Power management

 

Applies to all players and third-party players. See also Power management on legacy players.

Introduction

Power Management is a feature that turns off the power or switches the system to a low-power state when inactive, in order to reduce overall energy consumption.

Within a digital signage setup featuring SpinetiX devices, the biggest part of the power consumption is actually taken by the screens. For this purpose, the player supports different methods for turning off (and turning back on) the screen connected to it. The display power saving can be done according to a predefined schedule, or even automatically when the player is managed through SpinetiX ARYA and there's no content scheduled.

The power consumption of the player itself is very low and it should be left in running mode all the time. See player power saving section for more details.

Display power saving

Players running DSOS can automatically turn on / off the connected displays, using various mechanisms. The players will use all supported mechanisms in parallel, according to player and display capabilities, so as to ensure the best possible compatibility.

Whenever the display power saving is activated on the player (see Configuration and Using ARYA for how to activate it and set the schedule) the player will do the following to put the display on standby.

• For displays connected to an HDMI connector on the player.
  • The player will shut down the output signal; all displays that support DVI-D style power management will go to standby.
  • On players that support HDMI CEC, if the display supports HDMI CEC and has it enabled, the player will also send a standby request to the display via HDMI CEC.
• For displays connected to a DisplayPort connector on the player.
  • The player will send a DisplayPort request to put the display in power save mode, and shut down the output signal.
• For displays connected to a VGA connector on the player.
  • The player will use VESA Display Power Management Signaling (DPMS) to put the display in standby.

In all cases, if RS-232 has been configured for power saving, the player will additionally send the power saving commands via RS-232.

Configuration

To enable the display power saving on the player side, follow these steps:

1. Open Control Center and go to Display & Audio > Power page.
2. Click to activate "Enable display power management" setting.
3. From the "Schedule" dropdown, select:
   • "Fixed" → turn ON / OFF the display, every day, at the same time
   • "Daily" → turn ON / OFF the display at different times, each weekday
   • "None" → do not use a predefined schedule, as other methods are employed.
4. Click the "Apply" button.

Notes:

• If the player is managed through SpinetiX ARYA, the display is automatically turned off when there's no content scheduled and turned back on when something should be displayed, so there's no need to make any changes on the player side.
• Custom power saving commands can be entered from Peripherals > Automation page.

Displays connected on HDMI

When the display is connected to an HDMI connector on the player, the player will use the following mechanisms to turn off and on the display, according to the chosen display power management schedule; see the following sections for details on each.

• DVI-D style power management.
• HDMI CEC.

Note also that RS-232 can be used as an additional out-of-band mechanism to turn off and on the display, for displays which have a serial port supporting power management commands.

DVI-D style power management

 

Applies to all players, including third-party players.

A player always turns off the output video signal on the HDMI connector (i.e., TMDS signal) during display power save, which will make compatible displays go to standby. This is the mechanism defined by DVI-D and supported by many HDMI displays, as HDMI and DVI-D have common roots.

If this mechanism works or not depends on the display.

• Many displays support this mechanism out of the box and require no further setup.
• Some displays need to be explicitly configured to go to standby in the absence of an input signal, check the setup menus of the display to enable this feature. Note that some displays will mention TMDS, or computer signal, instead of HDMI in their menus.
• Some displays support this feature on some of the HDMI inputs but not all of them, check the display's user manual or try connecting the player to different HDMI inputs on the display. If there is an HDMI input labeled DVI or computer then try that one.
• Some displays have a dedicated DVI connector; these connectors always support this mechanism as it is an integral part of the DVI specification. If no other option works then try using the display's DVI input connector, with an HDMI to DVI cable (it is a simple passive cable), note however that this will usually limit the resolution to 1080p @ 60Hz.

The support for this mechanism was added in DSOS version 4.0.2 for HMP350, HMP300 and DiVA, DSOS version 4.7.0 for HMP400, HMP400W and third-party players. It has also been available on all DSOS versions for iBX410 and iBX440, and is applied to all outputs on iBX440 as of DSOS version 4.8.2.

HDMI CEC

 

Applies to all HMP400, HMP400W, HMP350, HMP300 and DiVA players. Note that iBX410, iBX440 and third-party players do not support HDMI CEC.

