The Dish Voice Remote is a $30 remote control that comes with newer Dish Network products and services – or you can buy the remote separately for a slightly older system as an upgrade. If you like telling your TV what to do rather than pushing too many buttons, check out the reviews for this new feature!
Satellite Reviews
There are a couple different new Dish remotes, but Satellite Reviews focused on the version with the touchscreen, which allows you to press down on a side button and speak to the remote commands like, “Guide” or “Search ____” to find what you’re looking for. You can also do more complete searches for things like movies with a specific actor, games with a specific sports team, and so on. SR’s tests showed that the voice recognition appears extremely accurate, probably due to the short-range nature of the mic.
Related: Read ourDISH Network Wireless Joey review roundup for a quick overview of what everyone’s saying about the DISH Network Wireless Joey.
DISH’s Voice Remote goes for $30 right now (special pricing as it may increase to $50 in the near future). It’s also only compatible with the Hopper 3 DVR and 4K Joeys. So, if you have older equipment installed and are generally happy with your program guide and setup, it’s probably not worth the upgrade just for the remote. However, if you’ve been on the fence about upgrading to the Hopper 3, the Voice Remote may just tip the scales for ya. It definitely lets you navigate quicker and more efficiently…and really makes the whole process of finding and watching TV programs quite a bit more enjoyable.
Tom’s Guide
TG liked the scroll function, which allows users to quickly scan through multiple channels in a familiar way rather than using old-fashioned buttons. They also praised the system for being able to find pretty much anything, or at least make a meaningful suggestion to help you locate the right show or movie. However, they also noted that multiple results seemed a little confused, making it difficult to tell what was the most recent show, what was saved in the DVR, and wasn’t airing yet.
See also: You’ll miss out on what the top reviewers are saying about the Hopper 3 if you miss our Hopper 3 review round up.
I was impressed with the accuracy and ease of use of the Dish Voice Remote; try as I might, it recognized almost everything I said. And you can use voice commands to search for just about anything, too. But while voice search is the most prominent feature of Dishꞌs new $30 remote, itꞌs the other things, such as backlit keys and a smaller, more hand-friendly design, that really make this a smart upgrade for Dish owners.
Amazon users
Amazon users really didn’t care for the touchscreen aspect of the new remote! Some found that, because of the size of the remote, it often took two hands to use the touchscreen accurately, and that it was too easy to push the wrong button and end up somewhere wrong. Others found that the touchpad malfunctioned or had other problems (although to be fair others really enjoyed it) – so it’s probably best not to buy the Voice Remote just for this feature.
It works exactly as it’s supposed to, but I have to admit that the touchpad is a real pain in the butt. Most of the time you have to hold it in one hand and push the “virtual buttons” with the other or you will end up on some obscure channel you didn’t want. It’s a nice idea – in theory – but in practice, not so much. It does work well though and is smaller than your average remote.
