Hyper Media Player User Manual Revision: November 2011
Disclaimer THE SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION REGARDING THE PRODUCTS IN THIS MANUAL ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. ALL STATEMENTS, INFORMATION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS MANUAL ARE BELIEVED TO BE ACCURATE BUT ARE PRESENTED WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. USERS MUST TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR APPLICATION OF ANY PRODUCTS.
Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Support Wiki keywords .......................................................................................................................................................................... 4 How does it work? ........................................................................
Introduction The SpinetiX Hyper Media Players are the first appliance range dedicated to the professional digital signage industry, relied on worldwide by end-users, integrators and service providers alike. They offer a dependable and effective alternative to PCs and proprietary software. HMPs support tried-and-tested standardized methods to schedule, combine, update, animate, stream and display video, audio, vector graphics, pictures and text with low acquisition and operational costs.
How does it work? SpinetiX HMPs simplify the publishing and maintenance of your digital signage project. Connected to digital displays through HDMI and VGA, an HMP is capable of rendering combinations of media elements from a rich set of formats: audio, video, vector graphics, pictures and text. The HMP natively implements the open standards required to schedule, update, stream, and animate objects. Distributing content from a central location onto a specific display is as easy as publishing a web page.
HMP’s can access various sources and render them within the same project Easy Installation and low maintenance In high-availability environments where uptime must be guaranteed 24/7, installing PCs and keeping them updated, upgraded and in correct working order is the task of a dedicated team of IT specialists and regular visits from technicians.
When connected to a local network via the RJ45 connector, the HMP automatically detects and configures the right parameters without the need of special network configuration. Whether you choose automatic DHCP, use the built-in “zeroconf” support or manually specify the IP address and network properties, setting up the network is done in a few clicks. For custom configurations, every HMP includes an intuitive web configuration interface for configuration – no unfriendly telnet or similar interface.
Full Connectivity The HMP connects to digital displays via onboard HDMI and VGA connections. Both connectors are simultaneously active, allowing you to drive two monitors without the need of additional hardware. HDMI is a digital audio/video connector widely adopted by most digital displays. VGA is an analogue computer video connector also supported by the majority of digital displays. VGA does not carry audio information, so two-channel audio is also included via a standard mini-jack port.
Installation Integrators and electricians will appreciate the small amount of cabling required to connect the HMP unit, and its lightweight form factor: the HMP100 can be used with Velcro or adhesive pads; the HMP200 includes two mounting holes. Although the HMPs are more tolerant of imperfect environments, always ensure humidity and temperatures within the operating ranges of the players.
Power up your Hyper Media Player 1. 2. Check your display is correctly connected. The HMP can drive a digital display through HDMI or VGA connectors. Use the correct video cable. The HMP is not delivered with HDMI or VGA cables: these are often provided with the display or can be found in specialized shops. 3. 4. 5. Connect the HMP to the display. Power up the display. Be sure to select the right video input on the display. Power up the HMP.
At the end of the booting process, the screen will start displaying the animated SpinetiX logo. This is the default content. The LED (‘SYS’ Led on HMP200) blinks regularly on and off once per second to indicate normal operation. HMP splash screen (power up) Troubleshooting If the HMP does respond as described, check the following: 1. Check the display is functional and that the right input has been selected. 2. Check the cables connecting the HMP to the screen and try alternative cables. 3.
Updating firmware SpinetiX regularly publishes new firmware versions for the HMPs. These new versions are free to all customers and improve the performances and reliability of your product. Support Wiki keyword: Firmware Check for updates To check if a new version of the firmware is available for your unit, follow the simple steps below: 1. With your preferred web browser, connect to Control Center (the web interface for the player) via the HMPs IP address or hostname. 2.
Update failed Updating firmware If the check for updates procedure reported that updates are available for your HMP, an Update Now button appears in the page. Simply click this button to start the update process. Important Do not power down the unit during the whole update process. The HMP will restart automatically once the update process is over. It is possible that the web page displays a time-out error during the update. However, this has no influence on the update process itself.
Firmware tab with “check for updates” button Settings tab Reset an HMP to factory default settings This procedure depends on the HMP type and on the firmware improvements. The procedure is therefore described on our website. SpinetiX SA, Rue des Terreaux 17, CH-1003 Lausanne, Switzerland T +41 21 341 15 50 | F +41 21 311 19 56 | info@spinetix.com | www.spinetix.
Get Connected Getting started This section explains how to access an HMP unit for the first time via the network. This is required in order to access Control Center (the built-in HMP web interface) or to publish content on a unit. Requirements: • • 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. One of the following configurations o PC with RJ-45 10/100/1000 Ethernet interface and an Ethernet cable. o PC with RJ-45 10/100 Ethernet interface and an Ethernet crossover cable.
