Dish Network is once again making rounds in the satellite TV market with the nationwide release of its new and upgraded set-top-box, the Hopper 3. When the first iteration of the Hopper was released, it immediately attracted huge waves of attention with its "auto hop" feature that gave users the ability to automatically skip TV commercials during playback.

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Aside from captivating consumers and tech analysts alike, the auto hop feature of the Hopper also caught the attention of some TV executives and even prompted a high-profile lawsuit. Despite the uproar and threat of legal hurdles, auto hop remains a key feature on Hopper devices.

DISH executive vice president and chief technology officer Vivek Khemka said in a statement posted on the company's official website that, "Since the introduction of our first-generation Hopper only four years ago, we have continued to invest in innovation. DISH has a history of being at the fore front of consumer entertainment technology, and I'm proud to say that Hopper 3 offers no exception."

The Hopper 3 is in the frontline of satellite TV innovations. The set-top-box features a handful of new technologies that are not available in some of its competiton on the market.

The Hopper 3 supports 16 tuners, a feature that makes it easy for consumers to watch and set multiple recordings all at the same time.

The Hopper 3 is also the first set-top-box to support 4K video resolution. The set-top-box comes with a selection of 4K titles from Sony pictures. According to Dish, 4K content from Netflix will be available on the Hopper 3 within the near future.

The Hopper 3 supports six Joeys simultaneously. This allows the new Hopper to support up to seven independent TVs, all at the same time.

According to BGR, most Dish Network customers should be able to get the new Hopper 3 with no upfront cost.

TagsDish, Dish Network, Dish Network Hopper, Hopper, Hopper 3