"destruk" wrote:
As the splash screen for each channel being packaged now for roku2 takes two extra images SD fullscreen and HD fullscreen for splash logos - even using pngcrush they take up close to 250K, we're beginning to have trouble keeping the zipped size below 500KB for the pkg file - the graphics for side images and main menu images themselves for the channel icons are now - well, the images directory of simply the basic files required for the channel take up 445KB, leaving 55KB for the channel scripts themselves, leaving extremely little space for any sounds if you want to retain compatibility with older hardware (not including anything that can be downloaded by the channel app like overhang images and logos) -
Would it at all be possible to host the bootup/splash screens on the channel store for the developer to free up that extra space? Like - since it's only used for roku2 units anyway, there shouldn't be the requirement to store them inside each pkg - it seems quite redundant when they aren't being used by half the installed channel users out there. Maybe have three or four different 'slots' available for some minor variation per developer and have the manifest include a name or number identifier of which slot to pull from on the channel store host site - since it has to scan that anyway for updates. Alternately, since the side home menu image icons aren't used for roku2, can that be pushed out to roku 1s as a firmware update so we can officially remove those from all the packages to free up unused bytes across the board? If you want to include any overhang images or logos inside the package, then it's nearly impossible to keep it under 500KB now.
Is the point to make the channels so big that older early adopters of channels have to upgrade to newer hardware to run anything? I thought some older roku 1's had a zipped filesize limit of 512KB. If this isn't correct, then I guess it's a non-issue. I'd also like to see the wiki site documentation updated with accurate info on size limitations for each revision of roku - or simply a minimum and maximum stated somewhere that is accurate.
The older boxes had a maximum size recommendation of 512kb, but the hard limit was 2mb.
It may also be worth noting that the splash logos don't have to be full screen. Anything smaller than full screen will be centered on the background color specified in the manifest, so you should be able to significantly reduce the size of the splash image by making it just a transparent PNG of the logo. If you make it smaller than the SD resolution, you could also use the same splash image for both HD and SD, further reducing the size.
My Channels: http://roku.permanence.com - Twitter: @TheEndlessDev
Instant Watch Browser (NetflixIWB), Aquarium Screensaver (AQUARIUM), Clever Clocks Screensaver (CLEVERCLOCKS), iTunes Podcasts (ITPC), My Channels (MYCHANNELS)
