Hasta La Gadget!

I have been using a Dish Network Hopper whole home DVR system for about a year now and I will never go back to a normal DVR. I can record a lot of shows at the same time on the system as it is now, but at times I run into issues and have to cancel stuff. This is mostly because my daughter records every episode of SpongeBob SquarePants and anything that has the word “horse” in the title.

Dish has announced that the Super Joey that was unveiled during CES is now available for people to have installed in their home. The Super Joey works in concert with the Hopper DVR system and when installed significantly expands the number of shows you can watch or record.

The Super Joey adds two more tuners to the three that come in the Hopper. One of the tuners in the Hopper automatically records ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX primetime shows, so you can theoretically record eight shows at once – or at least four programs you really want, plus four that you maybe want.

Hopefully, this means I can keep watching my shows when my daughter’s endless recordings kick off at the same time.

Dish’s Hopper, long the king of DVRs, just zoomed even farther ahead: it’s introducing a new SuperJoey, an improved version of their client receivers to its main DVR the Hopper. The improvements? It’ll be possible to record 8 shows at once. That’s insane. DISH has also introduced a Wireless Joey along with the ability to use Dish’s Hopper DVR on a PS4 and PS3 too.

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Dish’s Hopper software team is clearly busy; just two months after it brought home-automation support to its DVR, it’s rolling out another update that offers considerably more control. The new “Denver” firmware enables promised HDMI-CEC support, letting the Hopper send and receive commands from compatible HDMI gear. It can automatically switch TV inputs when powered on, for example. Other upgrades introduce universal search, a help app and a shelf-like layout for On Demand videos. As part of the revamp, Dish is also improving its Explorer iPad app; Apple tablet owners can both control every TV on the Hopper platform and find recommended shows. Neither “Denver” nor the Explorer update will necessarily get anyone switching TV providers, but it should make the viewing experience that much sweeter for loyal customers.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Tablets, HD

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Source: Dish, App Store

As powerful as the Hopper DVR can be, it largely exists in an app vacuum: to date, only official releases like Dish Explorer and Dish Social have had access. Dish is giving its set-top box some much needed flexibility, however, by offering the Hopper’s APIs to third-party developers. The expansion lets non-Dish mobile apps control the Hopper directly, whether it’s switching to a live show or scheduling a recording. Thuuz Sports (shown above) is the first app to take advantage of the APIs, although we wouldn’t expect a flood of releases afterwards — Dish is screening developers for privacy issues and “other considerations.” Still, the move represents a rare level of openness in an industry that frequently insists on self-branded software.

Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, HD, Mobile

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Source: Dish, Thuuz

While Dish Network’s $25.5 billion bid for Sprint continues to wave in the breeze, the company has reported its earnings for the first quarter. Net subscriber growth only totaled 36,000 compared to 104,000 in the same period last year, as subscriber churn rose due to a price hike earlier this year. Its profits were lower in Q1 2013 than 2012 partially due to Blockbuster-related drops and a boost received last year from its DBSD purchase. (We’re guessing higher content costs for things like AMC didn’t help either.) A growing percentage of the 654,000 new customers it added got Hopper DVRs, which also raised costs a bit for the new set-top boxes and all those TV advertisements its been running. Even as it waits to add some terrestrial LTE to its “Seinfeld” wireless data strategy, the dishNET satellite broadband service added 66,000 customers in the quarter, up from from just 6,000 new customers in Q1 2012. We’ll have to wait for the earnings call at noon to see if CEO Charlie Ergen has anything else to say about its battle with Softbank to buy Sprint, but all of the data is in the press release and slide below.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Dish Network Q1 2013 investor summary (PDF), Q1 Earnings