Roku Developer Program

[mediaslinky]

Hi, I am exploring the possibilities of creating a Roku channel.

I have been reading some, but have not signed up for the developer program yet. Before I do I had some basic questions:

The channel I hope to create would aggregate video feeds from multiple sources (with their permission of course). I know several content producers who would fit together to form a sort of network. Is it possible to have categories that pull from different feeds? Can those be RSS feeds? Obviously the videos would not be from the same server,does that matter?

Sorry for the basic questions. Any help would be appreciated.

slinky

[tensen]

I think it deopends on how you are using the term category here.

In theory you could tweak one of the feedbuilder sites out there to create a feed from multiple sources and then feed that directly into a single rss feed.

Usually it doesn't matter that files are coming from different locations. The Roku box loads each URL seperately when it goes to play the file.

[stratcat96]

not to be mean in anyway, but you should just sign up as a developer and download the SDK. The accompanying references and examples within the package will shed alot of light on what can and can't be done. You may even find answers to questions you haven't even thought of yet 😉 It doesn't cost anything to d/l it, and if you decide it's not what you need, no harm no foul

[RyanMarquiste]

Is it possible to have categories that pull from different feeds?

Absolutely. Check out the SimplePoster example from the SDK.

Can those be RSS feeds?

Sure, but you may have an easier time with an XML file. There is some built in functionality for parsing and handling XML.

Obviously the videos would not be from the same server,does that matter?

Not at all, you just need the full URL.

As stratcat96 said, give the SDK a download and look over, you may find it easier than you expected.

[RokuChris]

"RyanMarquiste" wrote:

Can those be RSS feeds?

Sure, but you may have an easier time with an XML file. There is some built in functionality for parsing and handling XML.

RSS is XML and parsing it with the built in XML tools is just as easy as parsing any other XML.

[mediaslinky]

Thanks. I downloaded the SDK and am working through the docs now.

[RyanMarquiste]

"RokuChris" wrote:
RSS is XML and parsing it with the built in XML tools is just as easy as parsing any other XML.

My concerns with RSS feeds are that often times they are edited by someone other than the developer, possibly even someone with little technical knowledge. This may not be the situation for slinky, but as soon as you start having third parties edit the content that gets pulled into your channel you open up the risk of having something get pulled in that isn't compatible or that is poorly edited (the most innocent of which could just be typos). That's even more true for slinky if you're talking about aggregating multiple providers' feeds. Flat XML files ensure that you can test and verify the content on a periodic basis to make sure that everything works and looks good, which means less headache for your channel viewers and more confidence in your application. Just my two cents.

"mediaslinky" wrote:
Thanks. I downloaded the SDK and am working through the docs now.

Great! Hope you have a blast with them! I know I did. 🙂