Audio Video News

Calling the traditional button-operated remote control outdated, Dish is making a voice-control remote available to owners of its Hopper 3 and 4K Joey set-top boxes for $30.

Said to “operate with incredible speed and accuracy,” viewers can use the Voice Remote to surf channels and search for programming by simply pressing a button to enable voice control and speaking. The remote, which also has a touchpad, interprets natural language, populating search results based on program title, actor, or genre and building contextual searches to narrow options. Voice commands can also be used to control basic functions such as changing channels and recording.

At about half the size of a standard controller, the remote is backlit and has a touchpad that responds to smartphone-like swipe and scroll gestures plus a simple keypad with basic controls. A “123” button brings up a numeric keypad on the touchpad for direct channel selection.

Other features include universal remote functionality with learning capability, the ability to control up to two infrared (IR) devices, an illumination key, and a locator mode for finding the remote when you misplace it.

For more information, visit dish.com.