HBO Now

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Funkmasterr
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HBO Now

Post by Funkmasterr »

Apparently, HBO doesn't actually want people to stop pirating their shows since they're releasing this "stand alone" service (quotes because it's obviously not stand alone) exclusively on Apple TV. I was going to happily pay the $15 per month for this service, but not on Apple TV. Total deal breaker, which means I'll keep downloading the shows for free, and I'm sure I'm far from the only one. Big miss on their part.
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Re: HBO Now

Post by Fairweather Pure »

Last I heard, Comcast was being an asshole about HBOGo by not allowing it to work on consoles or something like that, but it's still available on virtually every platform out there. Has something changed since you can get it without a cable subscription that I am unaware of?

I used to have it but cut the cable cord a couple of months ago. Also, $15 seems a tad steep. Hulu and Netflix are only $8 each per month.
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Re: HBO Now

Post by Fairweather Pure »

Bleh, myGoogle Fu was weak. Looks like this just broke and it's HBO Now, not HBOGO.

Well, that seems surprisingly limited. Any word on if/when it may expand to other devices?
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Re: HBO Now

Post by Boogahz »

The network also plans on working directly with its existing partners (cable and internet providers) as well as new providers not yet named. Other devices, like Roku, Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation, Xbox, and Google’s Chromecast, are also likely to partner with HBO after Apple’s three-month exclusive window expires.

This seems to match something I read about the announcement elsewhere. Basically, we (non-Apple users) will just be "locked out" for a few months.
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Re: HBO Now

Post by Funkmasterr »

Yeah, so just in time for Game of Thrones to be done, which is like 80% of the reason anyone would get it, I imagine. It's just a douche move because all the time that they've been hyping this up over the last year, they've said it will work on multiple platforms and will be out in time for Season 5 of GoT, then at the last minute they throw this out there. I'm sure I'll end up subscribing whenever it's available for other platforms but it's just irritating - I was looking forward to cutting back on the number of shows I have to keep up on downloading.
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Re: HBO Now

Post by Boogahz »

So, from what I've read, the only real difference in function is that this new version will permit live streams versus just on-demand content?
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Re: HBO Now

Post by Funkmasterr »

Well, that and you can have it without a cable and traditional hbo subscription, yeah.
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Re: HBO Now

Post by Boogahz »

that's funny, because everyone I know that uses HBO Go uses someone else's login info :P


wait...how is my sister getting HBO access with the Amazon Fire device? She's in the process of getting rid of cable, and she claims to be able to do that somehow. I guess she could be using our mom's info...
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Re: HBO Now

Post by Fairweather Pure »

Boogahz wrote:that's funny, because everyone I know that uses HBO Go uses someone else's login info :P


wait...how is my sister getting HBO access with the Amazon Fire device? She's in the process of getting rid of cable, and she claims to be able to do that somehow. I guess she could be using our mom's info...
HBOGO vs HBO Now. It confused me too.

HBOGO you get with a cable subscription and works on every device.

HBO Now is just like HBOGO but you do not need a cable subscription and it only works on Apple devices (for the next 3 months it seems).
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Re: HBO Now

Post by Winnow »

Apple watch sucks but exclusive HBO Now is nice for the duration of Game of Thrones at least. It's good to have most of your mobile devices from a Company with over half a trillion market cap and heading toward 3/4 trillion. Billions are so passé.

Direct Download Service/VPN/150Mbps is still the better deal. If you're going to pirate, don't cheap out and use torrents. Buy a 3/6 month sub to uploaded

This is so much more convenient and you get your shows before they air if you're on the west coast.

One note though. Cox (probably others) definitely throttle direct download services like uploaded. I get 15 Mbps per stream without VPN, I get up the the max 150 Mbps with VPN activated for my own city. That's where Astrill comes into play. I have VPN on 95% of the time. Makes a huge difference with things like youtube, downloads, and of course, foreign servers of any kind. Just goes to show that the cable companies will throttle whenever possible. No one's going to complain about direct download services. Thankfully they can't tell what I'm downloading behind a VPN.

Fuck them. Cut the cord any way you want until a decent deal comes along. Hate non internet cable and only tolerate it for internet because it's the only choice I have for high speed. I sub to Netflix and Amazon Prime (video) as I find them a good value.

That ESPN streaming package that just game out looks to be a decent value as well if I was still into sports.

We need Apple to use it's megabucks to get an à la carte service going.
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