ROKU, HBO GO

[boberonicus]

No. Comcast won't permit you to watch HBO GO on Roku.

[407jk]

All:

I just sent a follow-up to Matt regarding ROKU and HBO GO.  "Someone will get back to you shortly" was the reply.  After this, I give up...

[dkdiorio]

All the other cable companies allow HBO Go on Roku but NOT Comcast!  I think it's just a continuation of their total interest in making money.  They'd rather I paid for another cable box for another TV than have this on my Roku box at the money I already pay them for my HBO subscription.  Shame on you Comcast.

[StormyBiker]

Roku is still worth buying, even without the HBO Go.  I have netflix, amazon, Hulu and many other things that I don't pay for anything but basic just to the get internet.  Also, I can pack the roku up and take it anywhere. I took it to the hospital to see mom, plugged in my ROKU, added my flashdrive and showed her a video of my daughter on Colorguard competition.  It's a great thing to have. I like it better than live tv.

[doug3507]

This is NOT a Comcast blocking issue. It is an authorization issue with HBO.  When you go to the HBO go activation site and select Xbox360 or Samsung TV comcast is there but not for Roku. I have Comcast for Internet but DirectTV for TV. If there were a Direct TV option under Roku I could get it because it would check my direct TV account to see that I am a valid HBO subscriber. It is just a validation that you are a subscriber not anything to do with the actual data (port) being authorized.

I can go on my comcast internet on my computer, go to HBO GO and tell it I am direct TV and it validates and works fine. HBO is the culprit. They do not have a selection for either Comcast or Direct TV for the Roku as your provider.

Not sure who to complain to on this but there are three choices - Comcast, HBO, or Roku. Very dissapointing that HBO go is not on the Roku with direct TV or Comcast.

[boberonicus]

> Not sure who to complain to on this but there are three choices - Comcast, HBO, or Roku

When in doubt, follow the money.  Who would want to propogate HBO content as broadly as possible, on as many devices as possible, and who would want to limit it? 

HBO: More HBO on more devices => greater interest in HBO => more subcribers => more money for HBO.

Roku: More channels and more subcribers on Roku => more Rokus sold.

Comcast: Distributing HBO beyond the confines of your Comcast controlled devices = less interest in maintaining a Comcast subscription.

This is a disintermediation issue, like music distribution, or contacting a taxi driver from your smartphone.  Comcast stands between you and the content provider, and they're afraid of the new business model. Ten years from now, we'll get our video content directly from the people who make it.  Until then, we have Comcast.

[boberonicus]

Same logic.  Which of those three companies has the least money?

[jhusosky]

Doug in your case you complain to DirecTV they are who you get HBO from 

[shadowplay0918]

It is Comcast blocking, it would make it too easy for people with HBO to get rid of their 2nd (or 3rd) Comcast box and watch HBO GO on a Roku and save money every month.  

http://www.technobuffalo.com/home-entertainment/streaming-media/hbo-go-not-working-on-your-roku-dont...

[doug3507]

Yes, I would have to be authorized by DirectTV but the question looms why would DirectTV care about the Roku as the data would always be handled by another source. DirectTV does not handle internet data. That part was spun off to another outfit. Also DirectTV is listed for BOTH the Samsung and Xbox devices. Sure seems like a Roku issue to me. Why would DirectTV allow those but not Roku. Does not make sense. I thik there is more to this than meets the eye.

[jhusosky]

Doug, do not apply logic to this issue. They both claim that they want to be able to control the user experience. Comcast and DirecTV are the last two major players not to allow Roku to be verified on HBO GO. Basically we all believe they want that extra money for additional boxes they rent. Yes I know it doesn't make sense.

[vincent228]

So this forum is a few years old. People have been "begging" for them to provide hbogo. Has anyone received an actual response? My guess is "no". So does comcast care about you or their monthly (continually climbing) payment? And I just tried to sign up for EPIX on the roku. But guess what? Comcast doesn't allow that either! But "every other cable provider does"!!!!! Just another jam up the old wazoo by comcast.

