BrightSign media player in 2026: lineup, prices, BSN.cloud and cost per screen
Quick answer: DigitalSignage.com SignPlayer does not run on BrightSign players; a BrightSign media player is a dedicated signage player that runs BrightSign's own operating system, BrightSignOS, and drives one or two displays. The 2026 lineup is Series 6 (HD6, XD6), Series 5 (XT5, LS5, AU5 audio) and Series 4 (XT4, XT4-T). BrightSign publishes no list prices ("contact sales"); US retail listings on October 19, 2026 ran from about $380 (LS425) to $1,305 (XT2145). Device management, BrightSign Control, is free with every player; paid content tiers are priced by sales. To use DigitalSignage.com instead, pair the display with an Android, Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, Raspberry Pi or iPad player.
Published by DigitalSignage.com (MediaSignage Inc.), which does not sell BrightSign hardware or offer a BrightSign player app. Figures are from BrightSign's own pages and named retailers, checked October 19, 2026.
The 2026 BrightSign lineup
| Series | Model | I/O package | Video decoding | Notable | US retail price seen (Oct 19, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 6 | HD226 | Standard | Single 4K 10-bit 60p, dual Full HD 60p | NPU, HTML5 at HD | $468.99 (Staples), $595 (AVL Gear) |
| Series 6 | HD1026 | Expanded | Single 4K 10-bit 60p, dual Full HD 60p | NPU, interactive 2D HTML | $709.99 (Staples) |
| Series 6 | XD236 | Standard | Dual 4K 10-bit 60p | NPU, PoE+ | $545.99 (Staples), $785 (AVL Gear) |
| Series 6 | XD1036 | Expanded | Dual 4K 10-bit 60p | NPU, PoE+ | $632.99 (Staples) |
| Series 5 | LS425 | Standard | 4K 8-bit 60p, 10-bit 30p | For "essential signage needs" | $380 (AVL Gear) |
| Series 5 | LS445 | Expanded | 4K 8-bit 60p, 10-bit 30p | $495 (AVL Gear) | |
| Series 5 | XT245 | Standard | Single 8K 60p, dual 4K 60p | Dual HDMI out, HDMI in, PoE+ | $1,005 (AVL Gear) |
| Series 5 | XT1145 | Expanded | Single 8K 60p, dual 4K 60p | Dual HDMI out, HDMI in, PoE+ | $1,105 (AVL Gear) |
| Series 5 | XT2145 | Multiplex | Single 8K 60p, dual 4K 60p | Dual HDMI out, HDMI in, PoE+ | $1,305 (AVL Gear) |
| Series 5 | AU5 | Audio player | not checked | ||
| Series 4 | XT4, XT4-T | Enterprise I/O | Full HD and 4K | Previous generation | not checked |
Retail prices are snapshots from two US retailers and differ between them by up to $240 for the same model; AVL Gear showed every model as unavailable on the day. BrightSign's product page says "Product prices are subject to change. Please contact sales for current pricing." All Series 5 and Series 6 spec pages list an included 5-year warranty, parts and labour, for players bought from BrightSign after January 1, 2025 (accessories excluded).
BrightSign software: BrightSignOS, BrightSign Control, BSN.cloud
| Layer | What it is | Price |
|---|---|---|
| BrightSignOS | The player's operating system, built only for signage | Included with the player |
| BrightSign Control (formerly bsn.Control) | Cloud device management: player health, remote control | Free with every player |
| BrightSign Control Plus | Enterprise device management, works alongside a partner CMS | Not published; contact sales |
| BrightSign Author, Author Plus | BrightSign's own content authoring and management | Not published |
| Partner CMS | Third-party content software that supports BrightSignOS (over 200, per BrightSign) | The CMS vendor's own fee per screen |
BrightSign has renamed its software ("bsn.Control is now BrightSign Control"). Older BrightSign help pages quoted a per-player yearly price for the former Content Cloud tier; we could not find a current price on brightsign.biz, so none is given here. Among the platforms in our pricing dataset, ScreenCloud lists BrightSign among its supported players.
Does DigitalSignage.com run on BrightSign?
No. SignPlayer, the free DigitalSignage.com player, runs on Windows, Mac, Android and Android TV, Chrome OS, Raspberry Pi, iPad and any modern web browser. There is no BrightSign version, and none of our software runs on BrightSignOS. If you own BrightSign players, keep them on BrightSign's software or a partner CMS. If you are choosing hardware for DigitalSignage.com, use one of the players in the next table.
BrightSign vs software players: cost per screen
Three-year cost per screen, software and player only, for an account with 10 screens. Display excluded.
| Player | Player cost (one time) | Example software | Software, 3 years per screen | 3-year total per screen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BrightSign LS425 | about $380 | ScreenCloud Core, $20 per screen per month billed annually | $720 | about $1,100 |
| BrightSign XD236 | $545.99 to $785 | ScreenCloud Core | $720 | about $1,266 to $1,505 |
| BrightSign XT1145 | about $1,105 | ScreenCloud Core | $720 | about $1,825 |
| BrightSign (any) | as above | BrightSign Control only (device management) | $0 | player cost; content tier priced by sales |
| Android TV stick | $30 to $60 | DigitalSignage.com Plus+, from $3 per screen per month | $108 | $138 to $168 |
| Raspberry Pi 5 kit | $81 to $137 | DigitalSignage.com Plus+ | $108 | $189 to $245 |
| Chromebox | $300 to $700 | DigitalSignage.com Plus+, plus a Chrome Enterprise kiosk license (about $25 a year at one US reseller) | $108 + about $75 | $483 to $883 |
How to read it. DigitalSignage.com is free for the first 3 screens; once an account has 4 or more, every screen is billed, so a 10-screen account pays $3 x 10 screens x 36 months = $1,080, or $108 per screen. ScreenCloud's figure is its published Core rate ($20 a month billed annually, $24 monthly). Android, Raspberry Pi and Chromebox prices are from the cost per screen guide and the no-monthly-fee guide.
