Smart assistants are slowly but gradually making their way onto everything. Earlier this year at CES 2018, we saw smart voice assistants getting integrated into laptops, smart displays, refrigerators, automobiles, thermostats, and even bathrooms. Now, while there are some devices that don’t have these smart assistants integrated into them, they do come with the capability of being controlled by an Alexa or Google Home smart speaker in your house. You can add one more to that list.
Just last year, Dish had launched an Amazon Alexa skill for its Hopper and Wally set-top boxes that allowed users to change the channel, search for shows or control playback with their voice. Now, in an official blog post, Dish has announced that its users will now be able to set recordings, launch apps and navigate menus on its Hopper range of set-top boxes through Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo devices.
While users can already play or pause content with the Alexa voice assistant, the latest update will allow them to use commands such as “Alexa, launch Netflix” to open the app. It will also come with the ability to set recordings, launch other apps, and navigate to Home, Guide, DVR, On Demand, Settings and Help menus on Hopper boxes. You can see the full list of Alexa integrations over on Dish’s website, accompanied by setup instructions to connect your Alexa-capable device to your box.
According to the blog post, “all DISH customers with an Internet-connected Hopper DVR (all generations), Hopper Duo, Joey (all models) or Wally can ask Alexa to control their TV content after pairing with an Amazon Echo, Echo Show, Echo Dot, Fire TV Cube or another Alexa-enabled device.”