[puffgussy]

---

@doug3507 wrote:

Yes, I would have to be authorized by DirectTV but the question looms why would DirectTV care about the Roku as the data would always be handled by another source. DirectTV does not handle internet data. That part was spun off to another outfit. Also DirectTV is listed for BOTH the Samsung and Xbox devices. Sure seems like a Roku issue to me. Why would DirectTV allow those but not Roku. Does not make sense. I thik there is more to this than meets the eye.

---

There is not; somewhere, buried in this forum is an actual response from Comcast regarding the Roku.  It was Comcast that had to allow access to HBO through the HBO Go app on the Xbox.  Comcast has been "reviewing" this issue for years.

Apps written for the Roku are coded differently than the same app written for a tablet or smartphone.  Desktop access is through your browser/web page.  Comcast has to allow the Roku HBO Go app to access customer data to authorize account info and verify subscribership.  There is one primary difference with the Roku vs smartphone, laptop, etc.: It's a "set top" box much like the cable box connected to your TV.  The cable box Comcast charges you to lease.  The cable box Comcast wants you to use to access programming.

Boxee, Apple TV, Roku, they are all "cut the cord" devices that (theoretically) compete with Comcast's services.  Comcast's argument is that HBO content is available through On Demand for free with a subscription to HBO.  This is true for movies.  The problem comes when dealing with HBO's original programming (arguably the best reason to have HBO Go).  HBO Go has EVERY episode of every show HBO has ever produced in its library.  Xfinity On Demand does not.  Good luck finding the entire first season of the Sopranos or Sex in the City using On Demand.

HBO does not exist stand alone.  It is ALWAYS bundled with cable company offerings.  HBO enjoys that partnership very much.  It has no intention of losing the marketing and distribution network afforded it by Comcast, Cox or Time Warner.  So don't expect content direct to the consumer any time soon.

I subscribed to HBO so I could use HBO Go for Game of Thrones.  The fact that the only way I can enjoy it on my HDTV is by running an HDMI cable from my laptop to my TV when I already have a Roku is beyond annoying.  I am probably going to dump HBO (sick of watching it on small screens).  I'd rather just buy the Blu Ray at this point.  Three months of paying for HBO (at regular price) is pretty much the equivalent of buying the disks.

Do some research on all of this and you will see what I'm saying is true. 

[vincent228]

hey folks.

my trial for epix just expired and i cant get it (even if i pay for it), because comcast doesnt carry it.

But they posted a link to "tweet" to https://twitter.com/comcastcares

to complain about it.

we should all try to do this for hbogo.

"comcastcares" (about your monthly payment.)

[MickRonson]

@doug3507: It's Comcast. Case closed. Common knowledge at this point.

[tw98056]

The only option that most Comcast customers have is to dump your TV options and go with DISH network.  They totally embrace the ROKU and have actually setup their own ROKU channel for international content.  I highly doubt that DirecTV and Comcast will ever authorize the ROKU for HBOGO as they have their reasons.  It's pretty much, any connected to TV device is considered a threat to their revenues.  They really don't care about the Roku owners and look at the big picture instead.  Hopefully this will bite them this holiday buying season as the Roku's will definitely be under many of their customer's trees and this problem will definitely get bigger for them.

[rwspears]

This is why new content providers like The Blaze TV sign agreements that allow there service to be purchased AL-LA -CART.

You can subscribe online and stream it or have it on DirecTV for 5 bucks a month. If more content providers embrace this model people will most likely have less channels but the quality will ris because customers will have to justify paying for it.

[doug3507]

Yesd, I agree it is Comcast that doesnot allow the process of confirming you are an HBO customer BUT if one has Comcast Cable and gets TV from DirectTV then it is DirectTV that is at issue. If DirectTV allowed HBO verification then the data would flow over my Comcast Internet connection just fine. So in my case it is a DirectTV problem not Comcast.

[mcj252002]

This thread is about people who get HBO through their TV provider as being blocked out of accessing HBO GO on their roku, I don't think anyone here was thinking that if you used comcast as your isp but had a different tv provider you would be blocked by comcast.  HBO GO is tied to your tv service with comcast, not internet.

