Hopper is a line of digital video recording (DVR) set-top boxes offered by the U.S. direct-broadcast satellite television provider Dish Network.

The following year at the Consumer Electronics Show, Dish Network introduced an updated version known as Hopper with Sling, which integrates Slingbox place-shifting technology directly into the box.

[2] Both versions of the Hopper were met with universal praise by technology publications, particularly surrounding its "PrimeTime Anytime" functionality, the AutoHop feature, integration with smartphones and tablets, and the addition of built-in place-shifting to its second iteration.

However, despite the positive reception, the Hopper became the subject of a copyright lawsuit filed by major U.S. broadcasters shortly after its release, who questioned the legality of the AutoHop feature by considering it to be an attack on their business model.

[3] Although unsuccessful in its lawsuits against Dish Network, ABC (Disney), CBS and Fox Broadcasting Company have since used carriage agreements and other settlements to impose requirements for AutoHop to be disabled on their respective primetime programs for a period after their original air date.

Due to the conflict of interest and its opinion of the device as being "pro-innovation and pro-consumer", CES organizers removed CNET from the "Best in Show" program, and reinstated the award.

Dish also unveiled a new simplified remote control for the Hopper featuring a clickable touchpad and a microphone for voice commands: upon its release, it became standard with new installations, and is purchasable as an add-on for existing systems.

[9][10] In January 2016, Dish Network unveiled Hopper 3, a new revision with upgraded hardware, USB 3.0 support, 16 tuners, and a new "Sports Bar Mode" that displays a grid of multiple channels at once on 4K televisions.

Internet-enabled apps on the Hopper on-launch included Blockbuster Video on Demand, CNBC, Facebook, MSNBC, Pandora Radio, Twitter, and The Weather Channel.

"[4][5] PC Magazine gave the Hopper with Sling version a 5 out of 5, for "[packing] a staggering array of features into a single box that comes free with a Dish Network subscription package, and lets you watch satellite TV programming at home or anywhere you have an Internet connection.

[37][14] In June 2014, following a court decision which ruled that Aereo—a service which allowed users to rent an antenna to stream over-the-air television channels over the internet—was engaging in an unauthorized public performance of copyrighted television programming,[38] Fox also argued to the Ninth Circuit that the place-shifting functionality of the Hopper with Sling boxes constituted "virtually identical" practices, "albeit also in violation of an express contractual prohibition", and that Dish "repeatedly raised" a defense that it was merely a provider of equipment and not the content streamed using it—which had been rejected during the Aereo case.

[39] The Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of Dish Network, finding that Fox had "not shown a likelihood that Dish Network’s 'Dish Anywhere' and 'Hopper Transfers' technology would irreparably harm Fox before final adjudication", and in response to the claims regarding the Sling functionality, that "the Supreme court has all sorts of caveats in the opinion about how this was about Aereo and nothing else and a lot of the 'nothing elses' seem to be pretty similar to Slingbox.

[16] In March 2023, Dish Network was ordered to pay $469 million to ClearPlay for infringing two patents associated with its parental control software in its implementation of AutoHop.

[23][24][43] Dish Network CEO Joe Clayton said that the company was "saddened that CNET’s staff is being denied its editorial independence because of CBS’ heavy handed tactics.

Shapiro felt that the decision also hurt the confidence of CNET's readers and staff, "destroying its reputation for editorial integrity in an attempt to eliminate a new market competitor."