DISH Hopper Features December Update

Just in time for the holidays, DISH has updated the Hopper with three pretty cool new features to get you all set to record and watch your favorite shows like never before—and simplify your TV-watching experience in the process. Three cool new DISH Hopper features came out this week as DISH rolled out a nationwide package of new software to Hopper DVRs everywhere. Here are the three new features included in this update:

Watch From the Beginning

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tuned into a movie only to realize it’s pretty far along and I’ve missed the beginning. Here’s the thing, though—DISH has a large percentage of these titles on-demand. So you could, if you were so inclined, search and play the movie back as an on-demand free download. Well DISH did one better and now lets you watch the show from the beginning if the title is available on demand. It does the heavy lifting for you (search) and simply makes it happen behind the scenes. This is a VERY cool feature. With this update, Hopper automatically identifies if and when  live content is also available in DISH’s Video On Demand catalogue and takes care of the rest. Of all the new DISH Hopper features, this is the one that I use the most.

Binge Watching Made Easier

When I watch episodes from DVR, one of the things that often happens is I want to go to the next episode. Previously, that meant exiting out of the show, re-entering the DVR menu, and re-selecting the show and episode I wanted to watch next. Now, the Hopper helps you “binge-watch” your favorite shows by giving you an on-screen pop-up that shows you up-to-four subsequent episodes in the series. You can then select any of those from your DVR (or shows in DISH’s VOD catalogue) and begin watching the episode right away.

Closed Captioning at the Touch of a Button

Closed captioning used to be considered something for the hearing impaired, but now it’s becoming a feature that is getting use at night or whenever you need to drop the volume on your television. Commercial establishments are putting it to excellent use as well, but in the home is where I’m seeing more and more people turn it on for late night viewing when noise isn’t an option. In any case, DISH has made closed captioning so easy, you’ll actually be able to use it to rewind what you’re watching and catch a hard-to-discern line of dialogue. Hopper simplified the CC process and you can now turn closed captioning on and off on your TV simply by pressing the green button on your DISH remote control. Previously, you had to pretty much leave your show, go into the main menu, and change your preferences. Now you press a button and it’s done.

You can stay up-to-date on more DISH Hopper features by following @DISHNews