Pros and cons of BrightSign
Strengths
- Signage-only operating system: BrightSignOS is, in BrightSign's words, "built specifically for signage", not a general-purpose OS.
- 5-year parts-and-labour warranty on current Series 5 and 6 players bought from BrightSign.
- Hardware decoding up to dual 4K 60p (XD6) or single 8K 60p (XT5); dual HDMI out on XT5.
- PoE+ power on XD6 and XT5, so one Ethernet cable can power and connect the player.
- Wide CMS choice: BrightSign cites over 200 partner platforms.
Limits
- Cost: $380 to $1,305 per player at retail against $30 to $137 for an Android stick or Raspberry Pi.
- No published price for the paid BrightSign software tiers.
- Only CMS platforms that support BrightSignOS can drive it; DigitalSignage.com is not one of them.
When BrightSign makes sense
- 24/7 video walls and multi-screen installs.
- Mission-critical sites where a 5-year warranty and a locked-down OS are worth the premium.
- Networks already standardised on a CMS that supports BrightSignOS.
For menu boards, lobby screens, announcements and dashboards, a $30 to $137 software player is usually enough; the general comparison is in the media players guide and the player selection guide.
Sources and dates
Checked on 2026-10-19:
- BrightSign products page: Series 6 (HD6, XD6), Series 5 (XT5, LS5, AU5), Series 4 (XT4, XT4-T), BrightSignOS, "contact sales for current pricing". brightsign.biz/products
- BrightSign HD6, XD6, XT5 and LS5 spec pages: model numbers, I/O packages, decoding, NPU, PoE+, 5-year warranty. HD6 · XD6 · XT5 · LS5
- BrightSign software page: BrightSign Control free with every player, Control Plus works with existing partner CMS deployments, 200+ CMS partners, bsn.Control rename, no published price. brightsign.biz
- Staples listings: HD226 $468.99, HD1026 $709.99, XD236 $545.99, XD1036 $632.99. staples.com
- AVL Gear BrightSign listings (all shown unavailable): LS425 $380, LS445 $495, XT245 $1,005, XT1145 $1,105, XT2145 $1,305, HD226 $595, XD236 $785. avlgear.com
- ScreenCloud hardware page lists BrightSign among supported players; Core $20 annual / $24 monthly per screen. screencloud.com/hardware · screencloud.com/pricing
- DigitalSignage.com player list: signageplayer.html
Related guides
- Digital signage media players compared
- Player selection guide
- Player compatibility matrix 2026
- Best Android digital signage player 2026
- Digital signage displays explained
- ScreenCloud pricing 2026
Try it on your own screens, free
DigitalSignage.com, which publishes this guide, runs a permanent free plan: the first 3 screens are free forever (no credit card, no ads, no time limit), then from $3 per screen per month. The free SignPlayer runs on Windows, Mac, Android and Android TV, Chrome OS, Raspberry Pi, iPad or any modern web browser (not on BrightSign). Start free · 2026 pricing
Frequently asked questions
What is a BrightSign media player?
A BrightSign player is a small box made only for digital signage. It runs BrightSign's own operating system, BrightSignOS, plays video, images and HTML5 from local storage or the network, and connects to one display by HDMI (two on the XT5). It needs content software: BrightSign's own tools or one of the partner CMS platforms (BrightSign cites over 200) that support BrightSignOS.
How much does a BrightSign player cost?
BrightSign does not publish list prices on its product page; it says to contact sales. US retail listings checked on October 19, 2026 ranged from $380 for an LS425 and $468.99 for an HD226 to $1,305 for an XT2145. Players bought from BrightSign after January 1, 2025 include a 5-year parts-and-labour warranty, according to its spec pages.
Is BSN.cloud free?
Partly. BrightSign Control (formerly bsn.Control) comes free with every BrightSign player for device management and health monitoring. The paid tiers, BrightSign Control Plus and BrightSign Author Plus, have no published price on brightsign.biz as of October 19, 2026; BrightSign says to contact sales. Partner CMS platforms charge their own fee per screen.
Does DigitalSignage.com run on BrightSign players?
No. DigitalSignage.com's SignPlayer does not run on BrightSignOS and there is no BrightSign version. If you already own BrightSign players, use BrightSign's own software or a partner CMS that supports them, such as ScreenCloud. To use DigitalSignage.com, pair the display with an Android or Android TV device, a Chrome OS device, a Windows PC, a Mac, a Raspberry Pi or an iPad.
Is a BrightSign player better than an Android stick or Raspberry Pi?
It is more specialised: a signage-only operating system, a 5-year warranty, PoE+ on several models, 4K or 8K decoding, video-wall support and enterprise I/O. An Android TV stick at $30 to $60 or a Raspberry Pi 5 kit at $81 to $137 costs a fraction and runs most cloud CMS players, but carries consumer warranties and needs more care to lock down. For menus, announcements and dashboards the cheaper player is usually enough; for 24/7 video walls or mission-critical sites BrightSign earns its price.
Maintained by MediaSignage Inc., operator of DigitalSignage.com. We have no commercial relationship with BrightSign and offer no BrightSign player. Last updated October 19, 2026.