Roku SDK Documentation : Non-Certified Channels

The Roku platform supports both public and non-certified channel.

• Public channels are published in the Roku Channel Store and discoverable from the Search feature on the Roku home page. 
• Non-certified channel, however, are used for QA and beta testing purposes and can only be installed using the channel’s dedicated access code.

This guide provides an overview of how non-certified channel work.

Table of Contents

Purpose of a non-certified channel

QA process

non-certified channel are for testing and staging your channels before submitting to begin the Roku Channel Store certification process. Given the hidden nature of non-certified channel, they can be administered to QA testers without damaging the brand by having a bug-filled channel seen by the public.

Auto-publishing

non-certified channel that do not use pay-to-install Roku Billing are exempt from the certification process. This enables developers to quickly test multiple revisions and bug patches without being blocked by certification’s wait time.

Roku Billing testing

All in-channel products purchased before a developer has enrolled in the Roku Partner Payouts Program are treated as $0.00 test transactions. Developers can use this feature to test that Roku Billing has been properly integrated without making excess money transfers or having to reimburse their testing team.

Internal use

In some instances, non-certified channel are used to distribute a finished channel to a dedicated group, such as a corporate training video or promotional videos displayed in retail stores.

Small circulation

As stated, non-certified channel are intended for small circulation — they are not designed for broad audience development. It is important to note that a non-certified channel that upgrades to a public channel will not retain all of its previous downloads. Roku users who’ve installed a non-certified channel will need to re-download the channel once it is made public.

Developers should not attempt to grow their audience or promote their channel until after it has been made public.

Publishing a non-certified channel

non-certified channel follows the same submission flow as public channels. For a step-by-step guide, see Publishing Roku Channels.

Installing a non-certified channel

Since non-certified channel are not searchable in the Roku Channel Store, they can only be installed directly from their vanity access code URL. As stated above, a memorable vanity code can be provided during the channel publishing process, or you can use the random access code generated when the channel is published.

To install a channel using a vanity code:

• Login to your Roku account
• Enter https://my.roku.com/account/add?channel=VANITY_CODE into your browser
• Replace VANITY_CODE with your channel’s vanity code
• Click "Yes, Add Channel."

Finally, you will need to update your Roku OS before the channel will appear on your home screen. To update your OS, launch your Roku device and navigate to Settings > System > System Update > Check Now.