ROKU, HBO GO

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@FrozenSlime wrote:

PamelaPink -- comcast does support HBO Go on Apple TV.  I disagree with priziedog on which is better, but that doesn't really matter right now - you can't get HBO Go on Roku with Comcast 😞

 

He is right that Apple TV doesn't support Amazon Video (which makes sense for Apple, but not for us consumers).

 

Dan1975 - if you have an option for a different cable provider, then take it!  Every time I talk to the Comcast people about anything and they send 'Thanks for chosing Comcast' I make a point of telling them that it's not a choice for me - and if it was, I wouldn't choose Comcast.

 

Makes no difference to anyone at Comcast, but always makes me feel a little better.

 

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With few exceptions, there is always an alternative to Comcast. Dish is the one I went with and it has been like night and day....the equipment is fantastic (the capactity on the Hopper DVR drive is HUGE), the service is pretty darn good too.

HBO GO has much more content than Comcast's Xfinity On Demand.  All series episodes and orginial films, for example.  Would be much better to view on full-sized HDTV than on laptop or tablet.  Answer your question?

@rog286713 -- Unlike  many other cable providers, Comcast doesn't allow HBOGO for ROKU.  Some suggest the content is identical to Xfinity On Demand.  NOT SO.  HBO and other cable networks maintain a much more extensive video library online than Comcast permits On Demand.  Original programming and movies that are available online should be availalbe by streaming with ROKU or similar device, just as cable companies other than Comcast allow.  After James Gandolfini's untimely passing, all episodes of The Sopranos were available online and HBOGO; but it took many weeks for Comcast to start replaying the series, one season each month.  Sorry to be disagreeable; but is not nearly the same, as commentary implies.

I was just browsing OnDemand to watch the recent episode of "Getting On" and happened to notice that they now have ALL episodes from ALL series and pretty much all current movies that are on HBOGo. I have no idea if this is a change going forward to try and satisfy people or maybe it's just temporary through the holidays, I guess we will see.

I'd still prefer to use HBOGo on my Roku, OnDemand is a pain in the rump to navigate and actually use...you can't even easily go to the next episode in the series, you have to back out and flip through the show menus to find the show again and then the episode. 

I got really excited when you posted this, but I see this is just a way to stream content to a device (not to your TV directly).  In that respect, it seems to work the same as using the HBO Go web site or app.

Comast has a "beta" application called "Send to TV" that would be a great tool if it worked more often.  The demo works very well, as it does with some web site, but I cannot get it to send many sites. Using the bookmark on HBO GO does throw the web site to the TV but it doens't play the video.  Interestingly, when I tried sending an HBO program from the Xfinity web site, I got an error message saying I needed an updated version of Flash (odd because I'm not aware that Flash is available on my TV).

Oh well, thanks anyway for the thrill!

If you guys aren't oppsed to trying something new then I would recommend the purchase of Chromecast. The best $35 I've spent this year. I have 2. One in my bedroom and the other in the living room. HBO Go supports it also. Start in the app and cast to the tv. I don't really use my Roku much nowadays so Google bringing this device to the market has helped me use those features we were missing. Also streams from Google Chrome. 

Just offering an alternative to everyone.

For 35 bucks they didn't even include a remote! Sorry but my Apple TV is coming soon. And soon I'll watch HBO GO! It will be alongside my Roku 3.

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@workerdummy wrote:

Flash isn 't on your TV. Send To TV Beta is like a media server, it's does as the name implies, sends what on your computer to your TV. It's telling you that Flash on your computer needs to be updated. Whether it needs to be updated, you'll have to check that out. My guess is it doesn't. I'm guessing Comcast is blocking everything on it's site from playing on TV due to content agreements.

BTW, did you see that what you send from your computer to your TV counts towards your bandwidth limit, if one applies.

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Hmmm, I was under the impression that the tool sent a command to my internet connected TV to display the content using a separate connection such that my PC was not involved.  You are right, my particular TV does not have Flash but some do (like those with Google TV).  Plus, I'm using the Chrome browser on my PC, which has the most currently available version of Flash installed.  Also, my experiment was trying to display the same program (Episode 1 of OZ) from both the Xfinity and from the HBO GO web sites.  Both came up fine on my laptop but neither displayed using the "Send to TV" tool.

The whole "connecting internet content to a TV" topic remains a mystery to me.  For example, my Sony TV has an included app for Amazon Instant Video, which I use all the time.  But, in order to stream Amazon Prime content to my Sony tablet, I had to install an old version of Flash for Firefox (Amazon does not have an Android app for Prime).  So apparently Prime uses Flash and I assume that it must be compiled into the app on my TV.  I am in fact considering  the Cromecast.

Finally, yes, I'm aware that streaming content would count toward any internet usage limit and I'd need to monitior that.  However, I'm online about 15 hours every day (I work from home), and have never gotten close to any limit.

I know this isnt practical for most and most wives wont allow it but....

I have my PC tower at the right end of my TV stand and use the HDMI out of my NVIDIA Card to my Sony AVR to my TV.

Solves all my connectivity issues.

What's the latest on this topic?  I just got Comcast Xfinity, and I THOUGHT HBO - Go was offered if you have high speed internet from Comcast.  But I don't see it offered

What's the deal??

I have the Xfinity triple play with HBO.  I also have a Roku streaming device.  Trying the get HBOGO on my TV through the Roku is not available?  Why are the other cable companies listed as available and Comcast/Xfinity is not?  Has Comcast decided not to allow Roku streaming of HBOGO?

I can get HBOGO on my iPAD via Xfinity, but not through the TV-Roku.

Any thoughts?

Thanks .

Rokuman

It is possible that Comcast is the worst run business out there.  Why would they not support streaming on the Roku for HBO to go?!

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@DMilnerJax wrote:

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@FrozenSlime wrote:

PamelaPink -- comcast does support HBO Go on Apple TV.  I disagree with priziedog on which is better, but that doesn't really matter right now - you can't get HBO Go on Roku with Comcast 😞

 

He is right that Apple TV doesn't support Amazon Video (which makes sense for Apple, but not for us consumers).

 

Dan1975 - if you have an option for a different cable provider, then take it!  Every time I talk to the Comcast people about anything and they send 'Thanks for chosing Comcast' I make a point of telling them that it's not a choice for me - and if it was, I wouldn't choose Comcast.

 

Makes no difference to anyone at Comcast, but always makes me feel a little better.

 

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With few exceptions, there is always an alternative to Comcast. Dish is the one I went with and it has been like night and day....the equipment is fantastic (the capactity on the Hopper DVR drive is HUGE), the service is pretty darn good too.

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For me the only real alternative to Comcast is another cable provider. I believe satellite has gotten much better, but am I not willing to be locked into a contract. You can tell what is a legitimate alternative by the way Comcast reacts to it. I live in Pittsburg, California in the SF Bay Area. We have a very interesting market here. Some cities have multiple providers, while Comcast has a monopoly in others. In every city that Comcast has a cable competitor, prices are lower. Comcast has never made an attempt to be price competitive with satellite because they do not see them that way. The HBO Go issue is the only reason I am considering Dish.

I have a TiVo Roamio Plus which supports VOD through Comcast, but the local Comcast operation hasn't upgraded their system to be compatible with TiVo.  

SOLUTION

I spent $35 on Google Chromecast which offers HBOGO.  Yes, someone shouldn't have to buy additional hardware for what should be a free service.   However I suspect there will be a long wait for the local Comcast people to make VOD compatible with TiVo.

For more information on Google Chromecast, go to http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/?gclid=COf4xYe74LsCFdEWMgod-z4AFg