Dish working on SDK / App Store for 922

[Scott Greczkowski]

EchoStar Corp. LLC (Nasdaq: SATS) is developing a TV app store for Dish Network Corp. (Nasdaq: DISH), Light Reading has learned.

EchoStar is developing the store, will provide the software development kit (SDK), and will be Dish's liaison to developers, EchoStar officials said at this week's TelcoTV conference in Orlando, Fla.

"We're the ones to make sure the apps past muster, that they don't use too much of the resources in the box, for example," says Jeffrey Hale, an EchoStar national account manager.

The app store will be another feature of Dish's upcoming ViP 922 set-top box, also being developed by EchoStar. Dish is expected to deploy the box, which also includes place-shifting powers à la Slingbox, early next year. (See EchoStar: No Cable Sale Guarantees and EchoStar Slings Its First Tru2way Set-Top.)

EchoStar officials at the booth weren't sure when Dish intends to launch the app store, but they said APIs are available and developers are working on the apps already.

Read the rest at Cable Digital News - Video - EchoStar Preps IPTV App Store - Telecom News Analysis

 

[Hikerdave]

...early next year

So they are saying "Dish is expected to deploy the box, ... early next year." now. I guess no 922 for Christmas this year.

 

[scottbakertemp]

 

[cditty]

I'm glad they are waiting. They are damned either way.

Everyone is going to complain its late, but if they put it out, everyone will bitch about the bugs.

 

[S-c-o-t-t-y]

Real Time: Not Denver Marketing Time

I'm glad they are waiting. QUOTE]

I don't care when... I would just like to have a real date - not a sliding development estimate (SDE) - even if it is January 2011.

 

[BobMurdoch]

I think I've just been vindicated..... I knew there was no way they would drop it before CES.... Now they can show off a finished box with solid code and have the tech press rave about it before the release in February (My assumed date of release)

 

[ReconPJ]

I'll say March 2nd for the release date. Gives them about 7-8 after XES to rpmote the finished product. Probrably around the time of some new HD channels as well...

 

[legatebroke]

So they are saying "Dish is expected to deploy the box, ... early next year." now. I guess no 922 for Christmas this year.

If you notice they are at the "Cable guys" show. The box they are showing there is the version they are creating for the cable companies. Not to say the 922 will be out before the end of the year but I bet it is released before the cable version.

 

[jdmacor]

I wonder if someone could write an app that allows DVRs to stream recordings to each other... Although, Echostar probably isn't allowing programmers to access all features of box, just particular API calls...

 

[jerryez]

I'm glad they are waiting. They are damned either way.

Everyone is going to complain its late, but if they put it out, everyone will bitch about the bugs.

sh*t, the 722 and 211 still have bugs and they have been out for years.

 

[cditty]

sh*t, the 722 and 211 still have bugs and they have been out for years.

Nowhere near the magnitude of what the 922 has right now. In my opinion, the 722K is a pretty solid box... Not 501 solid, but works great. The 501 is one of my all time favorite Dish boxes. That thing ran like a tank for me and I never had to get it replaced. I also had a decent experience towards the end of my dishplayers life. I had updated the hard drive in it and a nice csr had comped the dvr functions to me forever.

I will get a 922, no doubt. It's gonna be a cool box, but I will wait at least 6 months after the release. I personally feel like they are under pressure to get this thing out. Pressure and software development are not a good match.

 

[simplexswrhs90]

IMO the most solid receiver DISH has out is the 625. I've had it for going on 3 years now and it has never failed... no hard drive problems or anything like that.

 

[JTBenson]

My 522 which is similar to the 625 has never had any problems. All of the other units (510s and 622s have had problems). My 612 is too new and haven't experienced any yet.

 

[mike123abc]

It seems an "app store" is the new must have item for any new device. I can hardly wait for my vacuum to get an app store.

Well I hope the delay is worth it and they have a trouble free launch.

It would be nice if Dish sold these for cable direct to the consumer a la TiVo.

 

[getstuff4less]

It seems an "app store" is the new must have item for any new device. I can hardly wait for my vacuum to get an app store.

You can write/download apps for the roomba vacuum.

 

[drock]

922 blues

They Have a lot of work to do on this piece, Im not even close to happy with ours. Too many design flaws....

DROCK

 

[animalhouse]

It will be out "soon".

 

[dlsnyder]

It seems to me that if Echostar really wanted to sell this box to cable operators they would give cable an exclusive for a few months, maybe a year. That would also give them time to make the Dish version bulletproof. People are used to buggy cable boxes, which is why everyone put up with Motorola for so long.

 

[stonecold]

So I guess that writting a directv app is out of the question.

 

[HDRoberts]

It seems to me that if Echostar really wanted to sell this box to cable operators they would give cable an exclusive for a few months, maybe a year. That would also give them time to make the Dish version bulletproof. People are used to buggy cable boxes, which is why everyone put up with Motorola for so long.

And give cable a competitive advantage? I don't think that's smart.


So, what kind of apps do you folks envision being written?