Let Alexa change the channel on your Dish Hopper DVR
Dish will introduce Alexa voice commands to its Hopper DVRs later this year.
Here's an example of some useful voice control. Simply ask Amazon's Alexa voice assistant to tune your TV to a show you want to watch. That's just what Dish Network plans to introduce to its lineup of Hopper DVR boxes.
The satellite TV company expects all of its broadband-connected DVRs to enjoy deep integration with Amazon's popular voice interface by the first half of 2017. Examples of the sorts of TV actions you'll be able to ask Alexa to perform include basic navigation through the channel guide and tuning to specific channels.
Beyond these simple tasks, Dish says you'll also have the ability to ask Alexa to search for individual shows and movies, even actors.
The timing of all these slick smart home capabilities dovetails with another upcoming Dish Network enhancement, multiroom music. Along with Amazon Music, by February you can also expect to stream tunes through iHeartRadio and Pandora (among others) in multiple rooms simultaneously using your Hopper box.