Roku Developer Program

[CorporateTV]

We are a Roku programmer and are having a problem with occasional packet loss of data on our data upload of our Roku content. This problem lies directly with our ISP and we have been working for weeks to correct this problem. A new fiber is being installed with a 60 day completion time but for now we have plenty of bandwidth up, but an occasional millisecond spike or dip in our data upload of the HLS encode, and the Roku boxes receiving the signal send the channel back to the menu.
Our purpose for the Roku channel is a private channel and direct monitored by the end-users to our channel only. It is for more of a corporate project. The problem is that we and the end user facilities never turn it off, and if we have this network spike on our end, it causes our end users to have to send someone to hit the PLAY button every time this happens because the channel menu comes up. Sometimes at very inopportune moments during the playback.

Is there a way in the script for the channel to tell the Roku signal to “Select” or “Play” the signal automatically in specific time intervals? Say every 30 seconds or 1 minute or something? This would essentially keep the signal going to the Roku boxes without our corporate end users having to send someone to their closed-circuit head-end of the facilities that have the boxes to simply press “play” on the remote whenever there was a signal drop on the upload causing the box to go to menu.

I would think just like when building a DVD, we can script in to auto-play or repeat intervals, that maybe we could do the same with our bright script for our channel? Just not sure if it is possible or how to go about attempting a test.

I have heard there is a way to force the Roku to read from the DVR if it senses signal loss then back to the live steam once it senses it back up. This may be the simpler option?

Any suggestions?

[belltown]

Does your channel get an isRequestFailed() or isPartialResult() event when the HLS steam is interrupted? If so, you might be able to code the channel so that it automatically restarts the stream. I've been able to do that with my audio player channel so that any interrupted audio streams are automatically restarted without the user having to select 'Play' again. I would think it would be similar for video streams.

[RokuJoel]

You could pretty easily have a check in the function that calls your video player function like:

returnvalue=-5
while returnvalue=-5
returnvalue=playvideo(video)
end while

so if the video playback fails for any reason other than end of content or user canceling playbak, your video playback function will just start playback again.

you would need to return a value to indicate failure like the -5 above and a different value to indicate intentional end of play.

- Joel

[CorporateTV]

-RokuJoel

I tried the solution you presented but it did not work. I'm sure do to a mistake on my end.
Below is the code for my video player function, I put the code inside that function, was that right? Am I missing something?

Function displayVideo(args As Dynamic)
    print "Displaying video: "
    p = CreateObject("roMessagePort")
    video = CreateObject("roVideoScreen")
    video.setMessagePort(p)

    bitrates  = [0]          ' 0 = no dots, adaptive bitrate
    'bitrates  = [348]    ' <500 Kbps = 1 dot
    'bitrates  = [664]    ' <800 Kbps = 2 dots
    'bitrates  = [996]    ' <1.1Mbps  = 3 dots
    bitrates  = [1500]    ' >=1.1Mbps = 4 dots
    'bitrates  = [0]    

   
    'Stream Info
    urls = ["http://kitiosdevices-i.akamaihd.net/hls/live/202237/FFE_Roku/iOS/playlist.m3u8"]       ' Link of stream, for us, must be an .m3u8
    qualities = ["SD"]                                                                              ' Values for this are "SD" & "HD" 
    streamformat = "hls"                                                                            ' Type of stream, we are using HLS.
    title = "Family Friendly Entertainment"                                                         ' Text shown while stream is loading.
    srt = "file://pkg:/source/ffe.srt"                                                      ' This .srt is not needed for our channel; however, it must not be deleted or commented out because it is reference below

    if type(args) = "roAssociativeArray"
        if type(args.url) = "roString" and args.url <> "" then
            urls[0] = args.url
        end if
        if type(args.StreamFormat) = "roString" and args.StreamFormat <> "" then
            StreamFormat = args.StreamFormat
        end if
        if type(args.title) = "roString" and args.title <> "" then
            title = args.title
        else 
            title = ""
        end if
        if type(args.srt) = "roString" and args.srt <> "" then
            srt = args.StreamFormat
        else 
            srt = ""
        end if
    end if
    
    videoclip = CreateObject("roAssociativeArray")
    videoclip.StreamBitrates = bitrates
    videoclip.StreamUrls = urls
    videoclip.StreamQualities = qualities
    videoclip.StreamFormat = StreamFormat
    videoclip.Title = title
    print "srt = ";srt
    if srt <> invalid and srt <> "" then
        videoclip.SubtitleUrl = srt
    end if
    
    video.SetContent(videoclip)
    video.show()

    lastSavedPos   = 0
    statusInterval = 10 'position must change by more than this number of seconds before saving

