Roku Developer Program

[MatroxRT]

I would assume the new Roku 2 and Roku 3 are considered a new generational family for those lines of Roku's.

What is new from the developers perspective? Are there Voice Search API's? And can we get the specs for them updated on the SDK docs site?

Thanks in advance. 🙂

[MatroxRT]

I noticed that the model number on the new Roku 2 is now in the 4200 range, and is 4210, is it essentially the old Roku 3?

Ref Model 4210: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/roku-2-stre ... Id=4489029

Also, looks like the new model number for the Roku 3 is 4230: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/roku-3-stre ... Id=4488011

[squirreltown]

"MatroxRT" wrote:
And can we get the specs for them updated on the SDK docs site?

Not yet apparently. Some companies actually let their developer community know the specs of a new device before it's released to the public.

[Komag]

Sounds like en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roku needs to be updated with the new models. The hardware might be identical to "old" Roku 3 4200, the only difference in the remote!

[RobSMS]

"squirreltown" wrote:

"MatroxRT" wrote:
And can we get the specs for them updated on the SDK docs site?

Not yet apparently. Some companies actually let their developer community know the specs of a new device before it's released to the public.

I hear changing your developer name to Netflix or YouTube might help in actually getting responses 😉 But lets not kid ourselves, ROKU thinks of us little developers as second class participants because we don't pull the numbers that the big partners do. That's why there is 2 different developer kits and why you seldom get an official response here.

Good thing I started to learn Java because it's a level playing field on the other platforms currently.

[EnTerr]

"squirreltown" wrote:
Not yet apparently. Some companies actually let their developer community know the specs of a new device before it's released to the public.

As a matter of policy, RokuCo does not comment on products, unreleased or released
Keeping developers on their toes makes them bring their best game. Stay hungry, stay foolish.

I saw somewhere (linkedin?) that RokuPatrick has left the Co last year. Is there a dev.relations lead now, i wonder? Or are things trickling down now only on the good will of couple of the senior engineers?

[EnTerr]

"MatroxRT" wrote:
What is new from the developers perspective?

I spent this morning researching the subject (FCC, meditation, tarot etc) and my conclusion is that hardware-wise, there is no difference between the boxes.
I.e. 2013 Roku 3 (#4200) = 2015 Roku 2 (#4210) = 2015 Roku 3 (#4230)

That doesn't mean they will always behave identically - RokuCo may put software handicaps per model (e.g. like limiting Roku LT to 720p). The good news is that the new Roku 2 has OpenGL now - so games that require that (but no motion remote) will work there too.

[RokuMarkn]

"RobSMS" wrote:
That's why there is 2 different developer kits and why you seldom get an official response here.

Good thing I started to learn Java because it's a level playing field on the other platforms currently.

Is that really a fair statement? According to the forum logs, I have personally posted 1246 times in this forum, and other Roku employees also post frequently. Do you get a lot of "official responses" to your Java questions on other forums?

--Mark

[squirreltown]

"RokuMarkn" wrote:

"RobSMS" wrote:
That's why there is 2 different developer kits and why you seldom get an official response here.

Good thing I started to learn Java because it's a level playing field on the other platforms currently.

Is that really a fair statement? According to the forum logs, I have personally posted 1246 times in this forum, and other Roku employees also post frequently. Do you get a lot of "official responses" to your Java questions on other forums?

--Mark

I don't think it's a fair statement. But that doesn't explain why Roku has two brand new boxes already being sold on the market and I seemingly am not allowed to know what the specs of those boxes are. What was the point of RokuShawnS collecting active developer names - secret de-coder rings?

[MatroxRT]

"EnTerr" wrote:

"MatroxRT" wrote:
What is new from the developers perspective?

I spent this morning researching the subject (FCC, meditation, tarot etc) and my conclusion is that hardware-wise, there is no difference between the boxes.
I.e. 2013 Roku 3 (#4200) = 2015 Roku 2 (#4210) = 2015 Roku 3 (#4230)

That doesn't mean they will always behave identically - RokuCo may put software handicaps per model (e.g. like limiting Roku LT to 720p). The good news is that the new Roku 2 has OpenGL now - so games that require that (but no motion remote) will work there too.

Thanks for digging into this EnTerr. I agree they may act different, so more little boxes on our desks to replace some of the classic models, as expected. 🙂