Roku Developer Program

[dellsweig]

"KennyJ" wrote:

"dellsweig" wrote:

"kelly.j.anderson" wrote:
I was attempting to get people to think bigger. To imagine if the Roku SDK were capable of doing as much as the iPhone SDK. Sure there are channels and a channel store but when you compare what an app on my iPhone can do to what a channel on my Roku can do there is a vast difference between the two. What if there were animations in the poster screens, what if we were not limited in the locations of interactive objects, what if we had access to openGL. What if you could generate real time, data driven graphics and animations.

I attemped to get people to think a little bigger as well with a post regarding the possibilities something like Android on the Roku would bring (App Market,etc) as Android is already ported to the same chipset as the ROku uses.

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=27659

I got shot down - told to go away and hide 🙂

Personally it would be a GREAT advancemen - if Roku doesnt move away from their embedded linux/brightscript interface Sony, Samsung and others will make them irrelevent with Adroid based TV's

The questions both boil down to: What if the Roku was not the Roku. Wouldn't that be cool?

How are people supposed to answer that? What if the Roku was the iPhone? Or what if the Roku was GoogleTV?
Cool, I guess.

The Roku is a PIECE of hardware. It runs software - of which Roku chose Linux and some scripting developed around brightscript.

We are talking about the same hardware - just different approaches to the software

Point was does Roku (the company) stay on the sidelines or go more mainstream ie: Android. apps are the same, Netflix, Amazon, etc, etc.

It would open the platform up to a whole world of Apps.....

It would be awsome for someone handy with a JTAG or serial interface to get the MIPS port for this SOC Chipset and see if they can get Android to load....

[KennyJ]

"dellsweig" wrote:

The Roku is a PIECE of hardware. It runs software - of which Roku chose Linux and some scripting developed around brightscript.

We are talking about the same hardware - just different approaches to the software

Point was does Roku (the company) stay on the sidelines or go more mainstream ie: Android. apps are the same, Netflix, Amazon, etc, etc.

It would open the platform up to a whole world of Apps.....

It would be awsome for someone handy with a JTAG or serial interface to get the MIPS port for this SOC Chipset and see if they can get Android to load....

First, its not just the hardware. No more than Tivo is just the hardware or iPod is just the hardware or PopBox is just the hardware.

Second, going to a new OS will not make it mainstream. Roku is not currently on the sidelines. As far as I know, it's the most popular dedicated streaming box. Android would certainly open it up to more developers, but it would also put it in direct competition with all other Android boxes.

My point is... If Roku slapped Android on as an OS, it wouldn't the Roku anymore. Just like a iPhone running Android wouldn't be an iPhone anymore. Sure they can keep the name, but that's not my point.

[dellsweig]

"KennyJ" wrote:

"dellsweig" wrote:

The Roku is a PIECE of hardware. It runs software - of which Roku chose Linux and some scripting developed around brightscript.

We are talking about the same hardware - just different approaches to the software

Point was does Roku (the company) stay on the sidelines or go more mainstream ie: Android. apps are the same, Netflix, Amazon, etc, etc.

It would open the platform up to a whole world of Apps.....

It would be awsome for someone handy with a JTAG or serial interface to get the MIPS port for this SOC Chipset and see if they can get Android to load....

First, its not just the hardware. No more than Tivo is just the hardware or iPod is just the hardware or PopBox is just the hardware.

Second, going to a new OS will not make it mainstream. Roku is not currently on the sidelines. As far as I know, it's the most popular dedicated streaming box. Android would certainly open it up to more developers, but it would also put it in direct competition with all other Android boxes.

My point is... If Roku slapped Android on as an OS, it wouldn't the Roku anymore. Just like a iPhone running Android wouldn't be an iPhone anymore. Sure they can keep the name, but that's not my point.

And you are happy with the current UI and content??

[nowhereman]

If I may be so bold as to say, the current SDK, while admittedly lacking, can do a lot more than I think some people give it credit for. It's just a matter of being a creative developer and tricking the SDK's widgets into handling data they weren't meant to. The afore mentioned weather channel already exists. I have a proof of concept Twitter channel running on my development box. I've tinkered around with the idea of a Google Voice channel. There are plenty of possibilities no one has even thought of yet.

I suppose it's true that if the box were a completely different product, it could be made to do a lot of neat things, but I do not believe anyone has come close to tapping the full potential of the device in its current state. Think big, but don't be constrained by what the SDK was intended to do. Concentrate on what it can do.

[KennyJ]

"dellsweig" wrote:

"KennyJ" wrote:

"dellsweig" wrote:

The Roku is a PIECE of hardware. It runs software - of which Roku chose Linux and some scripting developed around brightscript.

We are talking about the same hardware - just different approaches to the software

Point was does Roku (the company) stay on the sidelines or go more mainstream ie: Android. apps are the same, Netflix, Amazon, etc, etc.

It would open the platform up to a whole world of Apps.....

It would be awsome for someone handy with a JTAG or serial interface to get the MIPS port for this SOC Chipset and see if they can get Android to load....

First, its not just the hardware. No more than Tivo is just the hardware or iPod is just the hardware or PopBox is just the hardware.

Second, going to a new OS will not make it mainstream. Roku is not currently on the sidelines. As far as I know, it's the most popular dedicated streaming box. Android would certainly open it up to more developers, but it would also put it in direct competition with all other Android boxes.

My point is... If Roku slapped Android on as an OS, it wouldn't the Roku anymore. Just like a iPhone running Android wouldn't be an iPhone anymore. Sure they can keep the name, but that's not my point.

And you are happy with the current UI and content??

Yes. Very much so.

[-LD]

"KennyJ" wrote:
My point is... If Roku slapped Android on as an OS, it wouldn't the Roku anymore. Just like a iPhone running Android wouldn't be an iPhone anymore. Sure they can keep the name, but that's not my point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yO2KQHk ... r_embedded

🙂

You're right, hardware is hardware for the most part. It's the whole that matters, not the parts.

[kelly_j_anderso]

Google TV http://www.geeksugar.com/Google-Announc ... ls-8498503 this will be the death of my Roku I am fairly certain.

[KennyJ]

"kelly.j.anderson" wrote:
Google TV http://www.geeksugar.com/Google-Announc ... ls-8498503 this will be the death of my Roku I am fairly certain.

It's at least 6-7 months away (if not longer). We have no idea what's up Roku's sleeves.