CES 2017 has revealed an array of impressive new technology that will soon be making its way into the hands of tech-hungry consumers. A lot of this technology is devoted to bringing consumers homes into the 21st century to create the ultimate smart-home. DISH Network is helping create the modern smart-home through their new DISH AirTV and a focus on making the Hopper an all-in-one home entertainment center. To that end, DISH announced an incredible new Hopper feature at CES: Amazon Alexa connectivity.
Amazon Alexa represents a massive leap forward in making the smart-home 2017 consumers dream about a reality. It’s the closest the market has come to recreating the voice-controlled fantasy of Star Trek. The most exciting part of products like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant is their connectivity with other internet-of-things (IoT) products. With a smart thermostat, door bell, lighting and home entertainment connectivity Alexa can act as the control center for your entire apartment.
DISH Network understands the appeal and popularity Amazon Alexa and at CES 2017 announced that their DISH Hopper DVR will now support Alexa connectivity. This is huge news for DISH Network subscribers who are looking to create a more connected home. The Hopper will integrate with two Amazon Alexa devices: the Amazon Echo and Echo Dot. The integration will be available to DISH subscribers at no extra cost.
Once the update is launched Alexa will be able to interpret a broad range of voice commands related to navigating the Hopper DVR service. Commands related to channel, title, actor and genre will be supported as launch. This means that a user could say “Go to ESPN,” “Find comedy movies,” and “Watch Game of Thrones season 1 episode 2” and Amazon Alexa will respond to and execute the command through the DISH Hopper interface.
As the connected home becomes a reality for an increasing number of people, early integration with products like Amazon Alexa put DISH in a position to continue to innovate and provide value for future consumers. The DISH Hopper integration with Amazon Alexa will hopefully be one of many steps by DISH Network into the connected home space.
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