New Amazon Alexa commands have come to DISH’s Hopper set-top boxes allowing users to expand the set of functions they can operate by voice with their DISH hopper equipment. DISH unveiled Alexa compatibility for its Hopper boxes in April of last year, so the ability to use Alexa for certain things isn’t completely new. What is new are the commands that are being added in, which includes a few different recording options and more.
When it comes to the new voice commands these are centered around launching apps on the set-top box as well as starting recordings for content. For example, with the new Alexa functions users can ask their DISH Hopper box to record a certain show. This makes it easier than ever to ensure that you don’t miss the content you want to watch as you won’t have to worry about fiddling with a remote. Users can now also launch apps like Netflix or anything else that they have installed on the box, or simply just use Alexa to go back to the home screen or the DVR menu to see all the recorded content.
These new voice commands join the existing ones which were added last year, all of which are focused on playback (such as pause, play, fast forward, and rewind) in addition to a search functionality. The update should be rolling out to users with the compatible boxes as of now or relatively soon, though users will need to connect their boxes to an Echo device like the Echo or Echo Dot. Compatible boxes include all generations of the Hopper according to DISH, which includes all generations of the Hopper DVR, all generation of the Joey, the Wally, and the Hopper Duo, so no matter which box you have the new Alexa functions should be available.