Consumer Electronics Control (CEC) is an HDMI feature designed to allow controlling displays and other devices that are connected through HDMI. It is an optional feature of HDMI, so it is not supported by all displays.

Players supporting CEC will check if the connected display supports CEC. When the display supports CEC, the player will send a Standby CEC command to the display when activating display power save. It will also send an Image View On CEC command that will power up the display and ensure the HDMI input on which the player is connected becomes the displayed input (e.g., if the display has multiple HDMI inputs or is connected through an HDMI switch supporting CEC).

Display power save via CEC is reliable when the display supports it. When the player detects that the connected display does not support CEC a warning show in Control Center, in the Display Settings page telling that display power management may not be fully supported.

Even when CEC is supported by the display, DVI-D style power management is also used to put the display in standby, in addition to the CEC commands.

Other CEC features implemented on SpinetiX players are the following.

• Monitoring and reporting of the “power status” of the display.
• If there is no active source after connecting a new HDMI display, or restarting the player, the player selects itself as the active source.
• Monitoring for changes of the HDMI input active (i.e., shown) on the display and reports if the HDMI input to which the player is connected is not the one being shown.
• Reports to other CEC devices its active source status.

Notes:

• Manufacturers might use a different name for the "CEC" functionality, such as: AnyNet+ (Samsung), VieraLink (Panasonic), SIMPLink (LG), BRAVIA Link (Sony), BRAVIA Sync (Sony), etc. See more common trade names for CEC.
• Some HDMI displays will disconnect and reconnect the HDMI connection when changing power state, if this is the case the player will resend the CEC commands to comply with the requested display state. This means that after a player puts the display to on, or standby, a user may not be able to switch it back to standby, or on, respectively, via the remote or displays's control panel.
• Some displays have HDMI CEC disabled by default, or adjusting certain settings can turn off CEC automatically. If the player reports that the display does not support CEC, try to enable it in the display’s settings menu or contact the display manufacturer for assistance.
• The support for HDMI CEC was added in firmware 4.0.2 for HMP350, HMP300, DiVA, and firmware 4.6.0 for HMP400 and HMP400W.

Displays connected on DisplayPort

 

Applies to HMP400 and HMP400W players, as well as third-party players with a USB-C connector supporting DisplayPort Alternate Mode.

When the display is connected to a DisplayPort connector on the player, the player will use the standard DisplayPort mechanisms to put the display on standby according to the display power management schedule. During display power save the player will also shut down the video signal, according to the DisplayPort specification.

As it is a standard DisplayPort mechanism all DisplayPort displays should be compatible with it.

The support for this mechanism was added in DSOS version 4.7.0 for HMP400, HMP400W and third-party players.

Note also that RS-232 can be used as an additional out-of-band mechanism to turn off and on the display, for displays which have a serial port supporting power management commands.

Displays connected on VGA

 

Applies to legacy HMP200, HMP130 and HMP100 players.

When the display is connected to a VGA connector on the player, the player will use VESA Display Power Management Signaling (DPMS) to put the display on standby according to the display power management schedule.

Note also that RS-232 can be used as an additional out-of-band mechanism to turn off and on the display, for displays which have a serial port supporting power management commands.

RS-232

 

Applies to all players, except DiVA, and third-party players.

Power on/off commands can be sent via RS-232 to a (professional) display supporting serial communication. These commands are supplied by the device manufacturer.

To enable this feature, follow these steps:

1. Open HMP Control Center.
2. Go to the "Peripherals" page.
3. Enable the serial port usage and configure the communication parameters.
4. From the "Serial Port Automation" section, select "Simple" or "Advanced" from the drop-down box labeled "Settings".

   The former allows entering one or more simple commands for display control, while the latter enables the usage of serial port protocol files for more complex usage.

On HMP350 and HMP400/W (SYSTEMS), it is possible to send serial commands using the JavaScript COM API.

Custom schedule

It is possible to set up a display power saving schedule that is more complex than the one above.

Using ARYA

 

Applies to all players.

If the player is managed through SpinetiX ARYA, the display is automatically turned off when there's no content scheduled and turned back on when something should be displayed.

