DISH Network Launches Its First DVR to Incorporate Sling Media's TV Place-Shifting Technology

DISH Network has announced the availability of the ViP922 SlingLoaded DVR. The new box, which is manufactured by DISH Network's sister company, EchoStar, and which was first unveiled more than a year ago at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, is the first DISH Network set-top to incorporate the Sling TV-place-shifting technology that EchoStar acquired through its $380 million purchase of Sling Media back in 2007: thus it allows DISH subscribers to view the operator's programming remotely on their laptops and mobile devices (note: interestingly, DISH's promotional materials for the new box designate the term it uses for its place-shifting capabilities--"TV Everywhere"--as one of the company's trademarks, despite the fact that the US cable industry is using that term for its efforts to promote a new, authentication-based online programming distribution model designed to address the cord-cutting phenomenon).

Key features of the new box, according to DISH Network, include HD support, dual tuners, a 1-terabyte hard drive, and a graphics-rich user interface that features tile-based menus and the ability to access media from a home network. The box's MSRP is $649 and, if leased from DISH Network, it costs $10 per month (compared to the operator's standard $6-per-month DVR service fee). More details on the new box's specs are available here.