When you want to find a TV show to watch, typically the best way is to flip through a channel guide until you find something good. But now Dish Network is trying a different angle.
The satellite TV company is creating a platform for apps to interact with Dish's Hopper DVR . By using certain apps on a smartphone or tablet, users will be able to see what's on TV, change the channel, or start recording without picking up the remote. Although Dish already has its own remote-control apps forAndroid, iPhone, and iPad, the new developer tools will allow third-party apps to control the television as well.
For example, Thuuz Sports can alert Dish users as to when their favorite teams are playing. The app then provides an option to change the channel on the Dish Hopper or start recording the game to the DVR, as shown below. It sounds particularly useful for fantasy football, as Thuuz can import your team's information and let you tune in when one of your players is doing well.
Thuuz Sports app
Dish won't open up its APIs to all developers. Instead, the company is working with "trusted partners" such as Thuuz. At the moment, Dish hasn't mentioned any other partners by name, but chances are we'll see integration from TV discovery apps like Zeebox and Fan(formerly Fanhattan).
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