We had a little hangup when we sent out the following to our developers, the links were stripped. Here's the entire email, with links intact:
Hello Roku Developer,
I’m writing to you today to give you a heads up on some exciting new features that we’ll soon be releasing in the SDK and to give you some advance notice of an upcoming contest that will give you a chance to win CASH for developing new, fun Roku Channels. First though, I wanted to say thanks to those of you that responded to our recent developer survey. We received a lot of great responses and much useful feedback. If you didn’t have a chance to participate in the survey or have thought of something in the meantime, feel free to drop me a line or post on our
forums.
Upcoming SDK FeaturesRoku’s engineering team is currently working hard to get a new version of firmware wrapped up and ready for prime time. As part of this release, we will be releasing an updated SDK that adds a variety of new features to help you make even more compelling channels. We expect to release the SDK by the middle of June. Here’s a sneak peek at the major features that the SDK update will include:
- HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) – This is Roku’s implementation of Apple’s adaptive bitrate streaming solution. This feature provides support for both “live†and adaptive bit-rate streaming capabilities. Read more about HLS >
- roImageCanvas – A clean slate for creating custom screens. This object will allow you to place text and graphics wherever on the screen you desire. You can see an example in the NBA Game Time app; Just check out any of the game summary screens.
- roVideoPlayer – A customizable video player that allows you play a video in a region on the screen and/or programmatically control playback. When used in conjunction with roImageCanvas, you can combine video, images and text on a single screen.
- USB support – For those of you that have Roku XR boxes or want to develop applications that make use of USB storage, the next SDK will include basic support for USB hotplug events and automounting of USB volumes. Support for a variety of USB devices and file systems is provided.
- File System access – You will be enable to enumerate available file systems and access the content stored on them.
- SRT subtitle support – If the content you are playing has an available SRT file for subtitles, enabling subtitle display will be as simple as specifying a path to the SRT file. Read about SRT >
- ScreenSavers – Create standalone screen saver applications that can be run whenever the Roku player is idle or create a custom screen saver for your Channel.
- And other improvements like enhanced support for collecting logging data and perl-compatible regular expressions.
Pre-announcing the Roku Developer ContestOne reason for announcing the above SDK features is that at the same time we release the new SDK, we will be announcing the first contest for our developers. We’re still finalizing prizes and categories, but we will offer cash prizes in multiple categories, so start thinking how you might use the SDK to build new and compelling channels.
Connect with Other Developers on the ForumIf you’d like to discuss Roku’s SDK and the process for developing Channels for the Roku DVP, please join us at the Roku SDK Forum.
Visit the Forums > Check out the Latest Public Channels Added to the Roku Channel StoreEach approved and published channel available in the Roku Channel Store can be seen on the Roku Website. Develop and publish a channel and you can be listed here as well.
Roku Channel Store > Manage Your ApplicationsThe channels you’ve created and uploaded can be seen in the Roku Developer Site. Here you can publish updates to your channel, download the documentation and access other resources.
Roku Developer Site >