I switched from comcast cable tv to dish a few months back while keeping comcast as my isp and have no issues accessing hbo go on my roku.

[tw98056]

Yikes... I can't figure out why people who post here don't do a little reading first??? As the last guy explained, keeping Comcast for your intternet service and switching to Dish (not DirecTV) will not be a problem.  The day Comcast starts blocking your internet, the world will break loose and it's also a FCC violation.  DirecTV and Comcast are the only two HBO providers that will not authorize HBO GO on a Roku.  For most, DISH is the only option.

[MickRonson]

---

@tw98056 wrote:

Yikes... I can't figure out why people who post here don't do a little reading first??? As the last guy explained, keeping Comcast for your intternet service and switching to Dish (not DirecTV) will not be a problem.  The day Comcast starts blocking your internet, the world will break loose and it's also a FCC violation.  DirecTV and Comcast are the only two HBO providers that will not authorize HBO GO on a Roku.  For most, DISH is the only option.

---

I consider it a problem personally. Having both TV and HSI with one company is not only convenient, but cheaper when two or more services are bundled. I have all three. If it's such a threat to Comcast's revenue to allow Roku how does Verizon pull it off?  Among many other service providers.

That being said, Dish has issues of it's own. It just recently dropped AMC for example.

Fortunately Verizon is available in my area and intend to switch in the very near future. One other plus to having FIOS, when your electric goes out, as it did for me 3 days last week, it doesn't take your cable service with it. Comcast relies on PECO, so no power, no phone. Even if you do have power, an outage in another nearby area can, and will, affect your internet service. It's happened to me more than once. And for those who have generators, and Verizon, they will have all services up and running.

[rwspears]

The reason is Verizon/Fios does not have the install base that comcast does. If it got out that people could save 5 bucks a month per converter box a month those people would cut the cord in a hot second. thats millions a month gone from revenues.

There is still too many areas with no other option for tv service. If I wanted HBO go I would have to pay 55 bucks a month for digital cable service then another 15 bucks a month for hbo subscription Then I would have to buy a roku device. It is just to dang expensive for just one channel.

I would rather buy a season pass to the show for 50 bucks and download it through xbox video formally Zune Video. I then get access to it on all my PCs and my 2 xbox 360s and any surface device.

My dream is too be able to use XBMC to watch all my content local and streamed.

The sad thing is these 2 companies dont realize that because they DONT offer an easy cheap access to the content I want people will just use a torrent site to download the shows anyhow. I dont have cable service and because of a friend of mine I didnt miss one episode of Game of Thrones and he doesnt have cable either.

Has anyone asked Roku why they cant get an app on there device from comcast to access hbogo? is comcast to controlling in what they require for security and content protection?

I think comcast could solve this easily.

Comcast could say that for each customer who payes for 1 box rental they get 2 roku access tokens. For each additional box you get 1 token each. This way customer gets flexibility and comcast still gets box rental revenues....

[AstroCat]

Unbelievable! I pay for HBO, which I can watch on my super noisy Xbox 360 but not on my Roku?! Very dissatisfied customer here!

They really need to allow HBO subscribers to watch the content they pay for on the Roku HBO GO client.

[vincent228]

I'm really not sure why so many people out there are saying that they are going to cancel their box on Comcast if they get HBO Go on the Roku. And that is comcasts reasoning behind this. I'm not sure how it works and everyone else is area but, around here in Connecticut if you don't have a box you can't even get a signal. I'm not talking about those little junky boxes that they give you to convert things over from channel 0 to 99. I'm talking about the converter boxes that you pay for each month for each TV. Without paying the 7 dollars each month for those converter boxes you can't get any decent channels at all. So don't let Comcast fool you. No 1 would be canceling their boxes. anyone who enjoys watching any decent channels would continue to pay for each box on each TV they enjoy to watch. and if you have an HDTV, you are stuck with paying for the box anyway. Does that make sense to anyone here? So now that we've dispelled a rumor, what would Comcast reasoning be to not let HBO Go on the Roku? I deal directly with Comcast in my job. So how about this for thought? Comcast has a bunch of young executives making decisions on these things that have obviously been educated well beyond their intelligence. BUT! they have the sharing mentality of a 6 year old (1 for you, 1 for me. 2 for you, 1,2 for me. 3 for you, 1,2,3 for me.). No other cable provider has lost any revenue from allowing hbogo on roku. So it comes down to dealing with a stubborn child and their "I want it, I want it!" mentality.

