Getting Started with Apple TV

After you have signed up for a custom Apple TV App, there are several things that TelVue will need from you to create your App.

You will receive an online submission form in the email to fill in and submit the required metadata and branding images. If you did not receive the form, please email ott-apps@telvue.com to request. Please be prepared to submit the following:

Metadata

  1. App Name – 30 characters max – This is typically the name of your media brand, University or town, or perhaps something more creative. This name will appear in the Apple TV App Store.
  2. App Subtitle – 30 characters max – A summary of your app that will appear under your app’s name on the App Store for customers with devices running iOS 11 or later.
  3. Primary Category – Apple TV provides several categories that your channel may appear in. You must select one from the following: Books, Business, Education, Entertainment, Finance, Food & Drink, Games, Health & Fitness, Kids, Lifestyle, Magazines & Newspapers, Medical, Music, Navigation, News, Photo & Video, Productivity, Reference, Shopping, Social Networking, Sports, Travel, Utilities, Weather. Or, you can add a category option. For more information, see the App Store Category Definitions.
  4. Secondary Category – You have the option of adding your app to a second category, from the same list.
  5. Rating – The rating of your app for the purpose of parental controls on the App Store. For possible values, go to App ratings: https://help.apple.com/itunes-connect/developer/#/dev269f11291
  6. Promotional Text – Promotional text lets you inform your App Store visitors of any current app features without requiring an updated submission. This text will appear above your description on the App Store for customers with devices running iOS 11 or later. This property can’t be longer than 170 characters.
  7. Description – A description of the app, detailing the features and functionality. Limited to 4000 characters. The description should be in plain text, with line breaks as needed. HTML format is not supported.
  8. Keywords – One or more keywords (each greater than two characters ) describing your app. Separate multiple keywords with commas. You can provide up to 100 characters. Your app is searchable by app name and company name, so you don’t duplicate these values in the keyword list. Names of other apps or companies are not allowed.
  9. Support URL – The support website you plan to provide for users who have questions regarding your app. The support URL must lead to actual contact information for your organization so that users can reach you regarding app issues, general feedback, and feature enhancement requests. Specify the entire URL, including the protocol, as in http://support.example.com.

Branding Images

Branding Images are required for building and submitting your custom TelVue CloudCast Apple TV OTT app to the App Store.

Every app needs a beautiful and memorable icon that attracts attention in the App Store and that stands out on the Apple TV Home screen. Your icon is the first opportunity to communicate, at a glance, your app’s purpose. The App Icons are layered images that create a parallax effect. For your app icons, you’ll provide a pair of 1280px x 768px PNG foreground and background images that will be layered.

App Icon – Foreground – The foreground 1280px x 768px PNG will be the top layer and will be scaled down slightly and centered on the background to create a layered icon with a parallax effect.

App Icon – Background – The background image should be a 1280px x 768px PNG.

Launch Image – A launch image displays when your app starts up. It appears instantly and is quickly replaced with the first screen of your app, giving the impression that your app is fast and responsive. A launch image isn’t an opportunity for artistic expression. It’s solely intended to enhance the perception of your app as quick to launch and immediately ready for use. Launch images are static, and don’t include layers. We recommend the launch image is something like your logo centered with a simple background. Provide either a 3840px x 1440px or 1920px x 720px PNG file.

Top Shelf Image  – The top shelf image is an opportunity for added visibility when the user has placed your app in the top row on the Home Screen. When your app is in focus, you can showcase engaging imagery that encourages people to dive into your app for more. The Top Shelf Image should be a visually rich static image. Use it as an opportunity to highlight your brand. Don’t imply interactivity in the static image. The static top shelf image isn’t focusable, so it shouldn’t include elements that make it appear interactive. Provide a 3840px x 1440px or 1920px x 720px PNG file.

Managing Content on Your Channel

The TelVue Connect CMS makes it easy to manage and organize content and live streams on your Apple TV channel. If you are also managing a CloudCast video player through Connect, you can choose to simply have your Apple TV channel mirror the content and organization of your responsive web/mobile player. Alternatively, you can manage and organize content uniquely for your Apple TV channel.

Content for VOD can be drag and drop uploaded to Connect, or one-click uploaded from your HyperCaster, where it will be automatically transcoded in the cloud for streaming. Within Connect, you can enter metadata, organize into Series, Playlists, and Categories, and choose what is published to Apple TV.

Reviewing Your App

During the development process, TelVue may provide one or more BETA revisions of your application for your review and approval. If so, to view these revisions, you will need an Internet-connected Apple TV box and have an Apple TV account (created and managed on apple.com).

To view a BETA app, you’ll need to add the free Apple “TestFlight” app to your Apple TV box. Then you run TestFlight on your Apple TV, and you’ll need to enter the redemption code you get from the BETA invitation email to add your app. It will then load the BETA app on your Apple TV. You will then be able to review your app and branding images for approval before publishing.

Approval of your App

Once you have approved the final revision of your App and provided all of the necessary metadata, TelVue will submit your channel for approval to the public Apple TV Store. The time that this process takes is variable, and depends on the currently workload of Apple TV’s quality assurance team. TelVue cannot guarantee that your App will be approved to the public channel store or exactly how long the process will take.