DISH Enables Google Assistant Compatibility For Hopper And Other Set-Top Boxes
DISH has become the very first major pay-tv company to offer users compatibility with Google Assistant. The compatibility launches today for the Hopper, Hopper Duo, Joey, and Wally set-top boxes. The cool part about this compatibility is that you don’t need to go out and buy additional hardware. While Google Home devices are supported, so are most Android phones and iPhones with the Google Assistant app installed.
"Since we first introduced voice control technology, we've seen our customers really embrace the hands-free TV experience," said Niraj Desai, DISH vice president of product management. "Our collaboration with Google is an exciting opportunity for us to continue meeting demand for voice and changing the way we interact with television."
DISH has a litany of voice commands that you can use from launching apps to adjusting volume or looking for specific movies and actors. Voice commands are supported in Game Finder, Netflix, and Pandora. Google Assistant can also control navigation, play, pause, fast-forward, rewind, and search via title, channel, actor, or genre. Search results include live, recorded, and on-demand titles as well as the ability to search Netflix.
Some of the available commands are listed below:
- "Turn on my Hopper"
- "Mute my Hopper"
- "Change the channel to ESPN"
- "Tune to channel 140"
- "Go to Food Network"
- "Show me Big Bang Theory"
- "Show me home improvement shows"
- "Record Game of Thrones on Hopper"
- "Show me Tom Hanks movies"
- "Play This is Us"
- "Play Top Gun on
DISH " - "Launch Netflix on Hopper"
- "Open Game Finder on Hopper"
- "Skip forward on Joey"
- "Rewind 30 seconds"
- "Pause" and "Resume"
DISH notes that support for Spanish is coming soon. Setting up Google Assistant requires the receiver to be connected to broadband and for the Google Assistant device to be paired with the box. This is done via the Google Assistant app on a mobile device.
