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Creating Your First Channel

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

Overview

A CastConductor Roku channel consists of:

  1. Content Blocks — Individual pieces of content (videos, images, text)
  2. Scenes — Screens that display content blocks
  3. Containers — Groups of scenes for navigation
  4. The Roku App — Generated from your content

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

Design Tips

  • Keep text large and readable from 10 feet away
  • Use high-contrast colors
  • Limit items per row to 5-6 for easy navigation
  • Always include a way to go "back" or "home"

Content Tips

  • Use landscape images (16:9 ratio)
  • Compress videos for streaming
  • Add descriptive titles and thumbnails

Next Steps