New Dish Remote Makes Major Upgrades, Including Voice Control And Touchpad

Voice-activated entertainment systems have increasingly popped up in the technology market of the past several years. With gaming systems like the Xbox Kinect providing a hands-free solution in the gamer world and Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri respectively dominating the personal computerized assistant world, it was only a matter of time before the technology made it’s way into satellite TV devices.

Dish Compatible with the Hopper 3 and 4K Joey set-up boxes, Dish’s new remote control allows users to search for programs and operate their DVR with simple, natural-language voice commands. Half the size Comcast’s voice-controlled remote, the device is mostly virtual touch-screen, futuristically back-lit yet perfect for manual input. The new remote is also universal, and can be paired with other devices through infared signal. Annoyed about having to constantly aim your remote at the box? Dish has also solved that problem, utilizing a radio connection so that signal is maintained no matter direction the device is in. The best part? With all of this new tech, the remote can still last up to six months on just two AA batteries.

Dish’s executive vice president and chief technology officer, Vivek Khemka, expressed their excitement over their product, as reported by PC Mag. “Voice Remote is simple to use, affordable and, most impressively, operates with incredible speed and accuracy,” he reported. “Leveraging modern navigation paradigms like touch and voice, this remote represents a complete reinvention of the outdated remote control customers have come to expect from cable providers.”

The new Dish remote sells for $149.99 on Amazon in a 4K Joey Client kit, which currently maintains a five-star rating.