&sq=&lang=&file=File:Hopper_with_Sling.JPG) Hopper with Sling box | |
| Developer | Dish Network |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Echostar |
| Type | Digital video recorder |
| Release date | March 2012 |
| System on a chip | Broadcom 7420 Broadcom 7425 (Hopper with Sling) |
| Storage | 2 TB hard drive, expandable via eSATA |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, Coaxial cable, Ethernet Wi-Fi (Hopper with Sling and Hopper 3 only) |
| Website | dish |
Hopper is a line of digital video recording (DVR) set-top boxes offered by the U.S. direct-broadcast satellite television provider Dish Network. First introduced at Consumer Electronics Show in January 2012, the Hopper was released in March 2012 as a component of the provider's whole-home DVR system, which networks the main Hopper unit with smaller "Joey" set-top boxes to form a client-server architecture.[1]
The Hopper is primarily distinguished by its "Primetime Anytime" functionality, which automatically records primetime programming off the four major U.S. television networks, while a later software update added "AutoHop", which allows commercials to automatically be removed from these recordings. The following year at the Consumer Electronics Show, Dish Network introduced an updated version known as Hopper with Sling, which integrates Slingbox place-shifting technology directly into the box.[2]
Both versions of the Hopper were met with universal praise by technology publications, particularly surrounding its "PrimeTime Anytime" functionality, the AutoHop feature, integration with smartphones and tablets, and the addition of built-in place-shifting to its second iteration. However, despite the positive reception, the Hopper became the subject of a copyright lawsuit filed by major U.S. broadcasters shortly after its release, who questioned the legality of the AutoHop feature by considering it to be an attack on their business model.[3] Although unsuccessful in its lawsuits against Dish Network, ABC (Disney), CBS and Fox Broadcasting Company have since used carriage agreements and other settlements to impose requirements for AutoHop to be disabled on their respective primetime programs for a period after their original air date.
The Hopper with Sling model was the subject of a related controversy when its "Best in Show" award at CES was vetoed by CBS—whose website CNET issued the award on behalf of CES organizers, because it was a party of active litigation with Dish Network. Due to the conflict of interest and its opinion of the device as being "pro-innovation and pro-consumer", CES organizers removed CNET from the "Best in Show" program, and reinstated the award. After a lawsuit which shut down Aereo (a service that allowed users to rent an antenna from a centralized location to watch over-the-air television online) as an unauthorized "public performance" of copyrighted television programming, Fox argued in court that the place-shifting functionality of Hopper with Sling was "virtually identical" and thus also a violation. However, its claim was rejected by the court.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
verge-releasedwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Lendino, Jamie. "CES 2013: Dish Launches Sling-Enabled Hopper". PC World. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- ^ Stelter, Brian (2012-05-16). "A DVR Ad Eraser Causes Tremors at TV Upfronts". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-01-30. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
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