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Google Assistant is coming to Dish's Hopper receivers
The first few days of CES have shown that the big TV makers are all about bringing voice assistants to their sets. Dish seems to think that's a good idea too, so today it's announcing that it is bringing the Google Assistant to its Hopper family of set-top boxes. It'll be available in "the coming months" via a software update for owners of the Hopper, Joey and Wally receivers who also have voice remotes. If you don't have a voice remote, Dish says you can pick one up for $20.
Google Assistant brings voice control to Dish Hoppers
Dish launched Alexa support for its Hopper and Wally set-top boxes last year, so the devices can already do your bidding with just a spoken command. Now, the satellite TV provider is giving you another voice control option: one that should make you happy if you prefer Google's AI to Amazon's. The company's Hopper family of receivers, all Joey clients and Wally single-tuner HD now work with Google Assistant. So long as you have an Android device, an iPhone loaded with the AI's app or an Assistant device such as a Home speaker or a Home mini, you can navigate its channels and shows with your voice.
Dish's HopperGo portable DVR is available today
Nearly five months after its introduction at CES 2016, the HopperGo is finally available to Dish customers. This portable DVR features 64GB of built-in storage, which you can fill with movies and TV shows you've recorded on your Hopper 2, Hopper with Sling or Hopper 3 set-top box. The magic of the HopperGo is that it creates its own private network, no internet needed, and allows up to five iOS or Android devices to connect to it using the Dish Anywhere app.
Dish customers can stream Netflix in 4K with the Hopper 3
Dish took a major leap forward at CES 2016, introducing its first 4K receiver and DVR. But, as great as it is for customers to have that option, Hopper 3 needs compatible content in order to show true value. With this in mind, Dish has announced support for Netflix's 4K repertoire, which will let users watch some movies and series in Ultra HD. That includes most of the streaming service's latest original shows, including the acclaimed Daredevil and House of Cards, among others.
Dish's 4K-ready Hopper 3 DVR is now available
Although the Hopper 3 was supposed to arrive at the end of January, Dish isn't too late on its promise. The company's third-generation DVR, which supports 4K and up to six Joey receivers simultaneously, is now available to subscribers. According to Dish, "qualified" new and existing account holders can get one box at no cost, but that's with a $15 monthly fee.
Dish Hopper Transfers for iPad takes your DVR content offline (hands-on)
There's really no way to encapsulate all of this awesomeness in a headline, so you're gonna want to read on. Sure, there's Dish Anywhere, for realtime streaming of live TV and DVR content, but Hopper with Sling owners will soon be able to take their content offline, for viewing on trains, planes and anywhere else where you don't have a connection (or don't want to burst your monthly bandwidth cap with hours of video). Assuming you have the necessary hardware, including Dish's latest DVR and an iPad, Hopper Transfers will let you offload any and all of your recorded movies and TV shows to the Apple tablet. The STB uses the Sling transcoder to convert your content to a compatible format, then the app wireless boots a sub-HD version to your portable device. Transcoding occurs at 1:1 speed, meaning an hour of footage will take an hour of processing, but you do have the option of converting your videos immediately after they're recorded, so they're prepped before you need to run out the door to catch a flight (the actual wireless transfer takes between five and eight minutes for each hour-long show). Your iPad will need to be on your home network in order to receive files, so this isn't something you can handle remotely. The workflow also varies according to programming arrangements, so some shows and movies will need to be moved (erased from the DVR), while others can coexist on both devices, but can only be sent to one iPad. (Of course, there's no restriction on the number of times you can record a show to the Hopper, though.) You also don't own the content that you move over -- the app will need to connect to your DVR once each month to verify your subscription in order to remain active. We took a look at some flicks that had already made the jump, and playback worked well with the iPad in Airplane mode, so everything appears to be in order. Like the Anywhere app, content doesn't appear in HD, but the quality will almost surely beat your airline's in-flight entertainment system. Like Dish Anywhere, Hopper Transfers is free, and it's expected to hit the App Store in January. Sadly, there's no word on if or when it'll be available for Android. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
Dish launches Hopper with Sling, a commercial-jumping DVR that boots live and saved content to the web (hands-on)
Dish's Hopper just took a massive leap. The whole-home DVR solution, which launched at CES last year and began shipping to consumers this past spring, now has built-in Sling functionality -- think of it as a supercharged version of the "SlingLoaded" DVR we first saw in early 2009. The new Broadcom 7125 chipset under the hood enables full Sling capability, with all the benefits of DVR integration, letting you view live TV from any of your subscribed channels, along with each and every program saved to the 2-terabyte hard drive -- there are no content or location restrictions, meaning the box will feed HD video to a compatible device anywhere in the world. Dish subscribers who don't plan to take advantage of Sling will see speed boosts as well, thanks to a new 1.3GHz clock speed and 2 gigs of RAM, with a faster bus speed to boot. All this power translates to a much smoother experience device-wide. During our hands-on and side-by-side demo with the previous-generation Hopper, menu navigation felt much speedier, with apps launching more quickly and no hiccups during guide scrolling. Like other Sling products, you're limited to one connected device at a time, so don't plan on handing your login to friends and family members on the other end of the world (unless they're willing to play nicely, of course). You'll also have on-demand content through the Dish Anywhere app, and because this is standard video streamed from the web, the simultaneous device limitation jumps to five. Externally, this latest Hopper looks identical to its predecessor, and offers all of the original features, with the added benefit of Sling, boosted performance and built-in WiFi. It's set to ship this month and will ultimately be free for new customers, though an upgrade path for owners of the now-retired original Hopper has yet to be detailed. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
Dish adds Pandora to Hopper Whole-Home DVR system
Tired of walking from room to room, bringing your Entourage with you via your minty fresh Dish Hopper? Well, now you can sit down, relax and enjoy a hot cup of your favorite tunes from the same box. Dish has introduced the popular Pandora music service into its Hopper Whole-Home HD DVR System. So, you'll be able to pull up tracks, create playlists and all the usual recommendation delights you've come to expect from the personal radio service. We'd normally make Pandora's Box about this time, but we're already knee deep in the Jane's Addiction back catalog...
