Roku Direct Publisher

[ChipRossetti]

Hello.  I have a Vimeo OTT site called The Veterans Channel.  I am trying to create a Roku app for the channel.  Is there a way to link my Vimeo OTT to my Roku channel, so all of the content transfers over?

[ferdiworks]

There are many here who use vimeo showcase json feeds. 

Vimeo has made an annoucement in June 2023

On June 27, 2023, we at Vimeo are ending support for our existing TV apps.

That means we (vimeo) will remove the TV apps from the app stores and we will not publish any new releases, security updates, or provide technical support for TV apps.

We will be ending support for: ROKU/ Amazon / Apple / etc.....

Why is Vimeo ending support for the TV apps?
We strive to provide our users with a best-in-class playback and live streaming experience that's optimized across devices, geographies, bandwidth, and network performance. Occasionally, we retire legacy products and features that are no longer consistent with our standards. We believe that our users looking to view Vimeo videos will receive a better ongoing experience by casting via our mobile app, enabling customers to enjoy Vimeo content on their TV.

Some just use the video links and not the showcase json feed! 

All you need is a json feed and an SDK App package

But you do have options

1) You create a json feed with your vimeo video links and images and create an SDK Package to submit

You create your own channel or hire a developer to create a channel!

If you have a vimeo feed and want me to test it and see if we can do anything with it then send me the feed link

https://ondemandtvnetworks.com/contact.html

2) Find and use another platform or service to create and/or manage channel!

Pros and Cons:

Pay once or monthly!

Own or lease

The answer is yes you can create and have a Roku channel with your vimeo videos!

[OddScott]

Ferdi,

This is getting to be a little bit repetitive. Please stop providing incorrect information about Roku, Vimeo and Instant TV Channel.

Roku did not stop supporting Vimeo feeds. Vimeo Showcase JSON feeds do work with Roku channels that are specifically programmed to communicate with the Vimeo API. There are quite a few developers successfully using Vimeo on Roku channels built with Instant TV Channel and I assume with other code-bases as well. Here's how Vimeo works with Instant TV Channel: https://www.InstantTvChannel.com/roku/vimeo 

And what is this collaboration that you mentioned, discontinued or otherwise, between Roku and Vimeo? I do not think such a thing ever existed. If I'm wrong, would you please provide further details?

Instant TV Channel pricing starts at $0/month for channels with 10 or less items. The full commercial $49.95/month version includes all sorts of goodies like a variety of different editable templates, a built-in ad server, Roku/Gracenote/TMS search, BIF file generation, monetization via subscriptions and one-time purchases, free updates, live telephone support, and more. You do need at least the $4.95/month channel type in order to import Direct Publisher JSON or other feeds.

Instant TV Channel does not require the use of Amazon AWS for channels with under 100 items. For channels over 100 items there is a wizard to assist with setting up AWS. The AWS cost is usually less than $1/month because only small configuration files are automatically generated & stored on AWS. Video content and other assets are not required to be stored on AWS.

For more information about converting from Direct Publisher to SDK: https://www.instanttvchannel.com/roku/convertdirectpublisher 

[ferdiworks]

Question: Does Roku support the Vimeo Feed?

If Roku supports the vimeo feed then why can we not no longer use the vimeo feed link like in Direct publisher channels have done for years But in creating an SDK the feed does not works and is not supported? 

It's not that the feeds are not supported! It's how the SDK app handles the data from the feed, The Roku sample master published to help people reads the feed to bring in one line of videos for Movies, Short form videos or Series and episodes. But many are reporting that the sample does not work or perform for them in there test, Some foumnd issues trying to get the app past static analysis testing or deep linking test!

Actually we can if we edit the json feed and add Categories and Quiries or Categories and Playlist to a feed file!

You have the option to copy the feed and edit it and host it on your own on a websiter hosting account or host it at another provider!

You also have the option to use a service that charges monthly fee's plus pay your vimeo hosting fee's and any other charges or fee's that may occur due to the amount of videos or data being used!

Some will want you to use Amazon S3 if you have more than 100 videos!

Another solution is to use a service that replaces vimeo video hosting provides hosting and livestreaming and allows you to create more than one channel at no extra fee's!

Yes we can help you with that!

YOU HAVE OPTIONS! Be educated and make educated decisions!

To your success! 

[OddScott]

Ferdi,

I'm not trying to give you a hard time, but much of what you've been saying is just plain wrong. You're doing a disservice to the content owners that you're trying to help by giving them bad info.

Since Direct Publisher has been discontinued it's irrelevant whether or not any Vimeo feed works with it. What matters is that Vimeo's JSON Showcase feed does work in any SDK channel that is coded to use it.  There's also Vimeo's "File URLs" to fall back on if an SDK channel doesn't support using Vimeo's Showcase JSON.

I didn't really understand what you were trying to say about bandwidth, but Vimeo does not charge extra for bandwidth until you exceed 2TB (that's 2,000 Gigabytes) per month. That is enough for many small and some medium-sized channels.

As I mentioned before, the reason that a content owner might not want to stream directly from Amazon S3 is cost. Amazon charges $0.09 per GB streamed, which is quite high when compared to CDNs selling BW for $0.02 per GB or even $0.0015 per GB. The only way that I would recommend using AWS S3 for video content is as an origin server that feeds a lower cost CDN which supplies the bandwidth.

I don't think that content owners have been, as you say, "living under a rock", but there are many choices available, from free SDK templates on Github, to $10,000 and higher custom channels with recurring $500/month bandwidth charges, that it may sometimes be difficult to make an educated decision. Particularly when so much bogus information is floating around!

[ferdiworks]

We apologize for offering educated solutions or if we offended anyone!

We want the end user to know they have the right to make educated decisions and can spend their money and get more value for their money spent!

It's not just about us and selling our products or services!

While we may be wrong for touching base on Rumors or whats being said here in other post or outside this forum about excess charges on videos outside the player or the reasons why Vimeo made changes to their OTT streaming it still comes down to one thing! 

Using Vimeo and STREAMING ON OTT FOR THE END USER!

The End user has options!

And they need to be educated on their options!