[shadowplay0918]

People would keep 1 or 2 Comcast boxes but with a Roku they could connect to their home network and watch HBOGO (assuming they have HBO of course) along with many other options the Roku devices (Netflix, Amazon Prome Videos, Hulu + along with many free options).

Comcast will not budge on this it seems and that is why I am canceling their service at the end of this month....

[vincent228]

I find it very unlikely that the only reason people keep boxes is to get HBO. They use them (and have to pay for them) for starz, encore, good cable channels, etc. So the fact of allowing HBOGO on the TVs through roku is just pure rubbish. How many of us out there have teenagers that hibernate in their room and watch things like tru TV, style TV, food network, etc. So we get the box for their room (and pay for it) to let them watch the channels they like. How many of us are going to say "were taking away your box because you can get hbogo now". ? its all due to stupid people (at comcast) making stupid decisions (at comcast) for un-aware consumers (us), because comcast thinks were stupid. And in my case, where I am, they are a monopoly. The only way to change is to get a satellite on my house. our government has a habit of intruding in to every aspect of our lives (what we can eat, how much we can drink, what we can drive, etc, etc.). they have a great way of saying "everyone has to give their fair share". I think we have given our fair share to comcast enough. Time to deregulate the cable companies Mr. Big government !!!!

[shadowplay0918]

I'm not saying I agree with Comcast, its just their opinion.  They will lose some extra boxes but it would be a very, very small amount.

Can't say I agree with de-regulating cable industry.  My Tivo boxes work with Comcast only because the cable industry has to support cable cards.  

If it is deregulated you will see every cable company drop cable card support and then they will start to pick and choose what you can and what you can't watch via your internet connections...

[fx257]

Just switch to Dishnetwork.  I have no regrets for switching, it's been 2 months now.  I love their Hopper and HBO GO on Roku.  The Hopper makes Comcast DVR look like it's from the Flintstone age.  My bills is about 30% cheaper now.  The only service I am keeping is Comcast internet which they still have the monopoly in my area.  Comcast is ridiculous.

[tw98056]

I've had it with Comcast too and plan to switch to DISH very soon.  I pay Comcast over $230 a month and being treated like this is a SHAM and I hope many others do the same.  The problem here is that so many don't know about this issue.  Every time someone posts a Facebook link on this forum the moderator pulls it off.  Just do a search on FB and you will find a few interesting discussions going regarding HBO GO and Roku. I bet if a few of us really spend the time to get the word out on social media and it gets viral, Comcast would have to respond.  I'll be waiting for this message to get deleted too?

[tw98056]

Now here is an ISP that has it together!  http://www.wavebroadband.com/internet/high-speed-internet-packages.php  Scroll down and you will see that they offer a Roku with one of the packages.  I'd switch to them is a second if I had their service in my area.

[puffgussy]

---

@vincent228 wrote:

I find it very unlikely that the only reason people keep boxes is to get HBO. They use them (and have to pay for them) for starz, encore, good cable channels, etc. So the fact of allowing HBOGO on the TVs through roku is just pure rubbish. How many of us out there have teenagers that hibernate in their room and watch things like tru TV, style TV, food network, etc. So we get the box for their room (and pay for it) to let them watch the channels they like. How many of us are going to say "were taking away your box because you can get hbogo now". ? its all due to stupid people (at comcast) making stupid decisions (at comcast) for un-aware consumers (us), because comcast thinks were stupid. And in my case, where I am, they are a monopoly. The only way to change is to get a satellite on my house. our government has a habit of intruding in to every aspect of our lives (what we can eat, how much we can drink, what we can drive, etc, etc.). they have a great way of saying "everyone has to give their fair share". I think we have given our fair share to comcast enough. Time to deregulate the cable companies Mr. Big government !!!!

