Overview 
RDK7 is the newest open source software release, supporting both IP STB and IP TV video platforms. RDK7 represents a significant architectural shift by increasing modularity through a layered design, which increases efficiency and pushes RDK towards acceptance as the platform of choice. This new architecture makes it easier for third party integrations; simplifies the contribution process; and provides greater standardization, ecosystem cohesion, and enhanced visibility.
Key capabilities and benefits of RDK7 include:
- Layer Modularity: Distributed layer ownership and independent testing of versioned layers accelerate development and deployment cycles
- Contribution Transparency: Enhanced visibility into how contributions are processed and accepted encourages collaboration and strengthens community engagement
- Streamlined Workflows: Transition to Github workflows and open source best practices provide developers with familiar tools to expedite innovation
- Enhanced Reliability: Component-level testing and clear dependencies ensure prompt response from component owners, increasing quality and reliability at scale
In this page:
Architecture Overview:
A quick architecture overview of RDK7 to help associate the capabilities with the software stack is given below
Build system Overview:
Compared to previous releases, RDK7 follows a layered build approach. The build setup is now divided into a set of independent Stack layer projects, each comprising components that are developed separately and delivered as binary packages(ipk). These stack layers are then assembled into the final image using the Image Assembler tool. The build setup maintains a Reference OSS layer, which serves as a reference Yocto distribution layer( which also includes CVE patches ), a vendor layer that contains the vendor specific code, an RDK middleware layer that contains the core RDK middleware components, and finally an application layer that contains the applications.
The build system introduced in RDK7 is comprehensively covered in the technical session held during the RDK Tech Summit in May 2025
<script src=https://fast.wistia.com/player.js async></script><script src=https://fast.wistia.com/embed/3jfmbg3zlo.js async type="module"></script><style>wistia-player[media-id='3jfmbg3zlo']:not(:defined) { background: center / contain no-repeat url('https://fast.wistia.com/embed/medias/3jfmbg3zlo/swatch'); display: block; filter: blur(5px); padding-top:56.25%; }</style> <wistia-player media-id="3jfmbg3zlo" aspect="1.7777777777777777"></wistia-player> |
Links to individual platforms are access restricted. Please login for better user experience. If you do not have an account, please signup at https://wiki.rdkcentral.com/signup.action . If you have logged in but not able to view the page, please contact support@rdkcentral.com |
Platforms Supported 
For details of how to get the source code, test coverage & test report and known issues in each platform, please click the hyper link. If you do not have an account, please signup at https://wiki.rdkcentral.com/signup.action . If you are logged in but not able to view the page, please contact support@rdkcentral.com |
| Platform | Type | SOC | OEM |
|---|---|---|---|
Raspberry Pi 4 | Generic Reference device | Broadcom | Raspberry Pi Foundation |
IP STB BCM 72126 | SOC Reference device | Broadcom | NA |
IP STB AH 212 | SOC Reference device | Amlogic | NA |
IP TV AT 301 | SOC Reference device | Amlogic | NA |
IP STB 1319 Hank | SOC Reference device | Realtek | NA |
New Features
| Category | Sub -category | Version details |
|---|---|---|
| AV | Player | Gstreamer, AAMP |
| AV Pipeline | RIALTO | |
| Application Support / Prerequisites | Container | OCI Runtime + Dobby |
| Firebolt Implementation | Ripple | |
| DRM | PlayReady 4.4, Widevine v16 | |
| Connectivity | Ethernet & Wi-Fi | |
| Bluetooth | Bluetooth Bluez | |
| Remote Control | ||
| Casting | DIAL, Wi-Fi Direct (Miracast) | |
| Peripherals/Ports | HDMI, USB, Optical | |
| Framework | Thunder | Thunder 4.4 |
| Browser | WPE Webkit 2.38 | |
| Interfaces /IPC | Application Interfaces | Firebolt |
| Hardware / SOC interfaces | RDK HAL | |
| Inter Process Communication | IARM, RBUS, DBUS | |
| Protocol - Device Management | TR69hostif | |
| AV Driver interface | V4l2 | |
| Graphics and Rendering | Graphics & Rendering | OpenGL 3.2 |
| Composition | Westeros / ESSOS, Wayland | |
| Build & Platform | Kernel | ACK 5.15 64-bit Kernel |
| SOC SDK | BCM URSR25, RTK 7.X, AML 7.x | |
| Silicon | Broadcom, Amlogic, Realtek | |
| Build Framework | Yocto 4.0 (Kirkstone) | |
| Logging support (Debugging) | RDK Logger | |
| Firmware Upgrade | ||
| Applications | Native Apps / Runtimes | Netflix 7, Cobalt 25, Amazon AVPK6 |
| Application Management / Composition | RDKShell | |
| Application Bundle | LISA | |
| App checkpoint/restore | MemCR | |
| Access Control | AppArmor | |
| Casting | ||
| Secure Time Manager | ||
| Device management | Device Management | Web PA, XConf, Telemetry |
| Debugging |