NovaStar TU15 Pro: commissioning the 2.6 Mpx four-output player

The NovaStar TU15 Pro belongs to the Taurus Pro generation, the players designed for fixed installation and mechanical integration. Where a TB60 slides into a 19-inch rack, the TU15 Pro fits a 211.7 × 185.0 × 50.6 mm chassis that mounts directly on the back of the screen structure.

Loading capacity is 2,600,000 pixels across four Gigabit Ethernet outputs, with 12 V DC power and a maximum draw of 21 W. It therefore slots into the low-voltage power chain already present in most LED cabinets, with no dedicated mains socket needed in the enclosure.

This tutorial covers sizing, mechanical integration, wiring the four outputs, screen configuration, content publishing and the check points specific to a built-in player whose physical access becomes difficult once the screen is mounted.

1. What a Taurus Pro player is for

The Taurus Pro series targets permanent installations: totems, store walls, station displays, building façades. The brief there differs from live events: no daily handling, but a need for compact integration, low-voltage power and years of reliability without intervention.

The TU15 Pro fits exactly that profile. It has no live video input: it is a pure asynchronous player that plays stored content and receives updates over the network or the cloud. That simplicity is an advantage in a fixed installation, because it removes dependence on a source computer and its point of failure.

• Pure asynchronous player: no live video input to manage.
• Compact format intended for integration behind the screen.
• 12 V DC power, compatible with internal cabinet distribution.
• Four Gigabit Ethernet outputs to split a medium-sized wall.
• Remote publishing and monitoring through ViPlex and the NovaStar cloud.

2. Official technical specifications

The figures below come from the NovaStar TU15 Pro specifications sheet, revision V1.5.2.

The specifications sheet does not explicitly publish processor details or exact memory size for this model. They are therefore not stated here: ask NovaStar support if your specification requires them contractually.

3. Checking that 2.6 Mpx covers the project

The maths is the same as across the range: width in pixels times height in pixels, compared to the 2,600,000 pixel capacity. Spread over four ports that is roughly 650,000 pixels per port, the nominal maximum load of a Gigabit port in 8-bit.

That figure is comfortable for most retail and street-furniture installations, but fine pitch eats it quickly. A P1.8 wall of 4 × 2.25 m reaches 2,222 × 1,250 pixels, or 2,777,500 pixels: beyond the player's capacity. Two synchronised TU15 Pro units or a controller are then required.

4. Mechanical integration behind the screen

The TU15 Pro's strength is also its main constraint: once the screen is up, the player becomes hard to reach. All preparation must happen at ground level, before mounting, and the location must stay reachable for later maintenance.

Plan a dedicated mounting plate, enough clearance for airflow, and above all enough cable length to pull the player out of the structure without unplugging the four LED outputs. On a high-level installation that cable slack is the difference between a twenty-minute job and dismantling panels.

• Mount the player on an accessible plate, never behind a bonded panel.
• Leave 20 to 30 cm of cable slack to extract the player.
• Allow airflow: 21 W dissipated in a sealed volume raises temperature.
• Label the four LED outputs before mounting the structure.
• Photograph the open installation and attach the photos to the technical file.

Add a service Ethernet connector brought out to the front or the base of the structure. Without it every network diagnosis means reopening the structure; with it a technician plugs a laptop in within thirty seconds.

5. Power and wiring

The TU15 Pro runs on 12 V DC at 3 A. It is tempting to feed it from an existing cabinet supply, which is possible provided two things are checked: that supply's power headroom and the quality of the common ground.

A cabinet supply already at 90 % load for the LED modules must not feed the player: the modules' current surges cause voltage dips that reboot the player at random. Those reboots are among the hardest faults to diagnose on a fixed installation.

• Check the 12 V supply headroom: at least 30 % margin after the player.
• Prefer a dedicated supply for the player on critical installations.
• Wire the four Ethernet outputs to the first receiving card of each zone.
• Physically separate data cables from LED power cables.
• Use shielded Cat6 and respect the 100 m per segment limit.

