By Ryan Nakashima, Business Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) --Dish Network Corp. has unveiled a new digital recorder system that can record eight TV shows at once and can be controlled by voice.
In a stunt worthy of the annual gadget show, International CES, Dish executive Vivek Khemka also showed off how its Hopper digital video recorder can be set to record shows using Google's high-tech eyewear, Google Glass.
The eight-show system involves Dish's Hopper DVR and a new Super Joey add-on box for separate rooms. The catch is that four of those shows have to be from the broadcast networks ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox.
Dish also unveiled partnerships with LG Corp. and Sony Corp. so that Hopper users can watch recorded shows in a second room without needing a Joey. Instead, the system uses an app on a smart TV or PlayStation game console.
The announcements Monday at the International CES gadget show come a year after Dish's Hopper with Sling was picked by reviews site CNET as the "Best of CES." The vote was annulled by CNET parent CBS Corp., which has been fighting the Hopper's ability to automatically strip out TV ads. CNET was later dropped as the show's awards picker.
On Monday, Dish also unveiled Joey boxes that can run wirelessly with the help of a router that sits next to the Hopper. Previously, Joey boxes had to be connected by separate coaxial cables. Now they just need power outlets. Improvements in Wi-Fi technology made the new wireless set-up possible.
Dish has been trying to position itself as the TV provider with the best "TV Everywhere" platform available. The concept refers to the ability to watch your TV shows on all your devices whether you're in your home or on the go.
For a $12 monthly fee, TV subscribers can rent Dish's Hopper, which can send all of a subscriber's live and recorded shows to mobile phones and tablets. Joey box rentals for separate TVs cost up to $7 a month.
Compared with Dish, other cable and satellite TV providers offer only a patchwork of channels for live viewing on mobile phones, computers and tablets, and many of those channels can't be viewed outside the home or over cellular data networks.
Jean Smart, Ariana Grande, Michael Keaton among hosts for “SNL” season 50
Fresh off her Emmys win, Jean Smart will kick off the landmark 50th season of "Saturday Night Live."
NBC on Thursday announced the lineup of hosts for the season, which premieres Sept. 28. Joining Smart on the first show will be Jelly Roll as the musical act. He was also at the Emmys, singing during the ceremony's in memoriam segment.
It will be Smart's first time hosting "SNL."
Comedian Nate Bargatze will host on Oct. 5, with Coldplay as the musical guest.
Ariana Grande will host Oct. 12, with musical guest Stevie Nicks.
"Beetlejuice" star Michael Keaton will host on Oct. 19, the last show before Halloween, and Billie Eilish will be that night's musical guest.
The host on Nov. 2 will be "SNL" alum John Mulaney, with breakout sensation Chappell Roan as the music guest.
Read More