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BrightSign players command great name recognition in the world of digital signage media players, owing to their reliability and efficiency. They offer an industrial design and sleek look, front & back port access, as well as an ultra-thin form-factor that easily fits into any digital signage installation.

Designed in the US exclusively for digital signage, BrightSign’s OS delivers powerful signage capabilities and exceptional 4K and Full HD video quality. Plus, their energy-efficient devices consume very little power, keeping heat emission and operating costs down.

Fugo is proud to offer support for all BrightSign players. This guide will walk you through some of the hardware highlights of the BrightSign player line, instructions for setting up Fugo on your player, as well as how to run Fugo in tandem with BrightAuthor.

The BrightSign product line consists of 10 models in 5 series of players, positioned in a good-better-best range.

Each series targets specific levels of applications & performance, from entry-level to enterprise usage. All models offer H.265 decoding for reliable, high-quality video playback, Full HD 1080p60 video support, HTML5 rendering, interactivity, and networking. And each series provides increasing levels of video and HTML5 performance appropriate for the application.

💡 Note: As of spring & summer of 2023, BrightSign will be releasing & shipping its latest models in the new generation of series 5 players (pictured below👇 )
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BrightSign LS - $275

The BrightSign LS424 is BrightSign’s entry-level commercial grade player. It supports HD 1080P video and external microSD card. To connect to WiFi you’ll need to also purchase an external WiFi module.

The BrightSign LS5, available in spring 2023, is an upgrade to the LS424. It's a low-cost solution available with HD & 4K resolution. It displays video, HTML and graphics over HDMI and outputs audio over 3.5mm digital/analog port. This player is ideal for basic digital signage projects or customers who simply want to get familiar with the BrightSign platform.
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BrightSign OPS – $400

The BrightSign HO523 is compatible with OPS displays. It comes with a JAE TX25 connector plug that can be used for connecting to the internal components of displays (video, USB, serial, etc.)

BrightSign HD – Starts at $375

The BrightSign HD series is ideal for mainstream commercial digital signage applications. Both models - the BrightSign HD224 Standard I/O & the BrightSign HD1024 Expanded I/O Player - support 4Kp60. The models offer HTML5 playback, H.265 decoding, and support local, streaming and networked media playback.

The BrightSign HD5, shipping in spring 2023, is the latest & greatest standard model with gigabit ethernet, GPIO, optional Wi-Fi and IR ports. The extended I/O version adds USB and serial ports for added interactive functionality. This player is cased in an aluminum enclosure that dissipates heat, eliminating the need for a fan and helping the player operate silently.

BrightSign XD – Starts at $475

The BrightSign XD series consists of 2 advanced performance models that support both H.265/H.264 encoded 4K content at 60fps, Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDMI 2.0. The XD234 Standard I/O Player is available for $475 and the XD1034 Expanded I/O Player is available for $575. Once again, to connect to WiFi you’ll need to also purchase an external WiFi module.

The BrightSign XD5 line (with 2 models) was engineered with 4K performance in mind. These players feature an upgraded 4K HTML engine that improves HTML rendering, motion graphics, and JavaScript performance. Additionally, dynamic mosaic mode adds greater flexibility to the authoring and playback experience.

BrightSign XT – Starting at $575

The BrightSign XT line is geared for heavy, enterprise-grade performance. This series supports 4K, accelerated HTML5 rendering, Mosaic mode, Gigabit Ethernet, dual 4K video decoding, and PoE.There are 3 players in this series, ranging from $575 - $875

BrightSign XC5 - Starting at $1200

BrightSign is now shipping the XC5 players, first announced in 2022. These players, the XC2055 and XC4055, offer the company's most powerful HTML5/graphics engine yet, with graphics performance up to 10X faster than before. Both of the XC5 models have 8K output capabilities - one with dual HDMI-out (up to two 4K or one 8K) and the other with quad HDMI-out (up to four 4K or one 8K).

You can see a full comparison chart of all BrightSign players here or use their clever Product Selector to choose the right player/s for your application.

You’ll need to download the setup files for BrightSign from our hardware page here. The instructions are also contained in a text file within the setup files, but we’ve re-iterated them below as well for your convenience.

