If you don’t have both a 4K Ultra HD TV and a Dish subscription, prepare for a serious case of jealousy during NBCUniversal’s coverage of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Dish is rolling out new features that will enhance the Rio-viewing experience. Not only will subscribers have access to thousands of hours of NBCUniversal Olympic coverage, both linear broadcasts and on-demand, Dish is making it easier to stay on top of the Games’ many events in 4K. Dish channel 148 will serve as an exclusive sports hub, allowing users to navigate through 10 NBCUniversal networks. The caveat, as Variety reports, is that 4K coverage won’t be live.
Those with the Dish Hopper 3 and 4K Joey will be able to watch NBC’s coverage in 4K on linear channel 146 and in the VOD catalog. Set on a one-day delay, events featured will include popular ones like swimming, track and field, basketball, and more. Dish customers who prefer to live-stream will be able to login to use the NBC Sports app and NBCOlympics.com.
For the times when it’s just too hard to choose which event to watch, Dish’s sports bar mode available on the Hopper 3 will bring users multiple channels at once. The feature splits a TV into four quadrants, each airing a different channel, with audio that’s switchable between panels.
Meanwhile, Dish’s Hopper set-top boxes and accompanying Joey, 4K Joey, Wireless Joey, and Super Joey units will all offer an NBC Olympics app. Users will be able to use it to find everything from real-time medal counts to event schedules. From the app, viewers will also be able to go directly to live events or record upcoming ones to watch later.
While Dish’s features are exciting, the 4K fun won’t be limited to just the one provider. DirecTV and Comcast will also offer coverage in the extra-sharp format and have their own special features. DirecTV will be able to play eight screens at once, while Comcast will provide a full 6,000 hours of coverage, as well as providing alerts about favorite athletes, events, and countries. Essentially, if you’ve got any one of these major carriers for your pay TV package, it’s going to be a pretty fun Olympics.
