     Choose BrightAuthor
Select LOCAL FILE NETWORKING
No need to name the device, select FINISH
Wait for the reboot
 

Use BrightAuthor to make a presentation
Insert the reformatted SD card into the Brightsign (It may already be inserted.)
File->New Presentation
Save As: new name
BrightSign Model:  XD234 or your model number
Connector type:  HDMI 
Screen resolution:   projector 1920x1200x60p, 4K monitor 3840x2160x30p or your display settings
Monitor orientation: Landscape
Create
Choose Full screen

Drag your H.265 mp4 movie on to the playlist, You have a copy on the Flash Drive. Do not lose the Flash Drive, it is the art.

Select the Publish Tab
Answer Yes to save project
Ignore firmware message, you updated this already

Select Local Network purple area under tabs

Add your unit to Networked units, select the +

Input the IP address for your unit
Select the unit under Networked units

Don't select Specify Firmware update, already did this before.

Hit Publish button

You will see your movie playing. If there are any lags, you will need to decrease your bitrate for the movie file. Re-publish.
 

 

Player Movie BitRates
You can find this information at: https://support.brightsign.biz/hc/en-us/articles/218065137-Supported-video-formats-and-codecs

HD224 4K max bit rate 30-40 Mbps

XD233 4K 30-40 Mbps  HD 25 Mbps

XD234/XD2354K 70-80 Mbps
XD1034 same as XD234 more input for interactivity


Use AfterEffects, Media Encoder or ffmpeg to to compress an H.265 mp4 movie.
I included a script to encode with ffmpeg with the art. You can modify this to set new bitRates.

 

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