Roku Developer Program

[destruk]

http://support.roku.com/entries/215530- ... oku-player
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How can I update the software on my Roku player?

Roku Support
posted this on Jul-15 12:48

Roku automatically pushes software updates to your Roku player when it is not being used. However, because Roku pushes out software updates in batches, some users will have their Roku players updated before others. If you would like to check for available software updates manually, simply follow these instructions:

* Go to the Home screen by clicking on the Home button on your remote.
* Select "settings."
* Select "player info."
* Select "check for update."
* Follow instructions if update is available.

This doesn't seem to work - the last official update was December 10, it takes too long to autoupdate as I manually had to download it yesterday.
It appears to be delayed by more than a reasonable timeframe ( - I would want all the boxes to be updated within 3 days, what do you think?) then how does anyone know if the end user could see your channel or when they would be seeing it when you require the new firmware as specified in
viewtopic.php?f=34&t=35097

Do I have to update the software on my Roku player to see new channels?

If this is the case, (that the automatiuc updates are not functioning), then the only logical scenario to use is
5.3 New channel version has different behavior throughout your application based on the detected firmware it is running on -- and also toss up a dialog asking users to upgrade.

If it's a pay channel then this provides the smoothest transition flow.

[TheEndless]

"destruk" wrote:
This doesn't seem to work - the last official update was December 10, it takes too long to autoupdate as I manually had to download it yesterday.
It appears to be delayed by more than a reasonable timeframe ( - I would want all the boxes to be updated within 3 days, what do you think?) then how does anyone know if the end user could see your channel or when they would be seeing it when you require the new firmware as specified in
viewtopic.php?f=34&t=35097

Roku pushes out automatic updates in groups initially to catch any issues that may have been missed in beta testing before rolling out to everyone. While the new firmware was available for manual update on the 10th, they didn't enable full automatic updates until earlier this week. Your boxes probably weren't part of those initial groups, hence the need to manually update.

Until you have updated to the latest firmware, you can't build a package based on it, and unless you're part of beta testing, you won't get the latest firmware until everyone else does. Roku also doesn't typically announce new SDK features until well after the new firmware is out in the field, so I'm having a hard time thinking of a scenario where you'd have published a channel that would be based on a newer firmware than is already on a customer's box...?

[destruk]

So it is perfectly acceptable to you to have to wait 7+ days to get latest firmware pushed to your box after public release? Some clarification would be nice on how long it could take, and if the screensaver being active means the box is 'in use' or not?

[kbenson]

"destruk" wrote:
So it is perfectly acceptable to you to have to wait 7+ days to get latest firmware pushed to your box after public release? Some clarification would be nice on how long it could take, and if the screensaver being active means the box is 'in use' or not?

I guess that depends on your point of view. I think staging the release is the way to go. If there's a problem that crops up in your channel, or in the general use of many channels, it's nice that Roku can stop the rollout, and deal with the problem with only a portion of the users affected. It's also possible that you may find and implement a fix before it's rolled out to everyone.

If you are referring to your box in particular, I suggest you enroll in the Beta program to test the new code long before it's release. If you want to be sure and test on the current firmware set as well as develop using the beta (which I recommend), you can always get a second box (at $60 it's not exactly expensive, when considering development of an existing channel). I noticed there may be options in the "secret menu" to switch to other firmware servers, options. Not sure if that includes back to the main generally available firmware.

[TheEndless]

"destruk" wrote:
So it is perfectly acceptable to you to have to wait 7+ days to get latest firmware pushed to your box after public release? Some clarification would be nice on how long it could take, and if the screensaver being active means the box is 'in use' or not?

7 days doesn't seem unreasonable for an automatic update to me. I guess I don't understand what your concerns are. Why would you target a software release for a newer version of the firmware than is out in the wild? Especially considering you won't know about any new SDK features until at least a couple weeks after the release. 2.7 was released nearly two months before we got any SDK information for it. 2.8 took about two weeks, and we still don't know what's been updated in 2.9.

When the screensaver is on, that's considered idle time. I had my dev box update recently after having been idle for maybe an hour.

[destruk]

If I was to create a brand new channel right now, which hasn't been on the site at all ever before, and I wanted to make use of new features in the release build that just publicly started pushing out to boxes last week, I would want as many people to have instant access to my content and my service. It is a large support problem if I was to advertise on my website, advertise on Google, have it on Facebook to say "Join my channel now in the channel store right now for this amazing application" - only to have my possible customers all email me saying they don't see it as an option because it doesn't show in the list if their firmware is obsolete. And to simply say "oh, you have to update manually, or you need to wait XX days for your firmware to be updated before you can see it to add" - it's a very bad design decision.