A player rebooting several times a day for no apparent reason is almost always the victim of an overloaded shared power supply, not a hardware fault. Measure the voltage under load before replacing the unit.

6. Configuring the screen and splitting zones

Configuration runs through ViPlex Express, with NovaLCT for receiving card parameters. Load the cabinet configuration file supplied with the panels, declare cabinet count and wiring direction per port, then enter the final wall resolution.

With four outputs, balance matters. Spread cabinets evenly rather than saturating two ports and leaving two nearly empty: that keeps headroom for a move to 10-bit or a later pixel-level calibration.

• Load the cabinet file and declare the matrix per port.
• Enter the exact wall resolution.
• Check each zone with a numbered test pattern before real content.
• Save the configuration to the receiving cards.
• Test recovery with a deliberate power cut before closing the structure.

7. Publishing and scheduling content

Publishing follows the usual Taurus flow: ViPlex Express discovers the player on the network, you build a solution structured in zones, import media, schedule playback windows and publish. ViPlex Handy does the same from a phone, which is valuable when the player sits behind a high-mounted screen.

On a fixed installation, time scheduling deserves particular care. Overnight shutdown and evening brightness reduction extend LED life and cut the electricity bill, with no human intervention.

• Encode media at the exact wall resolution, in H.265 where possible.
• Schedule playback windows, overnight shutdown and brightness levels.
• Provide a fallback playlist shown when no schedule is active.
• Save the solution as a template for other screens in the fleet.

8. Remotely monitoring a built-in player

This is the most important point on an integrated player: because physical access is expensive, monitoring must be flawless. Bind the terminal to the NovaStar cloud at commissioning, with an explicit name including the site and the screen, and enable offline alerts.

Across a fleet of several screens, a rigorous naming convention — city, site, façade, number — prevents the publishing mistakes that send regional content to the wrong screen.

• Bind the terminal with its serial number before closing the structure.
• Name the terminal to an explicit convention: city, site, screen.
• Enable offline and temperature alerts.
• Record the mapping and credentials in the operating file.

9. Troubleshooting a fixed installation

Remote diagnosis must allow a decision on whether to send a crew and with what equipment. The table maps symptom to likely cause and action.

10. TU15 Pro, TU20 Pro or TB60?

Three players partly overlap in this capacity band. The choice comes down to the number of outputs needed, the nature of the installation and the power supply available.

On a fleet built in phases, choose the TU20 Pro from the first phase even if the TU15 Pro is enough: a homogeneous fleet simplifies spare stock and operating procedures.

Commissioning procedure

1. Validate capacity

   Compare the total wall resolution to the player's 2,600,000 pixels and split the load across four ports of roughly 650,000 pixels.

2. Prepare mechanical integration

   Mount the player on an accessible plate, allow airflow and leave 20 to 30 cm of cable slack.

3. Check the 12 V supply

   Confirm the 12 V/3 A supply keeps at least 30 % headroom after the player, or fit a dedicated supply.

4. Wire the four LED outputs

   Label then connect the four shielded Cat6 cables to the first receiving card of each zone.

5. Configure the screen

   Load the cabinet file, declare the matrix per port, enter the resolution and save to the receiving cards.

6. Publish content

   Build the solution in ViPlex Express, schedule playback windows and overnight shutdown, then publish.

7. Bind to the cloud before closing

   Register the terminal with an explicit name, enable alerts, test the service connector then close the structure.

Frequently asked questions

Official documentation

• TU15 Pro Multimedia Player Specifications V1.5.2 (official PDF) — Datasheet
• Official Taurus series product page (NovaStar) — Manufacturer page
• ViPlex Express / ViPlex Handy — NovaStar downloads — Software

Related tutorials

• NovaStar TU20 Pro tutorial: 3.9 Mpx across 6 outputs
• NovaStar TB60 tutorial: 4 Gigabit ports and 2.3 Mpx
• NovaLCT tutorial: LED screen configuration
• VNNOX Standard tutorial: cloud publishing

A player to integrate behind your screen?

We ship the TU15 Pro pre-configured, with the mapping written to the cards and the terminal already registered in your cloud account.

• Request a quote
• Tutorials