    'Code to make channel auto restart
    returnvalue=-5
        while returnvalue=-5
        returnvalue=playvideo(video)
        end while

    while true
        msg = wait(0, video.GetMessagePort())
        if type(msg) = "roVideoScreenEvent"
            if msg.isScreenClosed() then 'ScreenClosed event
                print "Closing video screen"
                exit while
            else if msg.isPlaybackPosition() then
                nowpos = msg.GetIndex()
                if nowpos > 10000
                    
                end if
                if nowpos > 0
                    if abs(nowpos - lastSavedPos) > statusInterval
                        lastSavedPos = nowpos
                    end if
                end if
            else if msg.isRequestFailed()
                print "play failed: "; msg.GetMessage()
            else
                print "Unknown event: "; msg.GetType(); " msg: "; msg.GetMessage()
            endif
        end if
    end while
End Function

[RokuJoel]

No, I meant the function that calls your videoplayer function is where you would put that code.

In the videoplayer you would just change

else if message.isrequestfailed()
return -5
else if message.isfullresult()
return -1 
end if

down near the bottom of the function.

so undo what you did, then modify your video function as above. Assuming you are using simplevideoplayer, which it looks like you are, then you would modify function show springboard screen as follows:

from

 else if msg.isButtonPressed()
                    print "Button pressed: "; msg.GetIndex(); " " msg.GetData()
                    if msg.GetIndex() = 1
                         displayVideo("")
                    else if msg.GetIndex() = 2
                         return true
                    endif
            else

to:

 else if msg.isButtonPressed()
                    print "Button pressed: "; msg.GetIndex(); " " msg.GetData()
                    if msg.GetIndex() = 1

                           returnvalue=-5
                           while returnvalue=-5
                                      returnvalue=displayVideo("")
                           end while

                    else if msg.GetIndex() = 2
                         return true
                    endif
            else

[CorporateTV]

-Joel
I updated my code with the snippets that you provided, see below.
Another problem I'm having now is that when i upload the code to the ROKU box and view in "Side Developer Mode," the stream will play. But when I package, and upload it to ROKU and preview it, it will show the loading screen for a couple seconds before returning me back to the ROKU home screen.

Any Idea what could be causing that. After all, this is the same code that was running before and worked.

Thanks for you help!

'*************************************************************
'** showSpringboardScreen()
'*************************************************************

Function showSpringboardScreen(item as object) As Boolean
    port = CreateObject("roMessagePort")
    screen = CreateObject("roSpringboardScreen")

    print "showSpringboardScreen"
    
    screen.SetMessagePort(port)
    screen.AllowUpdates(false)
    if item <> invalid and type(item) = "roAssociativeArray"
        screen.SetContent(item)
    endif

    screen.SetDescriptionStyle("generic") 'audio, movie, video, generic
                                        ' generic+episode=4x3,
    screen.ClearButtons()
    screen.AddButton(1,"Play Live Stream")
    screen.AddButton(2,"Go Back")
    screen.SetStaticRatingEnabled(false)
    screen.AllowUpdates(true)
    screen.Show()

    downKey=3
    selectKey=6
    while true
        msg = wait(0, screen.GetMessagePort())
        if type(msg) = "roSpringboardScreenEvent"
            if msg.isScreenClosed()
                print "Screen closed"
                exit while                
            else if msg.isButtonPressed()
                    print "Button pressed: "; msg.GetIndex(); " " msg.GetData()
                    if msg.GetIndex() = 1

                           returnvalue=-5
                           while returnvalue=-5
                                      returnvalue=displayVideo("")
                           end while

                    else if msg.GetIndex() = 2
                         return true
                    endif
            else
                print "Unknown event: "; msg.GetType(); " msg: "; msg.GetMessage()
            endif
        else 
            print "wrong type.... type=";msg.GetType(); " msg: "; msg.GetMessage()
        endif
    end while


    return true
End Function


'*************************************************************
'** displayVideo()
'*************************************************************

