Registration and Linking File Management

The WordPress plugin provided by Instant TV Channel manages your S3 buckets automatically, however you may wish to manage the contents of the buckets manually.

• Files in the Registration bucket can be deleted at any time. The registration files are not needed after the player has been registered and the WordPress plugin has created a linking file for the player in the Linking bucket.

  A registration file is written directly to the Registration bucket by a Roku player whenever the registration screen is entered and whenever the button requesting a new registration code is clicked. The name of the registration file is the same as the code shown on the registration screen. The contents of the registration file is used by the WordPress plugin to populate the linking file that the player will read whenever accessing a registration-protected section of the channel. The WordPress plugin automatically deletes the registration file after it is used.

• Files in the Linking bucket should only be deleted if the associated player has re-registered and a new linking file has been created, and if the linking files are not being used to control subscription renewals.

  The WordPress plugin has a checkbox option that allows individual linking files to be deleted. When the plugin deletes a player's linking file, it also removes the reference to the linking file from the user's account file.

  If using the WordPress plugin, then only the WordPress plugin should be used to delete linking files. Deleting the linking files any other way may prevent the WordPress plugin from being able to modify the user's remaining linking files.

  The WordPress plugin uses expired linking files (linking files from previous registrations) to count the number of renewals for each Roku player registered by a user. If the expired linking files are deleted then plugin will not be able to accurately count the number of renewals. If the plugin is configured for unlimited renewals, then it is safe to delete expired linking files.

  The files in the Linking bucket are read by registered Roku players whenever a registration-protected section of the channel is accessed. Each Roku player attempts to read a unique linking file with a "token" name that was determined when the player was registered. If the linking file is missing, the Roku player will display an error message, and the registration-protected section of the channel will not be accessible until the channel is uninstalled, reinstalled, and re-registered.

• Account files should only be deleted if the WordPress plugin shows no registered players or linking files for the user.

  Account files are only used by the WordPress plugin, and do not directly affect Roku players. There is one account file in the Account bucket for each user with one or more registered players. The name of each account file is the same as the user's WordPress login. Each account file contains the names of the individual Linking bucket files for the user's registered Roku players. The account file is used by the WordPress plugin to display information about the players registered by each user. If a WordPress user does not already have an account file, a new one is created by the plugin when the user registers their first player.

Technical details about Instant TV Channel's implementation of Roku's Registration & Linking specification are available here.

Questions and comments about this guide can be emailed to .