This week Dish started offering a Wireless Joey that lets subscribers easily hook up additional TVs around the house without the need to run cables. The Wireless Joey connects to the Hopper Whole-Home DVR via 802.11ac Wi-Fi Access Point device, and provides the same features of the wired Joey including PrimeTime Anytime, AutoHop, and the ability to pause, rewind, fast-forward, and record content.
Dish says the Wireless Joey is the first to implement 802.11ac wireless for delivery of HD video, providing speeds 3x faster than 802.11n and older standards. Once a dedicated 802.11ac access point is created, up to three Wireless Joey’s can be connected.
The system, featuring 3×3 MIMO, operates at the 5Ghz band and is powered by a Broadcom BCM4360 802.11ac chip. The Wireless Joey itself runs on a 900MHz 2000 DMIPS BCM7418 processor.
The Wireless Joey cost $7 per month per device, including a one-time $50 fee for the wireless access point.
“You’re no longer forced to position your TV on the same wall or near a room’s coax outlet,” said DISH Senior Vice President of Product Management, Vivek Khemka.
The Wireless Joey follows DirecTV’s Wireless Mini Genie that hit all DirecTV markets by mid-April, 2014.