Function displayVideo(args As Dynamic)
    print "Displaying video: "
    p = CreateObject("roMessagePort")
    video = CreateObject("roVideoScreen")
    video.setMessagePort(p)

    bitrates  = [0]          ' 0 = no dots, adaptive bitrate
    'bitrates  = [348]    ' <500 Kbps = 1 dot
    'bitrates  = [664]    ' <800 Kbps = 2 dots
    'bitrates  = [996]    ' <1.1Mbps  = 3 dots
    bitrates  = [1500]    ' >=1.1Mbps = 4 dots
    'bitrates  = [0]    

    'Swap the commented values below to play different video clips...
   
    ' Family Friendly Entertainment Stream Info
    urls = ["http://kitiosdevices-i.akamaihd.net/hls/live/202237/FFE_Roku/iOS/playlist.m3u8"]
    qualities = ["SD"]
    streamformat = "hls"
    title = "Family Friendly Entertainment"
    srt = "file://pkg:/source/craigventer.srt"

    if type(args) = "roAssociativeArray"
        if type(args.url) = "roString" and args.url <> "" then
            urls[0] = args.url
        end if
        if type(args.StreamFormat) = "roString" and args.StreamFormat <> "" then
            StreamFormat = args.StreamFormat
        end if
        if type(args.title) = "roString" and args.title <> "" then
            title = args.title
        else 
            title = ""
        end if
        if type(args.srt) = "roString" and args.srt <> "" then
            srt = args.StreamFormat
        else 
            srt = ""
        end if
    end if
    
    videoclip = CreateObject("roAssociativeArray")
    videoclip.StreamBitrates = bitrates
    videoclip.StreamUrls = urls
    videoclip.StreamQualities = qualities
    videoclip.StreamFormat = StreamFormat
    videoclip.Title = title
    print "srt = ";srt
    if srt <> invalid and srt <> "" then
        videoclip.SubtitleUrl = srt
    end if
    
    video.SetContent(videoclip)
    video.show()

    lastSavedPos   = 0
    statusInterval = 10 'position must change by more than this number of seconds before saving

    while true
        msg = wait(0, video.GetMessagePort())
        if type(msg) = "roVideoScreenEvent"
            if msg.isScreenClosed() then 'ScreenClosed event
                print "Closing video screen"
                exit while
            else if msg.isPlaybackPosition() then
                nowpos = msg.GetIndex()
                if nowpos > 10000
                    
                end if
                if nowpos > 0
                    if abs(nowpos - lastSavedPos) > statusInterval
                        lastSavedPos = nowpos
                    end if
                end if
            else if message.isrequestfailed()
                    return -5
                else if message.isfullresult()
                    return -1 
                end if
        end if
    end while
End Function

[RokuJoel]

When you side-load and the stream plays, does your brightscript stop running and bring you back to the debugger prompt, even though the video is playing?

In public or private channel, if the code stops running, the channel exits instead of becoming unresponsive to clicks.

Joel

[CorporateTV]

When you side-load and the stream plays, does your brightscript stop running and bring you back to the debugger prompt, even though the video is playing?

It does not bring me back to any debugger that I am aware of. How would I know?

[RokuJoel]

When developing and testing a channel, you should be connected to your Roku player via telnet connection on port 8085. Best bet on a pc is to download Putty and use it (select the telnet setting) to connect to your device. There is also a pure telnet version called PuttyTel if you don't want to be bothered with other "swiss army knife" functions.

You can also install window's built-in telnet but it is not as easy to use as Putty.

On a mac, just load Terminal and type:

telnet <ip address of my device> 8085

For example, if your device is on 192.168.1.54 then you would type:

telnet 192.168.1.54 8085

and hit the enter key.

- Joel

[CorporateTV]

Joel,

Thanks for clarifying the debugging thing.

In regards for the auto restart that we are trying to get working. There is something definitely not right with the script that you have helped us develop.