To configure WiFi on your BrightSign player, the bs-player-config.json file needs to be created and stored at the root of your SD card with the following code, replacing the “Wifi SSID” and “Wifi Passphrase” variables with the appropriate values:

{

dhcp: true,

wifi: true,

ssid: "[Wifi SSID]",

passphrase: "[Wifi passphrase]",

ip: "",

netmask: "",

gateway: "",

dns1: "",

dns2: "",

dns3: "",

timeServer: ""

}

If you're using BSN.cloud to manage your BrightSign device/s, you can easily and quickly install Fugo onto them from the BSN.cloud portal.

💡 Note: You'll need to have a Control Cloud account. You can find instructions for setting up an account and connecting it to a partner CMS (that is, Fugo) on the BrightSign website here. But we have also recounted the steps for your convenience below 👇

Next, to provision your players:

We’ll cover what to do with this PIN in the next section: Connecting your player to Fugo CMS

1. On your PC or smartphone login to your Fugo account at www.fugo.ai/app or if you don’t have one yet, register here.

2. After successfully logging in, you can click Add Screens on the Welcome page. Alternatively, you can navigate to the Screens page in the top navigation bar and click Create Screen.

3. Enter the PIN from the Fugo player window into the space provided.

4. To finish the pairing process, give your screen a name and add a location (this will allow you to quickly locate it on the map using our map feature.)

Congratulations, you’ve added your screen! Here, have this cake 🍰 to celebrate!

If you’re using BrightAuthor to manage your players, but find yourself constrained by the platform, you can actually use Fugo alongside BrightAuthor for a more robust BrightSign system! This allows you to forego the inconvenience of re-setting up your screens with Fugo, to keep managing your screens the way you’re used to, while at the same time leveraging the power & flexibility of the Fugo platform.

It’s actually quite simple - all you need to do is use BrightAuthor’s HTML widget to display the Fugo player URL. There are two methods for doing that:

Watch this quick video to see it demonstrated

Watch this quick video to see it demonstrated

This method is similar to method 1, except when you schedule Fugo player, you insert a live TV widget into the schedule to interrupt your Fugo content.

To get the most out of your BrightSign player, Fugo provides a range of configuration and setup options designed to streamline deployment and enhance playback reliability.

BrightSign players automatically detect the player's time zone using the IP address and set it at the system level, unless a specific device option is selected. This means that as soon as your player is connected to the internet, its time zone is auto-configured based on its geographical location.

If you prefer to manually set the time zone (e.g., for multi-region rollouts where synchronization is critical), this can be configured through the screen's Settings tab under DATE AND TIME:

By default, BrightSign players manage cursor visibility automatically, but Fugo allows you to explicitly control this behavior based on your signage needs.

The XC2055, XC4055, and XT2145 BrightSign players support multi-headed output, enabling you to create expansive video walls and multi-screen presentations with ease.

If your player has multiple HDMI outputs, the number of outputs (if greater than 1) will be displayed in the Additional Information section of your screen's dashboard.

Additionally, a tab labeled Video Wall will appear, providing access to configuration settings:

Here's a view of the Video Wall Configuration tab, where you can easily set the number of screens and the desired layout. Our player has 4 video outputs.

1. Select the number of screens:
In the Video Wall tab, choose the number of screens you want to configure.

2. Choose a configuration layout:
You can select the configuration layout that best fits your installation. Options are based on the number of screens chosen:

3. Save changes & deploy:
Once you’ve selected your configuration, click Save Changes. Your video wall setup will be activated immediately.

All the key information about your BrightSign player can be easily accessed from your screen's Dashboard tab, under Additional Information.

This section provides an at-a-glance view of the technical specifications and status of your device:

With your player all set up, you’re ready to give it something to play!

Fugo allows you to display several types of content:

You can use our Design Studio to create screen-ready content like digital posters & menu boards without having to leave Fugo for a 3rd party tool - learn how here.

Reach out to support@fugo.ai or send us a message in the handy chatbot inside Fugo CMS.

Happy publishing!