Soon You Will Be Able to Use Alexa to Talk to Your TV
Amazon is trying to kill your controller with a new skill called Alexa, designed to make watching TV easier, but you still need the right hardware.
It’s called the Video Skill API and allows you to search and control video playback and change channels on a supported device. Search by actor and genre is also supported.
The Video Skills API is designed to allow customers to easily find and use video content without requiring specific skills. For example, a customer might say, “Alexa, play Manchester by the Sea,” without specifying a vendor or device. Through the Video Skill API, Alexa learns about video devices and services that a user has or subscribes to, and allows the user to control the experience on those devices and services using voice.
If that means what I think, soon I will be able to shout, “Alexa, play Terrace House!” on my Echo and watch it pop up on my TV. Of course, manufacturers looking for an Alexa-compatible device (such as cable box manufacturers) and video service providers will have to update their software with the new Video Skill API to interact with Alexa, but the future of voice-activated TV looks very ambiguous. … a little better.
Previously, the skill was only available in the US for Dish clients with Hopper or Wally, as well as Netgem and YouView clients overseas. Amazon encourages developers associated with OEMs or video service providers to test their video skills, but technically anyone can use its Video Skills API.
Of course, with Google Home and Chromecast, you can already start talking to your TV and pull content from your own Google library or Netflix.