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Getting tired of HD220s failing in the field

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Zach Poff
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I have created several synchronized looping videos with HD220 hardware synced via ethernet (in an art gallery context). In every case I tested the setup 24/7 for many days including multiple restarts, then shipped it off to be installed.

Yesterday was the third time I got a panicked call from an installer because their system didn't work. After investing a lot of time and money in BrightSign I'm getting really tired of this.

The first failure was a 2-channel piece, made with BrightAuthor, using the matching HD220 firmware version at the time. The media was an H264 .mp4 file, SD resolution and low bitrate (4 mb/s). The SD cards were BrightSign branded. During initial install the techs said sparks flew out of one unit. It was returned to me for testing, and eventually RMA'd/replaced by BrightSign.

The next failure was a 3-channel piece, controlled with scripting instead of BrightAuthor. (I'm one of the hundreds of people who don't want to run Windows on my Mac just to get some videos to sync with BA.) The scripts (attached) are based on examples provided by BS staff in the forums. Once again, everything tested great for days. I shipped it to Miami where it continued to run great for 5 days. Then one morning an HD220 refused to play and couldn't be revived. It was returned to me for testing, and eventually RMA'd/replaced by BrightSign.

Fast forward to this week: Another copy of the 3-channel piece was delivered (after the same testing regimen). As soon as the installer opened the box and plugged it in, the master channel started freezing and restarting from the top. I had him move the card to another box and he could reproduce the problem. I sent a new set of cards (different brand) and I'm awaiting his reply.

In the meantime, does anybody have any advice? I'm going crazy! More info:

Cards: I've been using BrightSign and Sandisk Extreme Pro cards. Both have worked great during testing and both have been in players that failed in the field. The video is about 5 minutes so a week of daytime looping would be less than 700 reps. That seems way too low for read fatigue, right?

Video File: The bitrate and resolution are low. It plays flawlessly for hundreds of reps.

Scripting: I realize that BA is the officially supported method for authoring, but this is a simple job and I don't need or want the features of BA. Do my scripts somehow destroy players?

Firmware: I've been using 4.6.75. Does it have some a self-destruct mechanism or what?




autorun Master.brs
autorun Slave.brs
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5 comments

  • 0
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    Lyndon

    Zach, these failures are highly unusual. Can you send us the rma numbers/serials for each of the failed units? SEnd the info to support@brightsign.biz. 

    If it were only a read fatigue issue, then replacing or reformatting the cards would fix the problem. For the customer with the sparks, they didn't accidentally plug some other power adapter into the unit? That's one of the reasons we changed the power adapter on the xd to something non standard. THe previous units, hd210s and hd220s use a power connector that's similar to other devices and we've had cases where someone plugged the wrong power adapter into the player and fried it.

    Once I have your serial numbers, I'll get a report on what the failure was for the players you have returned. 

  • 0
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    Zach Poff

    Following up: I shipped a new set of cards to the installer and he said it fixed the problem. (for now?) It's hard to explain how such a thoroughly tested setup (with about 700 reps on the cards) could have a card failure immediately after shipping.

    In case you're wondering, the original cards were SanDisk Extreme Pro 8GB (also used in my other BrightSign shows, usually without problems). The replacement cards are Lexar class 10 UHS-I 400x 8GB (model LSD8GBCTBNA400)

    I still can't think of anything I could have done to get such high failure rates with BrightSign gear.

  • 0
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    support@brightsign.biz

    Zach,

    I was able to find your RMA that included 2 HD220s. We'll take a closer look at them and get back to you. As we have mentioned, the device failures you report are very rare. As for the card issues, is there an chance you can get us a sample or two of the failing cards? We could take a look at them to see if they are the issue. 

     

  • 0
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    Zach Poff

    I'm re-opening this ticket because I finally got my hands on an SD card that failed in the field. (One of the ones mentioned in the first post) It's the master card in a looping ethernet-synced presentation and it stalls and restarts after a few seconds. The media file plays fine on a computer (and it played fine on the HD220 for many test cycles). Can I send it in for you to take a look?

  • 0
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    support@brightsign.biz

    Zach,

    Please see the ticket #21669 for instructions on where to send the card. We'll take a look when it gets here.

     

    Thanks.

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