If needed, a custom "Screen ON" schedule can be defined within the paid plans, as follows:

1. Open the PLAYER page in ARYA and click on the player you wish to set a screen-on schedule.
2. On the right side, click on the plus (+) sign under SCREEN ON section.
3. Schedule when the screen-on feature should be effective.

Using the player web interface

 

Applies to HMP350, HMP300, and DiVA.

Starting with 4.1.0 firmware for HMP350 and 4.1.1 firmware for HMP300, and DiVA, it is possible to have the player turning off the display whenever there is no content specified in the schedule panel - for that follow these steps:

1. Open the player web interface.
2. Click the Gear icon on the top bar menu to open the Control Center home page.
3. On the left-side menu, click on "Display & Audio > Power".
4. Make sure that "Enable display power management" option is active; otherwise, enable it and restart the player.
5. Click the "SCHEDULE" link on the top bar menu to open the Content scheduling tool.
6. Schedule your content at will within the Schedule panel.
7. Click the "Default" box on the left side to open it.
8. Enable the "Turn monitor OFF" option.
9. Click the "Save" button.

Using an Elementi project

 

Applies to HMP350, HMP300, and iBX440/iBX410/HMP400/HMP400W with DSOS WIDGETS license.

To set up a complex display power saving schedule, you need to use a schedule inside your Elementi project that includes either the power.svg widget or some custom JavaScript code (making use of the JavaScript COM API or the sendComPort function).

• The power.svg widget is usually used with devices connected via the serial port to the HMP, in which case you need to use a protocol file.
• You can also use the power.svg widget to act using one of the display power management mechanisms, in which case you don't need a protocol file, but ensure that on the Display Settings page > Power Save tab the "Enable display power saving" setting is enabled and the "Use fixed schedule for display power" setting is disabled.

Note:

For a sample project that sets the display ON during the working hours and OFF otherwise (including the weekend), see the Project:Power Saving page.

Player power saving

Within a digital signage setup featuring SpinetiX devices, the biggest part of the power consumption is actually taken by the screens, which can be turned off through different display power saving methods. The power consumption of the SpinetiX devices is very small (maximum is 14W), so that they can be left in running mode all the time - this is actually recommended because there are different internal operations that are performed during the night.

Nevertheless, if you want to save up even more power, you can shut down or even completely power off the device; for more details, see how to:

• Shut down the HMP;
• Shut down DiVA;
• Power off the HMP;
• Power off DiVA.

Notes:

• Unplugging the player from the power network without a prior shutdown, especially in a repetitive manner, could cause content loss and / or hardware problems!
• After the player has been shut down, it can be restarted by briefly pressing its blue button or by physically reconnecting it to the electrical network.

Troubleshooting

Known issues

• Pixelated output

  In some cases when the player is configured for display power saving, but the screen doesn't support HDMI CEC functionality (this information can be found in the player.log), the screen might try to turn itself back on in a loop - that could have a result a pixelated output when the payer is actually turning the screen on.

  The solution is to disable the display power saving on the player side or use the RS-232 method instead.

Extended logging

SpinetiX Support might require you to enable extended logging of events in case the display power management fails. In order to instruct the HMP to log more details regarding the input events, follow the procedure detailed below.

1. Open the Control Center interface of the player.
2. Enable the "Advanced" menu by applying a special configuration file - contact SpinetiX Support for details.
3. Configure the player to log extended information for specific events as detailed below:
   1. Click on "Advanced" > "Log".
   2. Enable "Custom" option and click the "Apply" button.
   3. Go to "Appender" section and find "debugfile" entry.
   4. Enable "Subscribe to all loggers" option and set the "Max Size" to 50000KB .
   5. Click the "Update" button at the bottom of the "Appender" section (and not the one at the bottom of the page!).
   6. Go to "Logger" section and set the "Priority" option (drop-down list) to "Info".
   7. Scroll down and find the "hdmicec" row (under "display"); select "Trace" on the drop-down list on the right-most column and make sure that no checkbox are enabled for that row.
   8. Make sure that no other checkboxes are enabled on the debugfile column.
   9. Click the "Update" button at the bottom.
4. Restart the player.
5. Leave the player running until the display power management failure occurs again.
6. Generate a new report.
7. Once done, revert to the default configuration - enable the "Default configuration" option and click the "Update" button.