I recommend BrightSign players for video playback in gallery installations, and they are used all over the world for looping, synchronized, and fully interactive shows. They’re not cheap for the starving artist, but you can usually find them secondhand on Ebay for a fraction of their list price. Multiple units are often retired en-masse in great condition, from trade-shows, advertising displays, or institutions. But… they usually don’t include power supplies.
Different generations of BrightSign players have different power requirements. To avoid users plugging in the wrong power adapter, the designers used different physical plugs. Totally understandable, but not very well documented if you order a player with no power supply. This page is my summary of how to power used BrightSigns without their original power supplies. I’ll add more info as I collect more used players.
Disclaimer: This info is for folks confident with a soldering iron and multi-meter. If you do something wrong you might blow up your player. For critical applications, always use the official power options.
XT/XD Series 3 & 4 models
| Power Requirements | Power Plug (on cable, not player) |
| 12v DC @ 3A | 2-pin locking Molex Mini-Fit Jr. (Molex 39-01-4021) Confirmed by a reader, who adds: “It’s also the same as the top half of the standard 4 pin molex atx style power connector on most power computer supplies, so you can just cut the connector in half that is used on the 4K models (4K242, 4K1042, 4K1142)” |
LS Series 3 & 4 models
| Power Requirements | Power Plug (on cable, not player) |
| 5v DC @ 2A | USB Micro B (standard micro USB plug) |
HD Series 3 & 4 models
| Power Requirements | Power Plug (on cable, not player) |
| 12v DC @ 1.5A | 3.5mm DC barrel connector (center positive) |
4K models (4K242, 4K1042, 4K1142)
I think these giant beasts were the first BrightSigns to support 4k playback on 4k displays. Not all resolutions are supported, and I assume they run hot because all the extra space in the enclosure is occupied by a massive heatsink! They’re cheap and they work great though.
| Power Requirements | Power Plug (on cable, not player) |
| 12v DC @ 5A (5A is a lot of current. When decoding a 1080p stream I measured less than 1A of current, but your mileage may vary!) |
4-pin locking Molex Mini-Fit Jr. (Molex 39-01-2040) |
The Molex connector is also used for the “P4” connector on PC motherboards, so short pre-made cables are easy to find. I paid $4 ea at Microcenter. (Note that the color coding of the P4 cables is wrong for the BrightSign, but the player is clearly marked + and – so it’s hard to screw it up.) I chopped one in half and wired it to a barrel connector adapter on a spare 12v power supply. It works great!
HD Series 2 (and earlier) models
| Power Requirements | Power Plug (on cable, not player) |
| 5v DC @ 3A | 5.5mm DC barrel connector (center positive, 2.5mm center pin) |
I’ll update this page as I confirm more info…
