Roku Developer Program

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SkipFire
Visitor

Re: International Channels on Roku

Unfortunately it still doesn't address the underlying issue of bringing a new approval group into the mix. Private channels previously did not need any approval and now my project managers are not ok with needing approval for something that isn't even going to work off the corporate network but has a multi-lingual interface and multi-lingual content.

Personally I say there is no problem because there is no "foreign language" in the United States. In order to have a foreign language you have to have a domestic language. The flip argument is that English is a foreign language because it originated in Europe not in the US.

Also, I can't find the new information in the agreement on the developer portal (http://www.roku.com/Libraries/Legal/Rok ... .sflb.ashx).
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Anonymous
Visitor

Re: International Channels on Roku

I appreciate your concern and while private channels previously did not require permission from Roku they did have to observe the requirements of the developer agreement.

Channel Developer Program Requirements
3. Content and Channel Information (Metadata) Restrictions
B. The Content and Channel Application accessed, displayed and performed via a Channel
Application may not:
vii. contain foreign language or international Content generated outside of the US,
including but not limited to movies, sports, video on demand and/or news
services, without the prior written approval of Roku.
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SkipFire
Visitor

Re: International Channels on Roku

I must have missed those 5 words (generated outside of the US).

What document contains that information? I can't find it in the channel developer agreement.
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kc8pql
Visitor

Re: International Channels on Roku

^ The developers agreement, page 18.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
No, I don't work for Roku.
Netflix Player N1000X, XDS 2100X (premature death by lightning)
Roku2 XD 3050X, Roku2 XS 3100R, Roku2 4210R
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gonzotek
Visitor

Re: International Channels on Roku

"SkipFire" wrote:
I must have missed those 5 words (generated outside of the US).

What document contains that information? I can't find it in the channel developer agreement.

Page 18 at the link you posted: http://www.roku.com/Libraries/Legal/Rok ... .sflb.ashx
As of today that document (at the above link) has a footer indicating that it was revised July 2012. The language about content generated outside of the US was not in the 4.1 SDK distributed with a release date of 12/21/2011 (document footer states a Dec. 2009 revision in the 4.1 version of the Developer Agreement document), so it's only been there <= 8 months. The 4.1 release is the last one I have saved in my Roku dev folder, from before they switched to the wiki-hosted documentation, and it (the zipped 4.1 SDK with example source code and developer documents) is also still available for download from http://owner.roku.com/developer.
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Re: International Channels on Roku

Making such a dangerous move as to put a censorship for international channels is very brave. There are many ethnic communities who created their solutions especially for Roku and were successfully promoting their service to tens of thousands people in USA. Take off those private and public channels (just because they compete with Dish Network) and your whole project goes down the drain. Who needs another device to watch Netflix? Boxee offers an open platform, ability to connect an OTA antenna and watch all the local channels in addition to hundreds of plugins they offer. Android boxes are coming. Why should people buy Roku if you keep changing your requirements and licenses so people learn that the service they watch on their dearest Roku device is no longer available? There are private channels for Chinese, South Asian, Russian, Polish, Serbian, African, Caribbean, Spanish and other communities and all those channels should be taken off because they compete with Dish Network, a behemoth who forces people to pay premiums for unneeded content. Just give it a good thought. Imagine you get an Illinois Catholic church to dictate which other religious channels should be added, what will happen to all those other Christian communities - they will choose a truly open platform without censorship.
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