Dish said that is is working with Amazon to enable the Alexa service on its Hopper and Wally set top boxes when paired with Amazon Echo, Echo Dot or Amazon Tap. The new Alexa ‘skills’ allow hands free TV operation.
Users with an internet-connected Hopper (any generation) or Wally can ask Alexa to navigate, play, pause, fast-forward, rewind and search content based on channel, title, actor or genre. Universal search functionality works across DISH’s live, recorded and on-demand titles as well as Netflix’s selection of TV shows and movies.
Analyst Comment
As I’ve mentioned before, Ruwido, one of the companies that does a lot of human factors research on interfaces has been keen to develop voice control and came to the clear conclusion that voice really works when you know exactly what you want, but not when you are not so sure. I think the company is right. (BR)
