DISH announces integrations with popular Amazon devices
DISH meet Alexa!
The first bit of news involves Amazon's Echo and Echo dot devices and more.
DISH customers with a Hopper or Wally and an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot or Amazon Tap can now watch hands-free TV with Alexa voice control. Examples of spoken commands include: “Alexa, go to ESPN,” “Alexa, play This is Us,” “Alexa, show me Tom Hanks movies,” and “Alexa, pause.”
Available today, DISH customers with a Hopper or Wally and an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot or Amazon Tap can watch hands-free TV with Alexa. DISH is the first TV provider to offer direct compatibility with Amazon Alexa. “Hopper and Alexa introduce next-level convenience that redefines the way TV fits into our lives,” said Niraj Desai, DISH vice president of product management. “Instantly, it’s easier to read player stats on your phone while flipping between basketball games; to chop ingredients in the kitchen while rewinding a TV scene you just missed; to snack on popcorn while searching for your favorite film – the list goes on.”
This is all about the ease of home integration.
“Customers love the convenience of interacting with their smart homes via Alexa, and now that includes live TV on DISH,” said Rob Pulciani, Director Amazon Alexa. “With DISH’s skill for Alexa, changing the channel, pausing, rewinding and searching for content will be as simple as asking Alexa via an Echo family device. We think this is a big step forward for the television experience, and that customers will love this new voice functionality on DISH.” Just ask Alexa for hands-free TV on DISH Users with an internet-connected Hopper (any generation) or Wally can ask Alexa to navigate, play, pause, fast-forward, rewind and search content based on channel, title, actor or genre. Universal search functionality works across DISH’s live, recorded and on-demand titles as well as Netflix’s selection of TV shows and movies. Below are examples of spoken commands. “Alexa, change channel to ESPN” “Alexa, tune to channel 130” “Alexa, go to the History Channel” “Alexa, find the Big Bang Theory” “Alexa, search for Game of Thrones” “Alexa, show me Tom Hanks movies” “Alexa, search for comedies” “Alexa, play This is Us” “Alexa, skip forward” “Alexa, rewind 30 seconds” “Alexa, pause” “Alexa, resume” How to set-up Alexa on DISH 1. Enable DISH TV in the Alexa app: Open the Alexa app on a mobile device and select Music, Video & Books → DISH TV → Enable Skill. 2. Get receiver code: Turn on internet-connected Hopper or Wally, and go to: Menu → Settings → Amazon Alexa → Get Code. Enter the generated code into the Alexa app and select Activate. Click Done in the confirmation message. 3. Pair Hopper or Wally with Echo, Echo Dot or Amazon Tap: In the Alexa app, select desired Hopper or Wally receiver from list of discoverable devices. Click Continue. Select Amazon device to be synced with chosen receiver. Click Link Devices. For more information about Alexa on DISH’s Hopper and Wally, including possible commands and additional set-up instructions, visit www.dish.com/AmazonAlexaIntegration.
For the many individuals and families using Amazon Fire TV devices, DISH extended its DISH Anywhere app experience to customers’ big screen televisions through Amazon Fire TV products. This marks the first time customers can use a media player to seamlessly access DISH Anywhere on any TV with an HDMI input, either at home or on the go.
DISH Anywhere gives Hopper customers the ability to watch 100 percent of their live and recorded content, plus thousands of on-demand titles, from any location on Internet-connected mobile devices, including smart phones, tablets and computers, and now televisions. Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick are the first media players to offer DISH Anywhere. DISH customers with an Internet-connected Hopper 3, Hopper 2 or a first-generation Hopper connected to a Sling Adapter have access to live, recorded and on-demand content on DISH Anywhere. Customers with VIP receivers may use DISH Anywhere to watch on-demand titles.