Javascript Powered TVs!?

Do you eat, sleep, and breath Javascript?
Are you just itching to branch out from the browser and jump on the hottest Javascript platform off the PC?

For the past several years many of the top manufacturers have been shipping TVs around the world running the Yahoo! Connected TV platform. There are now millions of TVs in over a hundred countries which are waiting to run the latest unicorn powered rainbow light show, err... exciting TV widget, you develop.

In this talk, come learn how quick and easy it is to get up and running with the development environment and start building your own widget today. The platform is based on the Konfabulator widget engine and developing widgets is a joy using the KONtx framework.

If you own a 2009 or newer TV from Samsung, Sony, LG, Vizio, or Toshiba running Yahoo! Connected TV, you can even deploy your custom widgets to your TV immediately. Want the ultimate home entertainment system? Build it yourself and customize it to your exact needs.

Transcript

1. Javascript Powered TVs!? Jeremy Johnstone - LinkedIn Formerly with Yahoo! 1 Monday, May 2, 2011
2. Who am I? • Worked at Yahoo! from 2005 - 2011 • Currently a Developer Advocate for LinkedIn’s Platform Team • While at Yahoo!, was on Connected TV team for over 2 years architecting and developing the Javascript side of TV Widgets • Long history working with Javascript on dozens of platforms 2 Monday, May 2, 2011
3. Agenda • What is Yahoo! Connected TV? • Why would you want to develop a widget? • How to develop a widget? • What can you do in widgets? 3 Monday, May 2, 2011
4. Javascript... On TVs!? • Browsers • Mobile Devices • Servers • So why not TVs too!? 4 Monday, May 2, 2011
5. So what is Yahoo! Connected TV? • Based on Konfabulator ported to run in an embedded Linux platform • Uses Spydermonkey internally for JS • KONtx Framework loosely based on MOOTools’ Class pattern • Available on most major TV manufacturers (Samsung, Sony, Vizio, LG, Toshiba, etc) 5 Monday, May 2, 2011
6. Why develop a TV Widget? • Market Distribution: On over 70 models of TVs in 135 countries with over 8,000,000 TVs in the field. • It’s Javascript! Javascript RULES! • Easy to get up and running • Open Platform • Build Widget ... ? ... Profit! 6 Monday, May 2, 2011
7. What does it take to develop a widget? • Computer w/ a text editor and a Virtual Machine (VMware or VirtualBox) • Yahoo! TV Widget WDK • Knowing Javascript • A supported TV for testing (not required) • Vision for an awesome widget 7 Monday, May 2, 2011
8. LinkedIn Network Stream Widget • Great example of consuming a REST based API in a widget • Example of one approach to handling OAuth UX in a Widget • Shows a full screen TV overlay experience 8 Monday, May 2, 2011
9. Why ? • Professional identity and insights • 100+ million users around the world • Powerful platform • Widget didn’t exist yet • It’s where I work... :) 9 Monday, May 2, 2011
10. Ok, I’m interested! Show me how to build a widget already! 10 Monday, May 2, 2011
11. Demo 11 Monday, May 2, 2011
12. What all can I do in a widget? • Content (News, Social Media, etc) • Media (Video streaming, photos, music, etc) • Gaming (full screen games including multiplayer) • TV Interactivity (voting on shows, enhanced commercials, etc) • Other stuff (build box status, network usage graphs, booth kiosks) 12 Monday, May 2, 2011
13. What does the experience look like? 13 Monday, May 2, 2011
14. More Info • Yahoo! Connected TV • http://connectedtv.yahoo.com • http://developer.yahoo.com/connectedtv • LinkedIn • http://developer.linkedin.com • Me • http://www.jeremyjohnstone.com or http://github.com/jsjohnst or Twitter @jsjohnst 14 Monday, May 2, 2011
15. Questions? 15 Monday, May 2, 2011