Roku Developer Program

[wpinkman]

I have a couple of questions concerning getting some test coverage of a new channel.

1. what's the best or recommended way to reach an audience of potential testers (folks with Rokus who will test and provide feedback)? I know how to achieve this goal for a mobile app or a web site, but not sure how to find good testers for Roku. Is it appropriate to post the channel URL on forums like this one?

2. for a paid app (like mine), is is safe to say there will be no charges while the channel is in a pre-approved state. I've been distributing the URL to few people I know try out the channel, but some of them got the impression they were going to be charged ($4.99). I'd like to say "don't worry, it's free during Beta". Is this a true statement? It's a little unclear to me. For the initial folks, I just told them I'd pay them back (people I know personally, etc.). Don't think anyone was actually charged, but it wasn't clear to them (or me).

My channel has streaming music and I'm will to eat the costs during Beta.

Thanks.

[TheEndless]

1. I'd love to know the answer to this as well. I've posted open beta requests in the general discussion forum, and got a fair number of volunteers, but very few actually provided feedback.
2. They will be charged. There is a "Manage Test Users" link on the developer page that you can use to give users free access to your paid channels.

[wpinkman]

Yes.. I've seen that manage test users thing but it looked like that was for in-channel paid upgrades, subscriptions, etc.

I'd rather not have to ask everyone to send me an email address. I have had a handful or organic discoveries and I guess they just click through not minding the charge (a good sign I hope), but I don't think they actually got charged. At least I don't see any $ in my PayPal account yet.

[TheEndless]

"wpinkman" wrote:
Yes.. I've seen that manage test users thing but it looked like that was for in-channel paid upgrades, subscriptions, etc.

I'd rather not have to ask everyone to send me an email address. I have had a handful or organic discoveries and I guess they just click through not minding the charge (a good sign I hope), but I don't think they actually got charged. At least I don't see any $ in my PayPal account yet.

Roku pays out for channel sales on or around the 15th of each month, so you won't see anything in your PayPal until then. In the meantime, you can check your sales stats under the "Account Activity" link from the developer page.

[RokuJoel]

One approach is to make a private channel for testing, then when the public channel goes live, update the private channel so that it no longer functions. One incentive for getting beta testers who give you actual feedback would be that you add the user to the Test Users after the channel is published, so they get get it for free, if they actually take the time to write a report on the channel's functionality.

- Joel

[wpinkman]

For those interested in this thread, I tried Joel's suggestion and created a private, free version. I implemented it by popping up a big notice at start up asking for feedback. For boxes > 5.1, I provided the option of sharing an email address (using ifChannelStore).

I had a pretty positive response with about 100 downloads over the weekend. For those who supplied email address, I followed up with a personal email. For those who didn't or couldn't (lower firmware), most linked to their Instagram accounts, and so I was able to send them a direct message on Instagram. I'd say about 90% responded.. and generally right away.

I was able to identify some problems I would have otherwise been totally blind to and I think I engendered some support from early adopters by asking for their input. I also added each one to my official test list so that they will get the paid version for free.

My channel combines Instagram content and streaming music. For anyone interested in how I implemented the free beta version, feel free 😄 to try it out: https://owner.roku.com/add/rokagrambeta

Thanks for the idea Joel, I'm very glad I took the time to try it.