Connecting Multiple USB Button Panels

Owned by BrightSign TechDocs
Last updated: May 09, 2023
2 min read

You can normally connect one BP900 or BP200 button panel to a BrightSign player that has USB functionality. You can also connect two button panels using models with multiple USB ports, such as the 4K1142 or XD1132. However, using any consumer-grade USB hub, you can connect as many as three button panels of either type to any BrightSign player that has a USB port.

When a button panel connects to the BrightSign player through a USB hub, the player assigns it a letter (A, B, or C) depending on how many button panels are already connected to it. No matter which BP type is connected, letters will be assigned to button panels in the following order:

A > B > C > D

Here are just a few examples of this behavior:

BP900A > BP900B > BP900C > BP900D

BP200A > BP200B > BP900C > BP200D

BP200A > BP900B > BP900C > BP900D

Note

Even though there are eight separate BP events in BrightAuthor (BP200A, BP200B, BP200C, BP200D, along with BP900A, BP900B, BP900C, BP900D), you can only use one of each letter in your presentation.

BP Configuration Presentation

With many USB hubs, it will be difficult or impossible to predict in what order the button panels will connect when the player boots up. Therefore, it will be difficult to know which button panels will be designated A, B, C, or D without some experimentation. The BP Configuration Presentation will allow you to quickly test the ordering of the button panels for your USB hub. You can use it to test a two or three button panel configuration.

  1. Download the presentation.

  2. Open the presentation using an up-to-date version of BrightAuthor.

  3. Publish the presentation to your BrightSign player using the method you prefer.

  4. Connect all of the button panels to the USB hub in a desired configuration.

  5. Apply power to the BrightSign player. If the player is already running, reboot it.

  6. Test the button panels by pressing button 1 on each. The image showing how the panel has been mapped will appear in each instance. For example, if you press button 1 on a BP900 panel, and the letter “B” appears, you will know that this button panel has been mapped for BP900B events. 

  7. Take note of how each panel is configured.

You have now determined how the button boards map to your USB hub when the BrightSign player boots up. You can now create Interactive presentations knowing which BP900/200 A, B, C, or D event matches to which BP900/200 button panel.

The mapping behavior recorded using the above steps should be consistent no matter how many times the player is reset. However, the mapping may change if you modify the hardware configuration of the USB hub or the BrightSign player, or if you apply a firmware update to the player. In these cases, it would be best to use this presentation to retest the mapping after the changes are applied.