What is the NovaStar TB40?
The NovaStar TB40 is a Taurus-series multimedia player in a compact 12-volt body: it stores and plays your content, accepts a live HDMI source, and drives up to 1,300,000 pixels of LED screen without a controller in between. It weighs 459.7 g and takes DC power rather than mains.
Those two facts are the whole reason this model exists. Its bigger siblings do the same work from a 1.2 kg mains box, which suits you on a plant-room wall and works against you on a lamp post, in a vehicle or inside a slim screen cabinet.
You would specify a TB40 when the mounting position already has 12 volts, or has no room for anything larger, and the screen still needs to take a live feed as well as play stored material.
NovaStar TB40 key features
It runs off the same low-voltage supply as the cabinets
Your cabinets are full of low-voltage power already, and the TB40 draws 12 V at 2 A from the same kind of source rather than asking you for a wall socket. On a pole-mounted or vehicle-mounted screen that removes an entire electrical problem from your job.
Maximum draw is 18 W, and NovaStar asks for a 25 W supply so your player is never the reason a rail sags.
Half a kilogram, so it mounts where a box will not
At 238.8 mm by 140.5 mm by 32.0 mm the TB40 slides into a cabinet cavity that will not take a full-size player, and at 459.7 g you can hold it on the same kind of fixings as a receiving card instead of finding it a shelf.
Nothing on the screen side changes for you. You still get two Gigabit outputs and the same pixel ceiling as the heavier models.
One button moves the screen between stored content and a live feed
The front panel gives you a source button, and a green light on it tells you the live input is showing. Press it again and your screen returns to the playlist on internal storage, with nothing to reconfigure in software.
That matters when your operator has to change the screen during an event and nobody has time to open a laptop.
NovaStar TB40 specifications
Check the power row and the size row against your mounting position; those two separate this model from the rest of the family, and everything above them it shares with the TB50.
| Pixel capacity | 1,300,000 pixels; maximum 4096 wide and 4096 high |
|---|---|
| Long thin screens | Up to 23,040 pixels wide and 4096 high, inside the same total |
| Screen outputs | 2x Gigabit RJ45, both live by default, or one main and one spare |
| Live picture input | 1x HDMI 1.3, up to 1920×1200 at 60 Hz, HDCP 1.4 and 1.3, no interlaced sources |
| Loop-through output | 1x HDMI 1.3, up to 1920×1200 at 60 Hz |
| Power in | DC 12 V, 2 A; 18 W maximum draw, 25 W supply recommended; no on/off switch |
| Size and weight | 238.8 mm × 140.5 mm × 32.0 mm; 459.7 g |
| Sensor sockets | 2x, for a light sensor or a temperature and humidity sensor |
| Processor and memory | Quad-core ARM A55 at 1.8 GHz, 1 GB RAM, Android 11 |
| Internal storage | 32 GB, plus a USB 3.0 socket for more |
| Video it can play at once | 1x 4K, or 2x 1080p, or 5x 720p, or 6x 480p, or 6x 360p |
| Wireless and mobile | 2.4 GHz hotspot and network together; SIM slot fitted, 4G module bought separately |
| Operating range | −20°C to +60°C, 0% to 80% RH, non-condensing; IP20 |
| Approvals listed | CQC, SRRC, RoHS, CE, RCM, FCC, IC, CB |
Figures come from NovaStar’s TB40 Multimedia Player Specifications V1.2.4, dated 31 July 2026.
Powering a TB40 on site
Give the TB40 a clean 12 V rail rated at 25 W or better and your electrical work is finished. It never draws more than 18 W, so that headroom covers the moment it boots and the moment a big file starts decoding.
There is no power switch on the chassis. Whatever feeds the 12 V rail is what turns the player on and off, which is worth knowing before you promise a client a button they can press.
One thing to settle with us at the point of order: the NovaStar datasheet lists a mains lead among the boxed accessories, yet the input on the rear is 12 V DC. Tell us whether a supply is part of your order rather than assuming one arrives.
If the mounting position has mains and nothing else, the TB50 does identical work from 100–240 V and gives you a switch on the case.
Where a TB40 physically goes
Most TB40s end up inside the screen rather than beside it, which is the point of the smaller body. Your cabinet cavity, pole enclosure, bus or truck locker or slim double-sided sign will take one where a full-size player will not fit.
