DISH Hopper and Google Assistant: you can forget about the remote

Everything these days seem to be driven by bots, specifically chatbots. That's true whether they're simply bots you type commands to or, more popularly, speak to. But despite the ubiquity and popularity of Google Assistant, our TVs, sometimes the first appliance to become smart in our houses, are still beholden to the decades-old remote control. If you own one of DISH's Hopper family of receivers, that's no longer true and you can take it easy even when you can't find that elusive remote.

Yes, Google Assistant has arrived on DISH. And by that, we mean that almost anything and everything you needed a remote control for can be done with the power of your voice. Everything from turning on the Hopper to recording a specific show. Here are just some examples:

• "Turn on my Hopper"

• "Tune to channel 140"

• "Show me home improvement shows"

• "Open Game Finder on Hopper"

• "Rewind 30 seconds"

• "Pause" and "Resume"

• "Record Game of Thrones on Hopper"

Best of all, you don't even need to do anything special. All generations of broadband-connected Hopper DVRs are supported, including the Hopper Duo, the Joey, or even the single-tuner HD Wally. Just pair your Hopper with and Google Assistant device, be it speaker or phone, and you're on your way to feeling like a king or queen, with no pesky remote control to worry about.