How long must I wait to see if my channel is reaching the entire audience I am aiming to attract? And just because my box didn't auto update in seven days, who is to say that 7 days is the limit? It could take 14 days, or months for all I know, for the update to be pushed to my device. I don't see how you can miss these issues? How long does the entire installed base take to receive these?

Sure the easy way out is to simply NOT use any advanced features from what the boxes are shipped with, but then, do you see what I'm getting at?

With my local cable company they take the service down every two days or so - for about 20 minutes, to update the channel content - it is a reliable push where they also set up newer firmware changes, etc etc - why is Roku's software patch process so slow and unreliable? Unless you expect your end users to manually check for updates themselves?

Thanks kbenson. I suppose the smart way to tackle this entire issue is to write an app for latest complete-installed firmware revision (if that is possible) and then add the newer features to it - that way no matter what firmware the end user actually has it will be guaranteed to show up in the channel store - and they will always be grabbing the latest version available for their revision. Do you think someone from Roku could list the oldest revision of firmware being used in the wild and update that when they complete their push series to everyone?

[TheEndless]

"destruk" wrote:
If I was to create a brand new channel right now, which hasn't been on the site at all ever before, and I wanted to make use of new features in the release build that just publicly started pushing out to boxes last week, I would want as many people to have instant access to my content and my service. It is a large support problem if I was to advertise on my website, advertise on Google, have it on Facebook to say "Join my channel now in the channel store right now for this amazing application" - only to have my possible customers all email me saying they don't see it as an option because it doesn't show in the list if their firmware is obsolete. And to simply say "oh, you have to update manually, or you need to wait XX days for your firmware to be updated before you can see it to add" - it's a very bad design decision.

But how are you making use of features in the release build if you don't know what they are? All firmwares are backwards compatible for channel builds, so building a channel on 2.9 doesn't require 2.9 to run, unless you're using a feature that's only available in 2.9. 2.9 SDK updates haven't been documented, yet, so unless you have some inside information, there's no way for you to write a channel utilizing them.

[kbenson]

"destruk" wrote:
If I was to create a brand new channel right now, which hasn't been on the site at all ever before, and I wanted to make use of new features in the release build that just publicly started pushing out to boxes last week, I would want as many people to have instant access to my content and my service. It is a large support problem if I was to advertise on my website, advertise on Google, have it on Facebook to say "Join my channel now in the channel store right now for this amazing application" - only to have my possible customers all email me saying they don't see it as an option because it doesn't show in the list if their firmware is obsolete. And to simply say "oh, you have to update manually, or you need to wait XX days for your firmware to be updated before you can see it to add" - it's a very bad design decision.

If you developed your channel for firmware that wasn't out yet, and if you used a new feature in that firmware and if you released it immediately after Roku first decided to roll out the firmware, then you might have the problem you mentioned above. I wouldn't want to do a major marketing push on untested features though.

How long must I wait to see if my channel is reaching the entire audience I am aiming to attract? And just because my box didn't auto update in seven days, who is to say that 7 days is the limit? It could take 14 days, or months for all I know, for the update to be pushed to my device. I don't see how you can miss these issues? How long does the entire installed base take to receive these?

Roku representatives have talked about the release procedures. It generally looks to me that they allow the release to a (relatively) small subset of customers outside the beta before allowing it for everyone. It seems designed to help them catch any problems with a wider group of people that the beta group may have missed, for any number of reasons.

Sure the easy way out is to simply NOT use any advanced features from what the boxes are shipped with, but then, do you see what I'm getting at?

First thing on new Rokus after initial setup and before getting to the home screen the Roku downloads the latest firmware available. That may or may not be the VERY newest, but it's still much better than what it probably ships with it. New features only come with major point releases, such as 2.8 and 29. There are many more minor point releases between those, such as 2.9.1509, 2.9.1510, which are designed to fix any bugs found. You can be fairly certain the level of features every Roku has.

With my local cable company they take the service down every two days or so - for about 20 minutes, to update the channel content - it is a reliable push where they also set up newer firmware changes, etc etc - why is Roku's software patch process so slow and unreliable? Unless you expect your end users to manually check for updates themselves?

But what assurance do you have that they aren't running the same sort of scheduled releases, and you just don't know what group you are in?

Thanks kbenson. I suppose the smart way to tackle this entire issue is to write an app for latest complete-installed firmware revision (if that is possible) and then add the newer features to it - that way no matter what firmware the end user actually has it will be guaranteed to show up in the channel store - and they will always be grabbing the latest version available for their revision. Do you think someone from Roku could list the oldest revision of firmware being used in the wild and update that when they complete their push series to everyone?

Just develop for the latest major point release, which every user should have. If it's right after a major point release change, make sure you developed for the older release but tested against the new one (get in the beta program). After a week or so in the new major point release, feel free to enable the features that require the new version.

[destruk]

Thanks guys.