The rating that governs this is IP20, so the player brings no weather protection of its own. Your enclosure keeps the water out, and the air inside it has to stay between −20°C and +60°C at up to 80% humidity without condensation.
Two practical consequences follow for you. A sealed outdoor cabinet in summer sun passes 60°C inside long before the shade temperature does, so your ventilation plan matters more than the ambient figure. And because the sockets sit on both ends of the chassis, you need clearance at the front and the rear, not just above.
On any enclosure you cannot open easily, a temperature and humidity sensor in one of the two sensor sockets earns its place. It reports back through the same software you publish content with.
What the TB40 datasheet lists for approvals
NovaStar lists CQC, SRRC, RoHS, CE, RCM, FCC, IC and CB against the TB40. UL is not on that list, and it is on the datasheets for the TB30, TB50 and TB60.
For a 12 V device that often matters less to you than it first appears, because the mains-facing part of your installation is the external supply, and that supply carries its own listing. The player sits behind it on low voltage.
It matters when your specification, your insurer or the authority reviewing the job asks for a listed mark on every active device rather than on the power supply alone. Ask that question before you order rather than at handover.
If the answer comes back that everything must carry the mark, the TB50 is the same player in a mains body with UL on its list.
TB40 or TB50 — the same electronics in two different bodies
These two models give you the same processor, memory, pixel ceiling, HDMI input and loop-through output. Everything that differs is about the body and how you feed it.
| Model | TB40 · TB50 |
|---|---|
| Power in | DC 12 V, 2 A · 100–240 V mains |
| Power switch on the case | no · yes |
| Weight | 459.7 g · 1,234.0 g |
| Depth of chassis | 32.0 mm · 40.0 mm |
| UL on the datasheet | no · yes |
| Pixel capacity | 1,300,000 · 1,300,000 |
| Price | $269 · $488 |
Order the TB40 if the player has to live inside the screen, on a pole or in a vehicle, and a 12 V rail is already there — you save $219 per screen and 775 g of mounting weight.
Order the TB50 if the position has mains power, if somebody needs a switch they can reach, or if the job is inspected against a list of marks.
TB40 datasheet, ViPlex Express and firmware
Set your TB40 up with ViPlex Express on a Windows PC over your network, or with the ViPlex Handy app over the player’s own hotspot when your box is already inside a cabinet and the network is not ready.
Firmware updates run over the internet in one step on any player newer than V2.3.0. Anything older you have to bring to V2.3.0 from a local file first, before it will accept V3.0.0 or later — a check for secondhand stock rather than for a new order.
NovaStar TB40 FAQ
Does a power supply come with the TB40?
Ask us before you order. The input on the chassis is 12 V DC at 2 A, while NovaStar’s accessory list for the model names a mains lead, so we confirm the supply arrangement with you rather than letting you find out on site.
Is the TB40 weatherproof?
No. It is rated IP20 and has to sit inside the screen enclosure, a pole box or a cabinet, in air between −20°C and +60°C.
Is the TB40 UL listed?
No, not on NovaStar’s datasheet. It lists CQC, SRRC, RoHS, CE, RCM, FCC, IC and CB. The TB30, TB50 and TB60 datasheets do list UL, so choose one of those if the specification requires the mark on the player itself.
Can it take a live camera or laptop feed?
Yes. One HDMI 1.3 input accepts up to 1920×1200 at 60 Hz and scales it to the screen, and a second HDMI socket loops the same picture onward. Interlaced sources are not supported.
How does it turn on and off?
Through whatever feeds its 12 V rail. There is no switch on the chassis, so if the client needs one, put it upstream in the supply.
How many pixels will one TB40 drive?
1,300,000, with neither side of the screen passing 4096 pixels. A long thin display may run to 23,040 pixels wide within the same total.
Can it stay in step with other players on the same site?
Yes, with players of the same generation: T30, T50, T60, TB30, TB50 and TB60. NovaStar states that players from different generations must not be mixed in one synchronized group.
What warranty covers a TB40?
Three years of serial-tracked manufacturer coverage, because these players come through our authorized US NovaStar channel.
Can I get volume pricing or Net 30 terms?
Yes. Send the model and the quantity for volume pricing. Purchase orders and Net 30 terms may be available for approved schools, government buyers, venues and established integrators.
How do I order a TB40?
Pricing here is per player. This model is not on the warehouse shelf at the moment, so ask us for the current lead time before you commit to a delivery date. We ship from Florida.
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