Hasta La Gadget!

You may be familiar with EchoStar’s satellite-based (Dish Network) and Sling Media (Slingbox) products, but the company also manufactures set-top boxes for third-party providers, as well as free-to-air services in the UK. It’s this last grouping that’ll be able to take advantage of the Android-based device we saw today, assuming it does in fact make its way to market. The HDX-410 runs native Ice Cream Sandwich, and is available in two versions — one supports IP content and local storage exclusively, while a second can also accept terrestrial Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) programming, letting you play back live TV shows in addition to content from a local server, pulled from the web or stored on attached media or an inserted microSD card. It connects to the web using Ethernet or WiFi, and includes USB ports on both the front and the rear, Bluetooth, HDMI out, digital audio out and a standard-definition connection. It’s also paired with a QWERTY keyboard-equipped remote manufactured by Philips with gyroscopic or directional-pad curser control, along with pinch/zoom gesture capability.

We had a chance to check out the ICS box at EchoStar’s IBC booth today, where the device was running Android 4.0.4 and an early version of the company’s hybrid app, which groups “favorited” content alongside terrestrial channels, letting you use the standard channel up/down button to navigate through stored TV shows, IP content or live programming quite seamlessly, as if all of the media was playing from the same source. It’s clearly not yet ready for primetime, but the interface was sleek and speedy — the set-top box performed very well overall. EchoStar reps were unable to confirm whether or not the HDX-410 would be coming to market at all, but they did add that the solution may be made available to third-parties in the future. Click past the break to take a closer look in our hands-on video.

Continue reading EchoStar HDX-410 set-top box runs native ICS, supports terrestrial broadcasts (hands-on video)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD

EchoStar HDX-410 set-top box runs native ICS, supports terrestrial broadcasts (hands-on video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 12:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Some of my favorite TV shows are on AMC and if DirecTV was to drop the network, I’d be looking for a new TV provider. I’m sure there a lot of people on Dish Network that are still angry that Dish dropped AMC leaving them unable to watch The Walking Dead and other shows AMC offers. AMC is still trying to get Dish to pick its network back up allowing customers to watch the programming they want.

AMC has decided on a strange, yet somewhat humorous, advertising campaign that ties in with the networks insanely popular zombie themed TV show The Walking Dead and the 2012 presidential race. AMC has announced that it supporting A. Zombie for president. The zombie candidate will announce his candidacy at a rally on Monday, August 20 at Westfield Horton Plaza in San Diego.

AMC’s A. Zombie candidate is married to human wife named Patty Morgan-Zombie, and the duo will be on a cross-country bus tour taking them to six major cities in the United States. The goal of the campaign is to bring the pro-zombie message to Republican and Democratic conventions. The real goal is to rally support to force Dish Network to bring AMC back to the satellite service.

The campaign trail will take A. Zombie to San Diego on August 20, Dallas on August 24, Tampa for the Republican convention on August 28, Atlanta on September 1, Charlotte for the Democratic convention September 3 and 4, and New York City on September 5. The new season of The Walking Dead will premiere on October 14. The Walking Dead is the most-watched basic cable scripted drama series among Dish subscribers according to Nielsen. I wonder if A. Zombie is any relation to Rob.

AMC supports A. Zombie for president is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

While the various strands of Dish Network’s “Seinfeld strategy” have yet to come together officially, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal are reporting it could be ready launch satellite-based high speed data services nationally as soon as September or October. This would be separate from the service based on ViaSat’s Exede that’s available in some areas, and Bloomberg‘s sources say it could accommodate up to 2 million customers right away through a satellite Echostar launched in June, although more satellites may be needed to add more customers. Other than hooking up data connections for customers in rural areas, it would let Dish compete directly with data / TV bundles offered by wired pay-TV providers. Of course, this is all dependent on a favorable ruling by the FCC on its technology — you can just ask LightSquared what happens if that doesn’t work out.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet

Dish Network’s nationwide satellite broadband service could be ready to launch soon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 03:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’re not in the habit of entering the dry world of corporate debt notes, but Sprint’s latest financial release might disguise a juicy bit of news. There’s a rumor in the business press that Dish Network might have bought around $400 million of Clearwire’s debt — helping relieve the pressure on Sprint, which has been keeping its subsidiary alive on handouts. Unsurprisingly, no-one’s commenting on the rumors, although Dish CEO Joseph Clayton did say he was open to a partnership (or acquisition) with Sprint / Clearwire late last year. If true, it could signal that it’s getting ready for a fight against AT&T — or maybe it just wanted to throw Dan Hesse a bone.

Continue reading Dish Network rumored to have bought Clearwire’s $400 million debt in secret transaction

Filed under: Wireless

Dish Network rumored to have bought Clearwire’s $400 million debt in secret transaction originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 07:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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With the memory of Dish Network dropping AMC at the end of June undoubtedly still fresh in their minds, Breaking Bad fans are probably getting a little anxious. The season premiere of the fifth and final season of the critically-acclaimed show is quickly approaching, and up until just a little while ago, it looked like Dish Network subscribers were going to be left out in the cold. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case, as AMC has decided to help fans of the show out by streaming the premiere over the internet.

The stream is only available to Dish Network subscribers, and unfortunately, only the first episode of the season will be streamed. After that, you’re on your own, so you’ll have to switch to another television provider or wait until AMC makes the season available in other forms if you want to catch the rest of the episodes. Still, this a nice gesture for those who just want to watch some quality programming but were instead caught up in AMC and Dish’s tussle.

Both companies say different things about why AMC was dropped from Dish Network – according to Dish, it’s because AMC and two other channels owned by the same company, IFC and WE tv, have been performing poorly as far as ratings are concerned. Dish also doesn’t like the fact that AMC makes older episodes of its show available for free online. Hearing AMC explain the parting of ways, however, we get a much different story. AMC says that Dish dropped them because of bad blood from an unrelated lawsuit. Which one is right? No one is really sure. The only thing that seems certain is that these two aren’t likely to kiss and make-up anytime soon.

If you’re a Dish Network subscriber interested in catching the live stream of the Breaking Bad premiere, you can sign up here starting tomorrow, July 13. The show is set to premiere at 10:00 PM EDT on Sunday, July 15, so be sure to register to watch it before then!

[via The New York Times]

AMC will stream Breaking Bad season premiere to Dish subscribers is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.