LED signs like ours run on a small media player, usually made by NovaStar or Huidu (often called HD). The player decides which software you use to change the message. Once you know which one your sign has, updating it is straightforward.
Step 1: find out which player your sign has
The player is the small box inside or behind the sign that stores and plays your content. Its model is printed on the player’s label.
- NovaStar players have names like TB10 Plus, TB30, TB40, TB50 and TB60 (the Taurus range), or T30, T50 and T60. Older ones include the TB1, TB2, TB3, TB4, TB6, TB8, T3 and T6.
- HD (Huidu) players are used in many full colour and single colour text signs, and work with Huidu’s own apps.
If your sign came from us, your handover sheet lists the player, the sign’s Wi-Fi name and the passwords. Not sure? Call us and tell us what you can see on the label.
Step 2: pick the software that suits how you work
NovaStar signs
- ViPlex Express is NovaStar’s free Windows program. You build a playlist of pictures, video and text on your computer, then send it to the sign over Wi-Fi, a network cable or a USB stick. Read our ViPlex Express guide.
- VNNOX is NovaStar’s website for updating your sign from anywhere, in any web browser, as long as the sign is online. Read our VNNOX guide.
- ViPlex Handy is NovaStar’s phone app. It does the same jobs as ViPlex Express over Wi-Fi.
HD (Huidu) signs
- LedArt is Huidu’s phone app. Your phone connects straight to the sign’s own Wi-Fi, so you need to be near the sign. It works with full colour HD signs and with many single and two colour HD text signs, and Huidu also has LedArt lite, a simpler app made for single and two colour signs.
- LED-Cloud is Huidu’s website for updating HD signs over the internet, from Chrome or Edge.
- HDPlayer does the same job from a Windows PC.
Our LedArt and LED-Cloud guide walks through both.
Can I program an LED sign with a USB stick?
Yes, on NovaStar signs. In ViPlex Express, right-click a playlist and choose USB Playback. Plug and Play plays the content straight from the stick, while Copy and Play copies the playlist onto the player so you can take the stick away. It is handy when a sign has no network connection.
What about NovaLCT?
NovaLCT is NovaStar’s tool for setting up the screen itself: how the LED panels are mapped, the receiving cards and the firmware. It is an installer’s tool. You don’t need it to change your message, and settings such as firmware updates and screen layout are best left to us.
Which one should I use?
- You update the sign from the office, a few times a week: ViPlex Express on a Windows PC.
- You want to update it from home or another site: VNNOX (NovaStar) or LED-Cloud (HD), as long as the sign is online.
- You stand near the sign with your phone: ViPlex Handy (NovaStar) or LedArt (HD).
All of them let you schedule content, such as breakfast in the morning and lunch from 11.30, and most let you set the brightness by time of day, for example dimmer at night.
Where to get the software and guides
The official downloads for ViPlex Express, NovaLCT, HDPlayer and the phone apps are on our Downloads page, and our step by step PDF guides are on Brochures & Guides.
Stuck?
Tell us which sign it is, what you were trying to do and what you saw on screen, and we will help. We design and build outdoor LED signs, indoor LED displays and full colour LED screens at our workshop in Welshpool. Call Aaron on 0416 053 335 or the office on (08) 9335 7944.