Here is what the code is:

' ********************************************************************
' **  Sample PlayVideo App
' **  Copyright (c) 2009 Roku Inc. All Rights Reserved.
' ********************************************************************

Sub Main(args As Dynamic)
    'initialize theme attributes like titles, logos and overhang color
    initTheme()

    if type(args) = "roAssociativeArray" and type(args.url) = "roString" then
        displayVideo(args)
    end if
    print "Type args = "; type(args)
    print "Type args.url = "; type(args.url)

    'has to live for the duration of the whole app to prevent flashing
    'back to the roku home screen.
    screenFacade = CreateObject("roPosterScreen")
    screenFacade.show()

    item = {   ContentType:"episode"
               SDPosterUrl:"file://pkg:/images/BigBuckBunny.jpg"
               HDPosterUrl:"file://pkg:/images/BigBuckBunny.jpg"
               IsHD:false
               HDBranded:true
               ShortDescriptionLine1:"The Music Channel"
               ShortDescriptionLine2:""
               Description:"Playing the best in Southern Gospel and Christian Country Music, 24 hours a day!"
               Rating:"NR"
               StarRating:"80"
               'Length:999999999
               Categories:["Music","Religious"]
               Title:"Family Friendly Entertainment"
            }

    showSpringboardScreen(item)       'uncomment this line to see the BigBuckBunny example
    
    'exit the app gently so that the screen doesn't flash to black
    screenFacade.showMessage("")
    sleep(25)
End Sub

'*************************************************************
'** Set the configurable theme attributes for the application
'** 
'** Configure the custom overhang and Logo attributes
'*************************************************************

Sub initTheme()

    app = CreateObject("roAppManager")
    theme = CreateObject("roAssociativeArray")

    theme.OverhangPrimaryLogoOffsetSD_X = "72"
    theme.OverhangPrimaryLogoOffsetSD_Y = "15"
    theme.OverhangSliceSD = "pkg:/images/Overhang_BackgroundSlice_SD43.png"
    theme.OverhangPrimaryLogoSD  = "pkg:/images/Logo_Overhang_SD43.png"

    theme.OverhangPrimaryLogoOffsetHD_X = "123"
    theme.OverhangPrimaryLogoOffsetHD_Y = "20"
    theme.OverhangSliceHD = "pkg:/images/Overhang_BackgroundSlice_HD.png"
    theme.OverhangPrimaryLogoHD  = "pkg:/images/Logo_Overhang_HD.png"

    'this is an optional theme attribute. the default subtitle color is yellow.
    theme.SubtitleColor = "#dc00dc"
    
    app.SetTheme(theme)

End Sub


'*************************************************************
'** showSpringboardScreen()
'*************************************************************

Function showSpringboardScreen(item as object) As Boolean
    port = CreateObject("roMessagePort")
    screen = CreateObject("roSpringboardScreen")

    print "showSpringboardScreen"
    
    screen.SetMessagePort(port)
    screen.AllowUpdates(false)
    if item <> invalid and type(item) = "roAssociativeArray"
        screen.SetContent(item)
    endif

    screen.SetDescriptionStyle("generic") 'audio, movie, video, generic
                                        ' generic+episode=4x3,
    screen.ClearButtons()
    screen.AddButton(1,"Play Live Stream")
    screen.AddButton(2,"Go Back")
    screen.SetStaticRatingEnabled(false)
    screen.AllowUpdates(true)
    screen.Show()

    downKey=3
    selectKey=6
    while true
        msg = wait(0, screen.GetMessagePort())
        if type(msg) = "roSpringboardScreenEvent"
            if msg.isScreenClosed()
                print "Screen closed"
                exit while                
            else if msg.isButtonPressed()
                    print "Button pressed: "; msg.GetIndex(); " " msg.GetData()
                    if msg.GetIndex() = 1

                           returnvalue=-5
                           while returnvalue=-5
                                      returnvalue=displayVideo("")
                           end while

                    else if msg.GetIndex() = 2
                         return true
                    endif
            else
                print "Unknown event: "; msg.GetType(); " msg: "; msg.GetMessage()
            endif
        else 
            print "wrong type.... type=";msg.GetType(); " msg: "; msg.GetMessage()
        endif
    end while


    return true
End Function


'*************************************************************
'** displayVideo()
'*************************************************************

Function displayVideo(args As Dynamic)
    print "Displaying video: "
    p = CreateObject("roMessagePort")
    video = CreateObject("roVideoScreen")
    video.setMessagePort(p)

    bitrates  = [0]          ' 0 = no dots, adaptive bitrate
    'bitrates  = [348]    ' <500 Kbps = 1 dot
    'bitrates  = [664]    ' <800 Kbps = 2 dots
    'bitrates  = [996]    ' <1.1Mbps  = 3 dots
    bitrates  = [1500]    ' >=1.1Mbps = 4 dots
    'bitrates  = [0]    

    'Swap the commented values below to play different video clips...
   
