Forum Discussion

santonivich's avatar
santonivich
Channel Surfer
4 years ago
Solved

Best Testing Practices JSON Direct Publisher

Hello there. I'm curious what the best practices are when testing a new JSON feed in Direct Publisher? I used to be able to make a change to the JSON feed and within a few minutes I could see the preview on my Roku device.

Recently, this has stopped and I had been pulling out (what's left) of my hair trying to understand what was wrong with me feed.

So, is there some sort of online "emulator" that will show EXACTLY what will be displayed in the feed? Ideally, it would be amazing to have some sort of WYSIWYG way to test the feed. My feed doesn't show any ingesting errors but I can't see a preview in a timely manner.

Thanks! 

Roku Direct Publisher
  • Baradanikto's avatar
    Baradanikto
    4 years ago

    Welcome to the world of Roku channel testing (frustration).  In the past, channel developers were able to make changes and validate them in a timely fashion.  That changed a year or so ago.  It now takes upwards of 4-6 hours for changes to be reflected in your channel.  The closest thing to an emulator is the preview function within the Roku Developer Portal.

    We all feel your pain.  Having said that, the best you can do at the moment is to try and validate your feed file before submitting it.  If you're coding the file manually by hand with an editor like Notepad, that's not possible.  That's why lots of channel developers are now resorting to using software or services that help maintain your feed file.

5 Replies

  • Baradanikto's avatar
    Baradanikto
    Roku Guru
    4 years ago

    Welcome to the world of Roku channel testing (frustration).  In the past, channel developers were able to make changes and validate them in a timely fashion.  That changed a year or so ago.  It now takes upwards of 4-6 hours for changes to be reflected in your channel.  The closest thing to an emulator is the preview function within the Roku Developer Portal.

    We all feel your pain.  Having said that, the best you can do at the moment is to try and validate your feed file before submitting it.  If you're coding the file manually by hand with an editor like Notepad, that's not possible.  That's why lots of channel developers are now resorting to using software or services that help maintain your feed file.

    • santonivich's avatar
      santonivich
      Channel Surfer
      4 years ago

      Thanks for the response. That's what I figured might be the answer but now I know....a little patience goes a long way.

  • sattun's avatar
    sattun
    Roku Guru
    4 years ago

    Hi santonivich ,

    If you are looking for a robust solution to manage your content feed, check out our OTTfeed.com platform it will save you a lot of time and frustration debugging your feed.

    In our manage category section you have a preview button that will show you all the video thumbnails that will show in each category, this way you will know exactly what will show on your Roku channel before it will get updated (see video below).

    Here is a video of the preview category: https://vimeo.com/677334824

    Also, Use promo code: ROKUFORUM2 (expires March 1, 2022) for 1 MONTH FREE.

    Go to https://OTTfeed.com and click "Start 7-day free trial" then enter the promo code on the billing screen and enjoy OTTfeed 1 month free.

    Let me know if you have any questions.

    Thanks