Roku Developer Program

[lucasgonze]

I could easily see antivirus software being the cause, but I just checked on the two computers that I've used to reproduce the issue and found that there is no anti virus software on either. Thanks anyhow, kbenson.

[RokuKevin]

Try to telnet to port 8085 and check any compile errors you might be having....

If you are unable to telnet to port 8085, you might need to enable developer mode:

Home 3x, Up 2x, Right, Left, Right, Left, Right

--Kevin

[lucasgonze]

Telnet to port 8085 to check for compile errors shows that the upload is never being loaded and evaluated by the Roku. The compiler is never being invoked, and the upload is never being installed.

About enabling developer mode, I have enabled the package utility following the steps in the "The Channel Packaging and Publishing Guide."

The place to look is the Apache error log. Do you know how I get a bash prompt?

[lucasgonze]

I have bought a new Roku and tested against it. The upload now works.

This is pretty good confirmation that the problem was a hardware failure.

[lucasgonze]

I now believe that the issue is Roku devices overheating.

Here is why. After I had used my new Roku heavily for about a day, I found that the upload failure happened. The failure was intermittent, though. Then it became more frequent. When it became so frequent that I couldn't work at all, I tried going back to my first Roku device. It worked!

Why was it working after a couple days of being powered down? Hypothesis: it had cooled down, and when that happened some system component that fails under high heat comes back to life. My guess is that the failing component is RAM.

For developers the takeaway is to own two devices and switch between them when uploads on one start failing. Turn the one that's failing off in the meantime, so that it can cool down and be ready to use again when you need it.

[kbenson]

What's the ambient temperature? Is the Roku on some other device that generates a lot of heat? I haven't seem this behavior, and I have no A/C, but I do most my development at dusk and after. That said, it's been somewhat warm a few times (~80 degrees), and I haven't seen this problem. I haven't seen any overheating issues on my other unit, which is dedicated to normal use, and I've used in MUCH warmer temperatures (> 100.degrees).

[lucasgonze]

Great idea.

The ambient temperature is nothing special, but there could be another factor. Sometimes there are things on top that could block the vents, like a yellow sticky note, a Chumby, or a manila folder.