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The upgrade process is very safe. If for some reason it fails, for example a power failure
in the middle of the update, the unit’s “safe-mode” will still boot and will still perform
upgrades as above.
Updating from the BrightSign Shell
BrightSign works with most CF cards, but is not compatible with all. See the
“BrightSign Shell” section for more details on testing your CF cards and accessing the
shell.
Because the BrightSign “safe mode” software is normally older than the “run mode”
software, more CF cards are compatible with “run mode” than are compatible with the
“safe mode”. The effect of this is that “update.rok” file may not be detected on some CF
cards. It is impossible to tell by a CF card’s name, brand, or description if it is
compatible. You must try it.
To manually update using the BrightSign Shell:
1. Insert your CF card with the update.rok file
2. Add Power to the Brightsign
3. Type the following at the Roku Prompt in the BrightSign Shell:
update update.rok
We are continuing to add support for more CF cards.
BrightSign has a command line shell that can be accessed via the serial port. The shell
allows you to type in commands to trigger tasks such as running scripts, playing video,
trying different video modes, etc. It is not required that you use the shell. You can
simply put your content on a CF card and configure it to auto play on power-up (see
Playing Media with BrightSign).
You may find it useful to use the shell to test various options or for debugging. Follow
these steps to access the shell:
1. Connect the DB9 connector on the BrightSign to your PC’s Serial Port using a
“null modem cable” (available at Frys, RadioShack, etc).
2. Run a “terminal emulator”, such as HyperTerminal on Windows XP (Start | All
Programs | Accessories | Communications | HyperTerminal.)
3. Configure the terminal for: 9600 baud on the HD600 or 38400 baud on the
HD2000, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, NO flow control, “TTY mode”.
4. Insert a CF card into BrightSign with some test files on it (BMP graphics, 48KHZ
mp3 files, MPEG-2 video, etc)
5. Connect speakers and/or a monitor to the BrightSign
6. Power-up the BrightSign