I am very new to coding and tech talks but I am working with a client who needs help on how to get their OTT app on major ISPs'set-top boxes. Anything around app SDK for specific ISPs, examples on how Dysney+ or Netflix get their app on boxes, which ISP uses which language, which technology do ISPs uses to charge application on their boxes (qml, HTML, ? ) would help me a lot! Apologies if my question is very generic but I don't understand much on this subject. Thank you very much in advance for your time and help.
1 Answers
When you mention 'ISP' set-top boxes, I assume you're asking how to get the app on the box people get when they sign up for cable TV. For example, if you want your client's app pre-installed on the Comcast Xfinity set-top box, you should contact Comcast so they can provide instructions to make your request.
If you're referring to how you can get your client's video app on common OTT devices such as Roku, you should search that device's website on how to create a developer account. For example, here are details on how to create a Roku channel (app) that people can download onto their Roku device at home.
https://developer.roku.com/docs/developer-program/publishing/channel-publishing-guide.md
When your channel is tested and ready to deploy, you publish it using the Developer Dashboard. If the channel is a public channel that will be offered on the Roku Channel Store, it will be reviewed by Roku during the certification process. If you are updating an existing channel, you will also publish it using Developer Dashboard.
Prerequisites and guidelines for creating a public channel To assure success in creating a public channel, you will need to:
- Create your design assets following Design and User Experience Guidelines.
- Go through the Pre-certification Check List.
- Package your Roku channel.
- Publish your channel (this page).
Cheers.

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Thank you very much for your detailed answer @iangetz. My client has an OTT platform already build and wants to know what's the best way to approach ISPs in order to get their app pre-installed on their set-top boxes. What I am wondering is whether ISPs all have different integration protocols or if they all work with the same framework. For example, Comcast asks for apps in HTML5, I assume they have an internal SDK to then be able to upload the app on their set-top boxes. I would love to find this same information for other ISPs but it's very hard to find. Would you know more about this? – Jean Ramirez Mar 17 '21 at 15:51