DISH Network Launches Remote DVR Management

US satellite-TV provider, DISH Network, has launched a service called DISH Remote Access that allows its subscribers to manage their DVR-equipped receivers remotely from any Internet-connected device (note: a similar service has been offered by rival DirecTV for some time now). According to DISH Network, the service, which is offered at no additional cost to subscribers equipped with the company's broadband-connected ViP Series DVR's, incorporates a comprehensive search functionality that looks for desired content throughout a nine-day programming guide. The search feature uses keywords and filters specified by the user (such as genre, channel, sports, content rating and language); then, when the user finds a program they want to record, they click a "record" button located next to the program's description, choosing to record just one episode, all episodes, or only new episodes. "DISH Remote Access provides the most robust online DVR interface available," DISH Network chief marketing officer, Ira Bahr, said in a prepared statement. "No other service compares to the level of DVR control that DISH Remote Access offers. Not only can customers remotely set recordings, but they can also see and manage their DVR's in real time, as if they were at home." The DVR-equipped DISH Network receivers that currently support the new service are the ViP 722k, the ViP 622 and the ViP 612HD.

DISH Network has previously announced plans to launch later this year a box called the ViP 922 HD DVR which, in addition to supporting the new remote DVR management feature, will incorporate TV place-shifting technology from Sling Media, allowing customers to view live and DVR-recorded content remotely over the Internet.