Roku Developer Program

[squirreltown]

OK, Netflix has two versions, one that loads on my Roku3 and the older one that loads on my 2XS.
Obviously I can do the same by selecting Roku3 only for my Roku3 channel version, but how do I prevent the Roku2 version from loading on the Roku3?

Thanks.

[TheEndless]

I think you'd either need to publish two different versions or work directly with someone at Roku to do it. I'm 95% sure it can't be done via the web interface without some sort of trickery (e.g., like publishing to all first, then publishing the Roku 3 only version on top of it, but even then you'd never be able to update the lower end version).

[squirreltown]

Thanks Endless. I figured it was something like that, but thought you might know a trick. I may try that, as I wont be updating the old version.

"TheEndless" wrote:
(e.g., like publishing to all first, then publishing the Roku 3 only version on top of it, but even then you'd never be able to update the lower end version).

[TheEndless]

"squirreltown" wrote:
Thanks Endless. I figured it was something like that, but thought you might know a trick. I may try that, as I wont be updating the old version.

"TheEndless" wrote:
(e.g., like publishing to all first, then publishing the Roku 3 only version on top of it, but even then you'd never be able to update the lower end version).

I'd try it out with a test private channel first, just in case.. 😉

[squirreltown]

"TheEndless" wrote:

I'd try it out with a test private channel first, just in case.. 😉

Good tip. just tried it and it didn't seem to work. uploaded the 2 pkg, then updated the Roku2, then uploaded the 3 pkg and changed it to Roku3 only. Which was all fine till i updated the Roku2 again and it removed it. Developers of a Lesser (not NetFlix) I guess.

[destruk]

You could build a version check into your channel -- if >5 then run the new version of the code, otherwise run the older codebase.

[BradC]

"destruk" wrote:
You could build a version check into your channel -- if >5 then run the new version of the code, otherwise run the older codebase.

Ya I've done this for few channels, seems to work ok.


The biggest thing it doesn't do is allow smaller more compact versions for older hardware and bigger packages (larger graphics, etc.) for the newer hardware that can handle it better.


A versioning option would be a nice feature to allow better compatibility, but I think I saw RokuJoel say on here earlier that they are now discouraging legacy support, so I don't imagine they will be releasing that feature anytime soon.

[squirreltown]

"BradC" wrote:

The biggest thing it doesn't do is allow smaller more compact versions for older hardware and bigger packages (larger graphics, etc.) for the newer hardware that can handle it better.

A versioning option would be a nice feature to allow better compatibility, but I think I saw RokuJoel say on here earlier that they are now discouraging legacy support, so I don't imagine they will be releasing that feature anytime soon.

Its a really good point about size. I have (for instance) 2 versions of the same channel - They share only about 200 lines of code and no graphics, so combining them is possible but far from the best way to handle the situation.

There really ought to be more options in the"requirement" web interface. It's not simply a matter of legacy vs. newer firmware. There are so many different hardware platforms with some significant differences as far as 2DAPI memory and other features (openGL) and things that are technically supported but don't actually work properly all the time. I would expect developers to have a much better and more current idea of what actually works then RokuCo, which is busy doing other things - not testing if a particular esoteric thing works on the blahblablah-X platform. They recognized a need for a "Roku3 only" option. Is it really that much of a burden to add a few others? Obviously the ability to target specific platforms is already built into the system.

[BradC]

"squirreltown" wrote:

There really ought to be more options in the"requirement" web interface. It's not simply a matter of legacy vs. newer firmware. There are so many different hardware platforms with some significant differences as far as 2DAPI memory and other features (openGL) and things that are technically supported but don't actually work properly all the time. I would expect developers to have a much better and more current idea of what actually works then RokuCo, which is busy doing other things - not testing if a particular esoteric thing works on the blahblablah-X platform. They recognized a need for a "Roku3 only" option. Is it really that much of a burden to add a few others? Obviously the ability to target specific platforms is already built into the system.

I'm struggling with that exact problem right now.


I have a channel that I developed on a Roku 1 2500X, it runs that (obviously) on a Roku3 and Roku TV beautifully, but it won't run on other stuff with lesser hardware. How do I publish this channel?

[RokuJoel]

Email us, we have a lot of filtering options on the back end, we can upload a channel package with a specific target hardware platform if need be. We have an option for hardware that doesn't support SD, which filters out pretty much everything but Roku3 and Roku TV. (Not sure if it includes or excludes the new streaming stick).

- Joel