Creating Your First Channel

A step-by-step walkthrough of building your first Roku channel with CastConductor.

Overview

The core building blocks of a CastConductor Roku channel:

1. WordPress + CastConductor plugin - Create, manage, and deliver all of your content to your custom Roku channel.
2. Content Blocks — Contain all of the audio/visual elements of content (videos, images, text)
3. Scenes — Static or rotating visual layouts that hold one or more containers, backgrounds and branding elements.
4. Containers — Assign Content Blocks to containers defined by common zones of the native 1280x720 Roku screen
5. Your Custom Roku App — Renders your original content on Roku devices

Step 1: Plan Your Channel

Before diving in, sketch out your channel structure:

Home Screen
├── Featured Videos
├── Categories
│   ├── Tutorials
│   ├── Entertainment
│   └── News
└── About / Contact

Step 2: Create Content Blocks

Content blocks are the building blocks of your channel.

Add a Video Block

1. Go to CastConductor → Content Blocks → Add New
2. Select Video as the content type
3. Enter:
4. Title: Display name
5. Video URL: Direct link to MP4 or streaming URL
6. Thumbnail: Preview image
7. Description: Shown on detail screen
8. Click Publish

Add an Image Block

1. Create a new content block
2. Select Image type
3. Upload or enter image URL
4. Set dimensions and positioning

Step 3: Build Your Scenes

Scenes are the screens users see on their Roku.

Create Your Home Scene

1. Go to CastConductor → Scenes → Add New
2. Name it "Home"
3. Open the Canvas Editor
4. Drag content blocks onto the canvas
5. Arrange and resize as needed
6. Click Save Scene

Add Navigation

1. Select a content block on the canvas
2. In the properties panel, set On Select → Navigate to Scene
3. Choose the target scene

Step 4: Organize with Containers

Containers group related scenes together.

1. Go to CastConductor → Containers
2. Create containers for each section (e.g., "Categories")
3. Assign scenes to containers

Step 5: Preview & Test

1. Use the Preview button in the Canvas Editor
2. See how your layout will look on a TV screen
3. Test navigation flows

Step 6: Generate Your App

1. Visit toaster.castconductor.com
2. Enter your license key
3. Click Generate
4. Download your custom Roku app

Best Practices

Next Steps

• Sideload and test on your Roku device
• Submit to Channel Store when ready