Skip to main content

Dish’s devices just got easier to control with new Alexa voice commands

If you’re a Dish subscriber, you may already be familiar with Amazon’s Alexa, as the company introduced Alexa for its Hopper devices in April 2017 and expanded support to its Joey clients in October 2017. Whether you’re already a user or just bought a device with Alexa, your life is about to get a little easier, as Dish has rolled out a handful of new Alexa voice controls.

The new commands let you control your Dish DVR as well as navigate the interface and launch apps. If you’re watching a show and suddenly realize you want to record it, simply saying “Alexa, record this” will take care of that for you. If, on the other hand, you want to look through shows you’ve already recorded, all you need to do is say “Alexa, go to my DVR.”

Recommended Videos

When it comes to navigation, you can move through the interface by saying “Alexa, go to my Home Screen” or “Alexa, open Game Finder.” This works similarly for apps as well, which you can launch by saying “Alexa, launch Netflix” or “Alexa, launch Pandora.” The new commands join those that were already available, which would let you change channels or search for TV shows.

“We are working to create the best Hands-Free TV options for our customers, and these new voice capabilities are an important step in that direction,” Dish vice president of product management Niraj Desai said in a statement. “Dish customers already love the convenience that our Alexa compatibility brings to their home, so we’re continuously identifying popular voice commands to enhance that experience.”

These commands are available to any Dish customer with an Alexa device and internet-connected Dish hardware, which includes all generations of its Hopper DVR, the Hopper Duo, all models of the Joey, and the Wally. When it comes to Alexa devices, you can use the Amazon Echo, Echo Show, Echo Dot, or even the new Fire TV Cube or another Alexa-enabled device. There is one slight catch, in that each Dish set-top box will need to be paired with its own Alexa device.

These new commands are available now. For more about Alexa integration with your DVR or set-top box, see the Dish website. If you are new to Alexa, make sure to take a look at our guide to all the different things you can do with Amazon’s insanely popular virtual voice assistant.

Kris Wouk
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kris Wouk is a tech writer, gadget reviewer, blogger, and whatever it's called when someone makes videos for the web. In his…
One of TCL’s biggest TVs has a huge $1,700 discount!
2024 TCL Q6 4K QLED TV.

You may be wondering if you should stick to the tried and true projector-with-projector-screen combo for a larger viewing space. Then again, there’s nothing wrong with owning a gargantuan TV. As such, we came across this fantastic Best Buy offer on one of TCL’s biggest 2024 sets:

Right now, when you order the 98-inch TCL Q6 Series (2024) at Best Buy, you’ll only spend $1,700. And if that sounds like a lot, consider the fact that this size usually costs $3,000.

Read more
Best Walmart TV deals: 58-inch 4K TV for $238 and more
lg 55 inch oled 4k tvs deal walmart class b8 tv

Best Buy TV deals and Amazon TV deals can be a great way to land a discount on a new TV, but Walmart is in play as well. The retail giant is home to quite a few of today’s best TV deals and they include 65-inch TV deals, 70-inch TV deals, 75-inch TV deals, 85-inch TV deals, and more. With so many TV deals going on at Walmart we thought we’d round up today’s best Walmart TV deals all in one place. You can find them all below, and if you’d prefer to shop for a specific brand be sure to check out today’s Samsung TV deals, Sony TV deals, LG TV deals, Vizio TV deals, and TCL TV deals as well.
Hisense 58-inch R6 4K Roku TV -- $238 $298 20% off

One of the best TV brands for value, Hisense is worth checking out, particularly with its Hisense 43-inch Roku 4K TV. A great size for the price, you get all the benefits of a 4K resolution along with HDR and Motion Rate support. The latter means you won't have to worry about motion blur while you play a game or watch fast-moving action or sports. Plus, get access to the best of Roku, including the free Roku channel while using this TV. Also, the TV works with Google Assistant and Alexa so it's easy to use and control your TV and other smart home devices.

Read more
Best headphone deals: AirPods, Sony, Sennheiser and more
Beats Studio Pro sitting on travel case.

There are a lot of headphone deals available today, and among them are some impressive Beats headphone deals, AirPods deals, Bose headphone deals, Sony headphone deals, and more. This is great news if you’d like some audio privacy throughout the day or if you’d like to experience your home theater in a more immersive way. With so many headphone deals to choose from we thought we’d round up all of the best headphone deals for your shopping convenience. Reading onward you’ll find some serious discounts on popular headphone models, and if you’re looking for some cool devices to pair them with you can also shop TV deals, gaming console deals, phone deals, and tablet deals.
Sony WH-CH720N -- $98 $150 35% off

The Sony CH720NB are good-quality headphones for a relatively budget price, with the audio being dependable but nothing exciting or comparable to the higher-end Sony XM4s, for example. That's ok since they aren't meant to compete at that level, and given the price you're paying, they're relatively comfortable to wear, have good audio, and you can get about 35 hours of total use per charge with ANC switched on.

Read more