The browser should connect to Control Center and display the following page: Congratulations. You can now explore the configuration interface of your Hyper Media Player. Troubleshooting If you have not been able to connect to your HMP, check the Support Wiki for troubleshooting steps. The Support Wiki also details the latest recommended 3rd party plug-ins that can assist with device discovery. A simply way to directly open Control Center for a given HMP is via HMD: 1.
Checking the HMP configuration Your HMP has a built-in On Screen Display which is triggered via a brief press of the push button. 1. 2. 3. 4. Connect a screen through a VGA, HDMI or DVI converter cable, to the HMP. Check that some content is displaying on the screen. If your HMP has never been used before you should see the animated SpinetiX logo on the screen. Press the HMP’s push button briefly. Check the screen. The following information will be displayed on the screen for 10 seconds: 1.
Fixed IP configuration This tutorial explains how to manually configure an HMP to connect to a specific network with a fixed IP address. Note that this procedure assumes that you can access Control Center on the HMP already. 1) Collect information on your network configuration. The following information should be available about your network: • A range of free IP addresses that can be allocated to the HMP unit(s) without network conflicts. • The correct subnet mask.
Control Center overview Control Center landing page for HMP100 and HMP200 Set Display settings 1. 2. 3. 4. Select Display Settings from the left menu (under Administration.) Choose the output resolution to activate. The Basic menu allows selection between several presets resolutions. For more precise settings, use the Advanced menu. o The aspect ratio of your display will be automatically updated according to the chosen resolution. You can modify it by checking the Force aspect ratio check box.
Controlling the display power The HMP is capable of controlling the power mode of the display when the display is connected using VGA or DVI. If the "Enable display power saving" is enabled, the player will turn on and off using the power saving feature of the screen (“DPMS”) when instructed. Enabling "Use fixed schedule" will force the HMP to send the PowerOn and PowerOff commands at the specified times regardless of the content on the device.
Use a USB drive with an HMP USB storage can be used instead of the onboard storage of the player, if desired. 1. 2. 3. 4. In Control Center, open the Media Sources page (under Administration). The current settings will be displayed. Ensure the Primary source is set to "Local Storage". Enable "Set Local Storage to USB storage device when available" Press Apply. Insert a USB storage device into the USB port of the HMP. Wait for a few seconds and then press the Reload button.
Using a network server with HMP This section explains how to configure your HMP unit to use a network server as content source. The HMP can use an HTTP server as the source for the multimedia content to be displayed. In this scenario the player will frequently check for modifications to the files on the server, while using the internal storage to cache some of the files.
Pull mode Setting up the pull mode Pull mode can be used in a bidirectional manner to automatically publish files to the HMP. Each time the HMP has been scheduled to update the content of its local storage, it will connect to the specified server, check for changes, and download all modified files. The publish action of the Pull mode can be used with WebDAV server or with standard HTTP servers. For the latter, an XML file describing the content of the server must be available.
Configure network credentials for remote servers This section explains how to configure network credentials for remote servers accessed by your HMP. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. In the main page of Control Center, open the Network Settings page Click on the Credentials tab. For each remote server protected by a password, enter: o The full URI to the resource, optionally including a port number.
Control user rights This section explains how to manage access rights for your HMP. The HMP offers three levels of security: • • • Administrative Server: Controls the access to all pages of the HTTP administration server. It is recommended to always protect this area. Content Server: Controls the access to the content storage area. This username and password will be needed to upload content via WebDAV. Monitoring: Controls the access to the logs and snapshot of the player. Configuration guide 1. 2. 3. 4.
Using the HMP to control external appliances The SpinetiX HMP can control external appliances using its serial port (RS232) interface. This type of interface is also preferred by most professional screens to allow switch on/off operations or image configurations. The HMP also supports USB-IOs presented as HID controls such as models from U-HID. The following are the minimum requirements for controlling an appliance through the serial port or USB interface: • • • • A protocol file for your appliance.
Configuring the protocols The drop down menu below shows the configuration of an HMP when certain protocol files are selected • • • • No protocol files, the RS232 interface is disabled ([disabled]) A system version of the Sharp Aquos protocol ([sys]sharp_aquos) An uploaded protocol file for the LG LF65 screen (LG LF65) An uploaded protocol file for the Sharp Aquos monitors (sharp_aquos) Once a protocol file is selected, you may change the serial port configuration, and/or enable automatic power on and pow
