Storage

Overview

SpinetiX players are equipped with a reasonable large internal memory medium, thoroughly tested and validated by SpinetiX for best performance and reliability for digital signage content. The internal storage type and size is different depending on the player model, but should be suitable for most digital signage projects.

In some situations, however, the internal content storage might not be sufficient - for these cases, an external USB storage drive can be used with the player to have a larger storage space; if this is required only temporarily, then the USB drive can be used in a plug & play mode, otherwise, it can be used as a permanent USB storage extension.

Storage information

Control Center

To get information about the storage, open Control Center home page and click on the storage summary box – basic information about the storage space (free, used, total) is displayed in the tooltip.

For HMP200, HMP130, HMP100 legacy players, open HMP Control Center and go to "Storage" page (under the "Information" menu).

Internal storage

The information below is only for reference; any attempt to open the HMP to replace the internal memory medium, either by yourself or by an unauthorized third party, will void the Hardware Warranty!

The internal storage (also called internal memory medium) used by the player is different depending on the model and the hardware revision:

• The iBX410/W and iBX440 players use an Industrial 128 GB SSD M.2 M-Key (2280).
• The HMP400, HMP400W, and HMP350 use a 16 GB solid state eMMC.
• The HMP300 and DiVA use an 8 GB solid state eMMC.
• The HMP200 uses an 8 GB CompactFlash card.
• The HMP130 uses a 4 GB class 2 MicroSD card.
• The HMP100 uses a 2 GB / 4 GB class 2 MicroSD card (capacity depending on hardware revision).

 

See also the Statement of volatility.

External storage

This section doesn't apply to DiVA players.

In case the internal storage of the player is not sufficient, you can use an external storage device, connected to its USB port; any standard USB storage device can be used with the player, including USB "pen" drives, SSDs, and standard hard drives.

Plug & play USB storage

See Plug & play USB drive content for more details.

If larger storage is required temporarily, then the USB drive can be used in a plug & play mode, whereby the player can only read the content from the USB drive, but cannot write to it. In this case, the USB drive is first connected to a PC, formatted as FAT32, some content (from Elementi for instance) is published onto it, and then it is connected to the player. To update the content, this process must be repeated.

Permanent USB storage

If a larger storage is required for a longer period of time, then the USB drive can be used as a permanent storage, whereby the player can read and write content onto the USB drive; in this case, the USB drive replaces the internal HMP storage (it is not an addition to the internal storage!) and updating the content can be done in the usual manner.

Peripherals - USB

To configure the player to use a connected USB storage device as permanent local storage, follow these steps:

1. Insert the USB storage device into the USB port of the player.
2. Open Control Center → Peripherals → USB page.
3. Enable the "Use external USB drive to store content" option.
4. If the drive is not already formatted as ext4, follow these steps to format the USB storage.
5. Click the Apply button and restart the player.
6. Check that the USB device is used as “Local Storage, Streaming Captures”.

Notes:

• The maximum supported size of the external USB storage is around 2 TB for HMP350, HMP300, respectively 500 GB for HMP200, HMP130 and HMP100 devices.
• The Content creation tool does not have access to the permanent USB storage (this is a known limitation).
• When using external storage, power failures or unexpected shutdowns are much more likely to cause storage corruption, due to the way in which external drives manage read/write operations. This is especially true of USB 'keys'.

Troubleshooting

Corruption of storage

Power failures (including removing the power supply from an player without a proper shutdown), noisy power supplies or power surges can cause corruption on some partitions of the storage. As a result, the player might enter into a read-only mode and eventually reboot into Recovery mode; if that happens, you need to format the storage (see below) and / or reinstall the firmware.

• For internal storage, use the "Format Internal Storage" button, which can be found in Control Center on the Operation → Reset page (respectively, Maintenance page > Advanced tab for HMP200, HMP130, and HMP100 devices).
• For external storage, use the "Format" button, which can be found in Control Center on the Peripherals → USB page (respectively, Content Settings page for HMP200, HMP130, and HMP100 devices).