Software:Roku OS
 A Roku TV running the Roku OS | |
| Developer | Roku Inc |
|---|---|
| OS family | Linux on embedded systems |
| Working state | Current |
| Source model | Closed-source |
| Initial release | May 2008 (Roku Netflix player)[1], 2004 (Roku's previous products)[2] |
| |Final release|Latest release}} | 12.5 / September 12, 2023 |
The Roku OS is the single operating system that runs on all Roku branded smart TVs, streaming devices, soundbars, smart home products etc, and is built on top of an embedded Linux kernel to create a "customized user experience".[3] The operating system is primarily a media streaming platform and runs "channels" such as Netflix, Prime Video, The Roku Channel etc.
The Roku OS has a noticeable presence around the world with 73.5 million streaming users as of December 2022.[4] In the US in particular, the Roku OS has a larger user base than other major operating systems, such as Amazon's Fire OS, Samsung's Tizen OS, Google's Android TV OS, Apple's tvOS etc, as of 2022.[5] The Roku OS also occupies a greater share (30.5%) of the global TV streaming hours than other operating systems as of 2022.[6]
History
Although Roku Inc has been shipping some version of the Roku OS running on the company's hardware products since 2004 or earlier,[7] the first formal rollout for the developer community happened on December 17, 2009 in form of the Roku OS 2.4. Roku's Channel Store, a major feature, was integrated into the operating system as part of the release of the Roku OS 2.9 on March 31, 2011.[8]
Features
Key features offered by the Roku OS for the streaming users include Channel Store (offers access to 38,941 TV channels as of 2023),[9] Roku Search (allows a search across multiple apps and channels), Roku Voice (allows voice commands to search for content, launch apps, or control playback), Roku Pay (integrated payment method for users to start free trials and subscribe to paid channels), Roku Feed (lets users follow movies, TV shows, actors etc), Private Listening (allows listening audio from streaming content using headphones via the Roku mobile app), Screen Mirroring (allows casting of content from mobile devices or computers to TV), Guest Mode (allows guests to sign in with their own streaming service credentials without affecting the primary user's settings), Automatic Software Updates, Home Screen Customization and Parental Controls.[10]
The Roku OS offers several features and tools designed to support and simplify the channel development process. Some of these include Roku Developer Dashboard (for developers to manage channels, view analytics, access monetization etc), BrightScript Language (Roku's proprietary scripting language tailored for creating channels), SceneGraph Framework (XML-based UI framework for developers to build interactive user interfaces), Roku SDK (software development kit), Roku Plugin for Visual Studio Code (integrated development environment plugin), Deep Linking (for developers to link to content within their channel), In-channel Purchasing (a pathway for developers to monetize channels), Roku Advertising Framework (for developers to incorporate advertisements into channels), and Certification (to ensure a channel's compliance against Roku's guidelines).[11]
From a TV hardware integration perspective, the "purpose-built" nature of the Roku OS has been asserted to be a key enabler behind its support for a wide variety of TV hardware specifications, especially those using low-cost chips.[12] Roku lincenses the Roku OS to its TV manufacturing partners and also offers them hardware reference designs.[13]
References
- ↑ WIRED (2008-05-19). "Review: Roku Netflix Set Top Box Is Just Shy of Totally Amazing" (in en-US). https://www.wired.com/2008/05/review-roku-net/.
- ↑ Snell (2004-12-28). "Roku SoundBridge M1000 and M2000" (in en-US). https://www.macworld.com/article/173809/soundbridge-4.html.
- ↑ Jeck, Staehle (17 Jan 2023). "You Need a Build System". https://engineering.roku.com/you-need-a-build-system.
- ↑ Roku Inc (December 2022). "Introduction to Roku development". https://developer.roku.com/en-gb/docs/developer-program/getting-started/roku-dev-prog.md.
- ↑ "Android TV, Fire TV grew streaming OS market share with new strategies in 2022" (in en-us). https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/research/android-tv-fire-tv-grew-streaming-os-market-share-with-new-strategies-in-2022.
- ↑ Conviva (September 2022). "Conviva's State of Streaming". https://www.conviva.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Q2-SoS.pdf.
- ↑ "Hacking Roku | Jean-Paul Saman". https://www.jpsaman.org/node/3.
- ↑ Roku (September 2023). "Roku OS developer release notes". https://developer.roku.com/en-au/docs/developer-program/release-notes/roku-os-release-notes.md.
- ↑ AG, 42matters. "Roku Channel Store Statistics and Trends 2023" (in en). https://42matters.com/roku-app-store-statistics-and-trends.
- ↑ Roku. "Roku OS software release notes|Roku OS release notes" (in en). http://www.roku.com/.
- ↑ Roku. "Roku Developers – Getting Started" (in en). http://www.roku.com/.
- ↑ updated, Daniel Frankellast (2020-09-17). "Roku Devices Are ‘Much Cheaper to Build’ vs. Android TV, CFO Says" (in en). https://www.nexttv.com/news/roku-devices-are-much-cheaper-to-build-vs-android-tv-cfo-says.
- ↑ Advanced Television Ltd (2023-01-04). "Roku unveils premium Roku TV OLED reference design" (in en-GB). https://advanced-television.com/2023/01/04/roku-unveils-premium-roku-tv-oled-reference-design/.
 |  |
