Updating and Testing your Roku Channel

This Instant TV Channel Help article is only applicable to Custom SDK Roku channels. These procedures do not apply to Direct Publisher Roku channels.

After an update is applied to a channel, it's a good idea to test the updated channel by viewing it on a TV screen before replacing the old channel.

Updates are periodically released when new channel features are added to Instant TV Channel. Updates usually consist of new Brightscript and SceneGraph code that is automatically built into your channel's Pkg file which you upload to your Roku Developer Account.

When a new update is available for a channel, an Update button is present near the top of the Channels page. The following is a screenshot from the top section of the Channels page showing a selected channel with an update available. The channel is currently at update version 510 and the most recent update available is version 513. Clicking the Update button will update the channel to version 513.

If no update is available for a channel, the Update button is not present on the Channels page. The following is a screenshot from the top section of the Channels page showing a selected channel with no update available. The channel is at update version 510.

If you have several channels, they do not have to all be at the same update version. If a channel does not require the new capabilities provided by an update, it is not necessary to update the channel to the newer version. Details about updates including descriptions of the new channel capabilities provided by each update are available on the Instant TV Channel News page.

Applying an update to a channel is very easy:

1. Log into your Instant TV Channel account and click on the Channels link on the left side of the page.
2. Click on the row containing the channel that you wish to update.
3. Clone the channel by clicking the button in the channel's row, then click the Confirm button at the top of the page. This creates a backup copy of the channel prior to doing the update.
4. After the clone is complete, the row containing the clone will be highlighted. Do not make any changes to the clone, it will be retained only as a backup.
5. Again, click on the original row containing the channel that you wish to update.
6. Click on the Update button near the top of the Channels page.
7. A warning dialog appears and reminds you to clone the channel first. Since you have already done this, click Ok to proceed with the update.
8. After the channel has been updated the Update button will disappear.

9. Follow the directions here except on the Roku Developer Account "My Channels" / "Manage Channels" page, select your existing channel instead of clicking the Add Channel button.

   When uploading your updated Pkg file to your Roku Developer Account, you must increment the Channel Version number shown above the Minimum Firmware setting. Channel Version is what all Roku devices use to determine whether or not a newer Pkg file containing an updated version of your channel is available. If Channel Version is not incremented when you upload a new Pkg file, then Roku devices that already have your channel installed will not be able to receive the updated version.

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Please see this Quick 5-Minute Guide for information about how to get started with Instant TV Channel.

Suggestions, comments, or questions about this Roku tutorial can be sent to .