    ' Stream Info
    urls = ["http://kitiosdevices-i.akamaihd.net/hls/live/202237/FFE_Roku/iOS/playlist.m3u8"]
    qualities = ["SD"]
    streamformat = "hls"
    title = "The Music Channel"
    srt = "file://pkg:/source/craigventer.srt"

    if type(args) = "roAssociativeArray"
        if type(args.url) = "roString" and args.url <> "" then
            urls[0] = args.url
        end if
        if type(args.StreamFormat) = "roString" and args.StreamFormat <> "" then
            StreamFormat = args.StreamFormat
        end if
        if type(args.title) = "roString" and args.title <> "" then
            title = args.title
        else 
            title = ""
        end if
        if type(args.srt) = "roString" and args.srt <> "" then
            srt = args.StreamFormat
        else 
            srt = ""
        end if
    end if
    
    videoclip = CreateObject("roAssociativeArray")
    videoclip.StreamBitrates = bitrates
    videoclip.StreamUrls = urls
    videoclip.StreamQualities = qualities
    videoclip.StreamFormat = StreamFormat
    videoclip.Title = title
    print "srt = ";srt
    if srt <> invalid and srt <> "" then
        videoclip.SubtitleUrl = srt
    end if
    
    video.SetContent(videoclip)
    video.show()

    lastSavedPos   = 0
    statusInterval = 10 'position must change by more than this number of seconds before saving

    while true
        msg = wait(0, video.GetMessagePort())
        if type(msg) = "roVideoScreenEvent"
            if msg.isScreenClosed() then 'ScreenClosed event
                print "Closing video screen"
                exit while
            else if msg.isPlaybackPosition() then
                nowpos = msg.GetIndex()
                if nowpos > 10000
                    
                end if
                if nowpos > 0
                    if abs(nowpos - lastSavedPos) > statusInterval
                        lastSavedPos = nowpos
                    end if
                end if
            else if message.isrequestfailed()
                    return -5
                else if message.isfullresult()
                    return -1 
                end if
        end if
    end while
End Function

Here is what the debugger is giving us:

*** ERROR compiling /pkg:/source/appMain.brs:
Syntax Error. (compile error &h02) in ...4pfNw/pkg:/source/appMain.brs(21)
Syntax Error. (compile error &h02) in ...4pfNw/pkg:/source/appMain.brs(23)
Syntax Error. (compile error &h02) in ...4pfNw/pkg:/source/appMain.brs(24)
Syntax Error. (compile error &h02) in ...4pfNw/pkg:/source/appMain.brs(25)
Syntax Error. (compile error &h02) in ...4pfNw/pkg:/source/appMain.brs(26)
------ Running ------
Type args = roAssociativeArray
Type args.url = Invalid
showSpringboardScreen
Screen closed
Leaked bsc instances:
  roAssociativeArray refcnt= 1 addr=0x5bf357b0
            roString refcnt= 1 addr=0x5bf4c908 [auto-run-dev]
------ Running ------
Type args = roAssociativeArray
Type args.url = Invalid
showSpringboardScreen
Button pressed:  1  0
Displaying video: 
srt = file://pkg:/source/craigventer.srt
BrightScript Micro Debugger.
Enter any BrightScript statement, debug commands, or HELP.

