DISH adds Alexa skills to Hopper

DISH presents new Amazon Alexa controls. (PRNewsfoto/DISH Network Corporation)

Do you love talking to your stuff? Are Siri, Google, and Alexa your new best friends? If so you’ll be really excited to hear what’s new with DISH.

While DISH was the first to add Alexa integration to its Hopper DVR, DIRECTV upped the game when they added support options as an Alexa skill. Now, DISH fires back with a new set of options for its own Alexa skill. According to the press release, you’ll be able to say things like:

  • “Alexa, record this”
  • “Alexa, launch Netflix”
  • “Alexa, open Game Finder”
  • “Alexa, go to my Home Screen”
  • “Alexa, go to my DVR”

You’ll be able to do these things with Hopper, Hopper Duo, Joey, and Wally after setting up Echo devices to work with the DISH hardware.

Is pushing a button so hard?

There are certainly some curmudgeons out there who say it isn’t. Some folks simply don’t believe that it’s worth sacrificing privacy just so you can talk to your equipment. Remember, Alexa will remember literally everything you say, and even though you can erase your history, that’s no guarantee that it’s really gone. The profile that Amazon builds about you probably still remains. If you’re ok with that, as many people are, you’ll probably find the new skills enticing.

How to get it

If you have the DISH skill already installed, you don’t need to do anything more. If you don’t, install it like you would install any other skill. There’s really nothing to it. From there, you can explore all the possibilities of working with Alexa to control your entire watching experience.

About the Author

Stuart Sweet
Stuart Sweet is the editor-in-chief of The Solid Signal Blog and a "master plumber" at Signal Group, LLC. He is the author of over 10,000 articles and longform tutorials including many posted here. Reach him by clicking on "Contact the Editor" at the bottom of this page.