Following its initial integration with Netflix on second-gen Hopper HD-DVRs in December 2014, Dish Network announced Tuesday that it has become the first major U.S. pay TV provider to extend Netflix to its whole-home platform via Dish's Joey client boxes, including the recently launched Super Joey and Wireless Joey models. 

Dish also announced it has launched the Vevo app on second-generation Hopper DVRs, offering integrated access to about 140,000 HD music videos. “On TV, Vevo's audience spends more than 30 minutes per session watching music entertainment," David Rice, Vevo’s chief product officer, said in the announcement.

Dish said it rolling out both apps – Vevo and its whole-home-capable version of Netflix – on a rolling basis, and expects to complete the upgrades “within the next several weeks.” Customers who get those updates will be able to access the Netflix and Vevo apps directly from any channel by pressing the blue button on the Dish remote control.

“We’ve received a great amount of positive feedback from our customers since the launch of Netflix on Hopper,” said Vivek Khemka, Dish’s senior vice president of product management, in a statement. “Consumers love Netflix, so today, we’ve taken this integration one step further, offering instant and affordable Netflix access throughout the entire household on one easy-to-use platform.”

"Our great partnership with Dish has helped expand the number of places where you can see and easily view great content such as ‘Marvel's Daredevil’ and ‘House of Cards’,'' added Bill Holmes, Netflix global head of business development. "Now that DISH is expanding its Hopper experience with its Joey clients, our members will be able to start watching in the living room, pause and pick up right where they left off in the bedroom, and elsewhere in the home."

Dish Network said it has completed the deployment of a software upgrade for its top-shelf Hopper HD-DVR that adds several features, including one that shares some similarities with Time Warner Cable’s Start Over service.

That Hopper's new restart feature lets customers watch select shows already in progress from the beginning, so long as it's a program that's in Dish’s VOD library. The update automatically identifies if a live TV program is offered via VOD and alerts customers with an on-screen graphic.

Another update focuses on the binge-viewing craze. When customers are done watching a TV show on the DVR or via VOD, Hopper will present a pop-up offering direct access with up to four subsequent episodes in the series that are available. Comcast, by the way, is letting X1 customers test out a similar feature that encourages binge-viewing.

The final Hopper feature that’s part of the upgrade is one-button access to the closed captioning feature. Customers can toggle back and forth using the green button on the Dish remote, rather than having to  drill through the box’s settings.

Dish Network has launched the Wireless Joey, an HD client video device that uses a dedicated 802.11ac access point to feed off of the customer’s primary Hopper Whole-Home HD-DVR.

Dish, which is joining DirecTV and AT&T with video-optimized, WiFi-based devices that aim to reduce cord clutter, is launching its new wireless wonder about six months after introducing it at the International CES in January.

Dish said installation includes a Wireless Joey client (pictured above) and a Wireless Joey 802.11ac access point that creates a dedicated WiFi network that can serve up to three Wireless Joey clients. By setting up a dedicated Wi-Fi network separate from a home’s existing wireless network, Dish said it ensures the platform maintains the Hopper’s high video quality and can even work in homes without Internet access.

Dish subs can lease Wireless Joeys for $7 per month per device, plus a one-time $50 fee for the wireless access point they’re paired with.

Dish said the new Wireless Joey provides an “identical experience” to the wired version of the Joey,  meaning it supports the Hopper’s PrimeTime Anytime and AutoHop features, and the ability to view, record, pause, rewind and fast-forward TV content.

“Wireless Joey expands installation options where coaxial or Ethernet wiring is either difficult or undesirable, eliminating unsightly wire runs,” said Vivek Khemka, Dish’s SVP of product management, in a statement. “You’re no longer forced to position your TV on the same wall or near a room’s coax outlet. Whether you’re in a new house, an older home or on a backyard patio enjoying a family cookout, Wireless Joey delivers television where you want it.”

He said Dish went with 802.11ac, ratified by the IEEE in January and sometimes called “Gigabit WiFi” to reflect the max data throughputs it targets, to ensure that it can deliver HD video wirelessly “in homes of varying size and construction.”

Dish noted that the Wireless Joey and Access Point are powered by a Broadcom BCM4360 802.11ac chip operating in the 5 GHz band, and features 3x3 MIMO with beam-forming internal antennas and auto-frequency selection.