Current Function:
134: Function displayVideo(args As Dynamic)
135:     print "Displaying video: "
136:     p = CreateObject("roMessagePort")
137:     video = CreateObject("roVideoScreen")
138:     video.setMessagePort(p)
139: 
140:     bitrates  = [0]          ' 0 = no dots, adaptive bitrate
141:     'bitrates  = [348]    ' <500 Kbps = 1 dot
142:     'bitrates  = [664]    ' <800 Kbps = 2 dots
143:     'bitrates  = [996]    ' <1.1Mbps  = 3 dots
144:     bitrates  = [1500]    ' >=1.1Mbps = 4 dots
145:     'bitrates  = [0]    
146: 
147:     'Swap the commented values below to play different video clips...
148:    
149:     ' Stream Info
150:     urls = ["http://kitiosdevices-i.akamaihd.net/hls/live/202237/FFE_Roku/iOS/playlist.m3u8"]
151:     qualities = ["SD"]
152:     streamformat = "hls"
153:     title = "The Music Channel"
154:     srt = "file://pkg:/source/craigventer.srt"
155: 
156:     if type(args) = "roAssociativeArray"
157:         if type(args.url) = "roString" and args.url <> "" then
158:             urls[0] = args.url
159:         end if
160:         if type(args.StreamFormat) = "roString" and args.StreamFormat <> "" then
161:             StreamFormat = args.StreamFormat
162:         end if
163:         if type(args.title) = "roString" and args.title <> "" then
164:             title = args.title
165:         else 
166:             title = ""
167:         end if
168:         if type(args.srt) = "roString" and args.srt <> "" then
169:             srt = args.StreamFormat
170:         else 
171:             srt = ""
172:         end if
173:     end if
174:     
175:     videoclip = CreateObject("roAssociativeArray")
176:     videoclip.StreamBitrates = bitrates
177:     videoclip.StreamUrls = urls
178:     videoclip.StreamQualities = qualities
179:     videoclip.StreamFormat = StreamFormat
180:     videoclip.Title = title
181:     print "srt = ";srt
182:     if srt <> invalid and srt <> "" then
183:         videoclip.SubtitleUrl = srt
184:     end if
185:     
186:     video.SetContent(videoclip)
187:     video.show()
188: 
189:     lastSavedPos   = 0
190:     statusInterval = 10 'position must change by more than this number of seconds before saving
191: 
192:     while true
193:         msg = wait(0, video.GetMessagePort())
194:         if type(msg) = "roVideoScreenEvent"
195:             if msg.isScreenClosed() then 'ScreenClosed event
196:                 print "Closing video screen"
197:                 exit while
198:             else if msg.isPlaybackPosition() then
199:                 nowpos = msg.GetIndex()
200:                 if nowpos > 10000
201:                     
202:                 end if
203:                 if nowpos > 0
204:                     if abs(nowpos - lastSavedPos) > statusInterval
205:                         lastSavedPos = nowpos
206:                     end if
207:                 end if
208:             else if message.isrequestfailed()
209:                     return -5
210:                 else if message.isfullresult()
211:                     return -1 
212:                 end if
213:         end if
214:     end while
215: End Function
'Dot' Operator attempted with invalid BrightScript Component or interface reference. (runtime error &hec) in ...QiB4p/pkg:/source/appMain.brs(208)

208:             else if message.isrequestfailed()
Backtrace:
Function displayvideo(args As ) As 
   file/line: /tmp/plugin/ACAA...QiB4p/pkg:/source/appMain.brs(208)
Function showspringboardscreen(item As <uninitialized>) As Boolean
   file/line: /tmp/plugin/ACAA...QiB4p/pkg:/source/appMain.brs(111)
Function main(args As ) As 
   file/line: /tmp/plugin/ACAA...QiB4p/pkg:/source/appMain.brs(36)

Local Variables:
args     &h0100 String (VT_STR_CONST) val:
global   &h0020 rotINTERFACE:ifGlobal
m        &h0010 bsc:roAssociativeArray, refcnt=4
p        &h0010 bsc:roMessagePort, refcnt=2
video    &h0010 bsc:roVideoScreen, refcnt=1
bitrates &h0010 bsc:roArray, refcnt=2
urls     &h0010 bsc:roArray, refcnt=2
qualities &h0010 bsc:roArray, refcnt=2
streamformat &h0100 String (VT_STR_CONST) val:hls
title    &h0100 String (VT_STR_CONST) val:Family Friendly Entertainment
srt      &h0100 String (VT_STR_CONST) val:file://pkg:/source/craigventer.srt
videoclip &h0010 bsc:roAssociativeArray, refcnt=1
lastsavedpos &h0002 Integer val:0
statusinterval &h0002 Integer val:10
msg      &h0010 bsc:roVideoScreenEvent, refcnt=1
nowpos   &h0000 <uninitialized> val:Uninitialized
message  &h0000 <uninitialized> val:Uninitialized
BrightScript Debugger> 

The video will play in side mode, but the application will not even load when I package and upload it to ROKU. Any idea on what I'm doing wrong?