Sending a showcase to a custom TV channel (Roku, Fire TV)

Vimeo Pro, Business, Premium, and Enterprise members can create customized Roku Channels and Amazon Fire TV apps where they can send their showcases. 

Please note that this feature is currently only available to Roku and Fire TV. It is not currently possible to publish showcases to Apple TV, Samsung, Android TV, mobile apps, or any other TV apps.

It's also currently not possible to distribute live events via a TV app. 

Once you’ve customized your Showcase to your liking, select “TV Apps” under the list of destinations to acquire the feed URL to be inserted during the setup process on Roku and Amazon's websites. 

Getting a feed URL

The feed URL is a file generated from Vimeo that contains information about your Showcase and the videos inside it. You’ll need to enter a feed URL during the setup process for both Roku channels and Fire TV apps.

To obtain a feed URL, head over to the TV apps tab of your Showcase settings and then choose Roku or Fire TV from the list of destinations. After you’ve entered all the required fields for each app, select “copy feed URL” to copy a hyperlink to the direct feed which will populate your Showcase videos in your TV apps.

Each TV app will generate a unique feed URL to be inserted during the setup process for Roku channels and Fire TV apps.

For Amazon Fire TV, you can copy the feed URL shown under "MRSS feed URL."

For Roku, you'll need to enter a provider name, the language of your channel, and genres before copying your feed URL. 

Roku channel set up

Step-by-Step instructions for setting up a Roku channel can be found on Roku’s website: https://developer.roku.com/publish/channel-tutorial/channel-tutorial-index

🛑Please make sure your Showcase settings are finalized before proceeding with channel set up on Roku. Changes made to your Showcase will only be automatically reflected in your channel after it’s been published to the Roku Channel Store.

Some notes about setup:

• No coding skills are required
• You’ll need to create a Roku Direct Publisher account by visiting https://my.roku.com/signup. If you already have a Roku account, you can login here https://my.roku.com/signin
• You’ll also need to enroll in the Roku Developer Program: developer.roku.com/enrollment/standard
• OPTIONAL: If you are planning to monetize your channel through Roku's Audience Network (i.e by adding advertisements), you’ll also need to enroll in Roku’s Partner Payouts Program (https://developer.roku.com/developer/billing). If you don’t plan on monetizing, you can scroll skip this step of the channel setup process. More information on monetizing with Roku can be found here- https://blog.roku.com/developer/direct-publisher-monetization  (Note: this process is solely managed by Roku and completely separate from Vimeo)
• You’ll be able to insert the Feed URL from your Vimeo Showcase settings for Roku during the setup process when prompted, as shown here:
  
  

         (During this step, choose Specified in Feed under Video Format)

• If you make changes to your Showcase during the channel setup process, you will need to re-ingest your feed from the Roku settings page using the “Refresh now” button. This button can be found in the “Feed Status” section of your channel setup.
  
  
  

  💡 TIP: If your feed URL isn't validating on Roku, please make sure your showcase is public by setting the privacy to "Anyone." Also be sure you've selected at least one genre under the TV apps >> Roku section of your showcase settings. 

Accessing your channel on Roku

Once your channel is published, it will appear in the Roku Channel store. You and your viewers will be able to download the channel and access the videos in your Showcase from a Roku device. You can find instructions for installing channels on your Roku device here.

Please note that the feed URL for Fire TV apps does not support custom sorting—meaning your videos may appear in a different order than how they appear in your showcase on vimeo.com. The default order on Fire TV will display the most recent videos first.

Fire TV App Setup

Step-by-Step instructions for setting up a Fire TV app can be found on Amazon’s website: https://creator.amazon.com/documentation/ac/toc-get-started.html.

Some notes about setup:

• No coding skills are required
• You’ll need to an Amazon Developer account to publish apps. You can create one for free here: https://developer.amazon.com/apps-and-games
• Once published, your app must be approved by Amazon before it’s made available in the Amazon and Fire TV Appstore (Please note that Vimeo has no control over the approval process).
• You’ll be able to insert the Feed URL from your Vimeo Showcase settings for Fire TV in the media RSS feed field, as shown below:

Accessing your app on Fire TV

After your app has been approved by Amazon, it will appear in the Fire TV app store in all regions where Fire TV is available (US, UK, Germany, Japan, India, and Austria).  Instructions for installing apps on Fire TV can be found here.

Privacy

Please note that only public videos and showcases can be shown on Roku and Fire TV apps. For example, you'll need to set both your videos and showcase to "Anyone" can view, as shown here:

 

Selling Videos in TV apps

We do not support integrating Vimeo On Demand videos into Showcase feeds for Roku and FireTV channels, in order to sell your content.

You may be able to monetize with ads through the developer platforms provided by Roku and Amazon, however, this process is not controlled nor managed by Vimeo. You can find more information on the ad monetization programs provided by each developer platform below:

• Roku- https://blog.roku.com/developer/direct-publisher-monetization. 
• Amazon- https://developer.amazon.com/apps-and-games/monetize

If you’re interested in selling videos through a custom TV app, please check out Vimeo OTT (https://vimeo.com/ott/home). Vimeo OTT is a service that allows users to launch a subscription using custom branded apps and webpages. For more information on selling videos through Vimeo OTT, you can reach out to the team by selecting "contact" at https://help.vhx.tv.

Updates to your Showcase

The content of your Showcase will be automatically updated in your Fire TV app and Roku channel once it’s published. This means that even if you need to update your videos on Vimeo (for example, if you need to add/remove a video in your Showcase, or change a title or video thumbnail), you won’t need to make any manual changes on Roku or Amazon’s end—just keep in mind that it make take some time for your changes to be reflected.

Any updates or customization to the apps themselves (general app images, layouts, app descriptions, categories, etc) must be done through Amazon and Roku’s interface. Vimeo only supplies the video content of your showcase.

Having trouble?

Vimeo’s support team is always happy to help with any content-related issues that arise (for example, videos not appearing in your TV app). However, if you’re specifically having trouble with either your Roku or Amazon developer accounts or the setup process for either, we suggest contacting those respective support teams, as they will be best positioned to assist you with any issues:

• Roku Support- https://support.roku.com/index
• Amazon Support- https://developer.amazon.com/support/