Back in July Dish Network announced plans to open its Hopper DVR platform to mobile app developers, and today at CEDIA we saw the results of that initiative. Thanks to SDK access that can mirror the functionality of Dish's own Explorer iPad app, home automation systems like Control4 can now directly access the DVRs. That means users with those systems (or others, we saw demos of integration with a few other systems although they haven't been officially announced yet) can control their DVR with the same controls used to adjust their lighting, security and other services. So far, access is limited to simple remote control commands over IP while everything gets certified and secured, but eventually it will include full two-way communication, including guide data and more.
While that's enough to make anyone who orders or builds custom systems drool, what could it mean for the rest of us? We'll have to wait and see, but if Control4 can build in access, we can certainly imagine what the Xbox One, Google TV, Samsung's Smart TV or any other rumored devices (*cough*) might be able to offer. We'll probably have to wait until CES to hear more on that front, but we did get a quick preview of a feature in testing that's coming to all Hopper DVRs: HDMI-CEC control. The ability to send and receive commands is something we've wanted on cable / satellite set-top boxes for some time, and Dish Network may well be the first to make it happen.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD
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