---

Um, this THREAD is about getting access to HBOGo on the Roku as a Comcast subscriber.  It is NOT about getting rid of HBO, and subsequently Comcast, BECAUSE we can't watch HBOGo using a Roku.  

The argument has been made time and time and time again in this thread that there ABSOLUTELY NO VALID REASON for Comcast not to allow this.  Try starting at the beginning and reading again.

[puffgussy]

Okay.

As of today, and this thread spans years, there has been ZERO movement on Comcast's part to fix this situation.  

I

Give

Up.  

If I want to watch HBO Go on my HDTV, I will just hook up a "dumb box" [read: media PC] to it via an HDMI and access the desktop version of HBO Go.

This solution SUCKS because I already have a Roku but will have to go out and buy a media PC.

Thanks for NOTHING Comcast.

[Dooders90]

I pay so much for cable...and it seems your features are actually declining instead of increasing.  OnDemand is a joke anymore...everything is Pay Pay Pay.  DVR can only record 2 shows at a time??  Uverse is 4.  What's the deal.  I can't even get HBO Go?  The commericals say I can!!!  But I go to do it, and NOPE.  I pay over $200 a month for Comcast...but you're about to lose me to Uverse...REAL SOON!

[rog286713]

this is a user to user forum

Hbo go works from comcast.  You can access it on your pc, xbox 360 or smartphone or tablet only.  On demand has thousands of free movies and shows so I don't know what on demand you are looking it.  Yes the current dvr's can only record 2 shows at once.  New new comcast box coming out can record 4.   To logon to hbo go you have to do it on one of the devices mentioned above and with the primary account holders credentials. 

[Dooders90]

Thanks...but I am specifically asking about access for my Roku.  I don't have an xbox, I see no point in watching a movie with my husband on my iphone, and i don't want to sit in front of my small computer screen watching a movie.  I want to sit in front of my nice big flat screen TV that is hooked up to my Roku and catch up with Boardwalk Empire!  Which is what I mean with OnDemand...where is Season 2?  I pay for HBO...and yet Season 2 (for example) is nowhere to be found.  The term "on demand" is an oxymoron.  When it first came out, it was awesome and you could find almost anything you wanted...quite literally, on demand.  Now???  Not so much.  The shows, series I want to watch, catch up on...Nope...like if I missed an episode of Army Wives...tough for me.  Unless I wanted to sit in front of my computer...and as I mentioned...I don't want to do that.  I expect a service that I pay over $2400 a year for to give it to me ON DEMAND.  Just my 2 cents...and I will take my 2 cents elsewhere pretty shortly here if they don't beef up their service and give me more for my 2 cents!!!

[MickRonson]

---

@Dooders90 wrote:

Thanks...but I am specifically asking about access for my Roku.  I don't have an xbox, I see no point in watching a movie with my husband on my iphone, and i don't want to sit in front of my small computer screen watching a movie.  I want to sit in front of my nice big flat screen TV that is hooked up to my Roku and catch up with Boardwalk Empire!  Which is what I mean with OnDemand...where is Season 2?  I pay for HBO...and yet Season 2 (for example) is nowhere to be found.  The term "on demand" is an oxymoron.  When it first came out, it was awesome and you could find almost anything you wanted...quite literally, on demand.  Now???  Not so much.  The shows, series I want to watch, catch up on...Nope...like if I missed an episode of Army Wives...tough for me.  Unless I wanted to sit in front of my computer...and as I mentioned...I don't want to do that.  I expect a service that I pay over $2400 a year for to give it to me ON DEMAND.  Just my 2 cents...and I will take my 2 cents elsewhere pretty shortly here if they don't beef up their service and give me more for my 2 cents!!!

---

Amen brother! That's it in a nutshell!

[ketdesign]

rog286713 wrote:

Hbo go works from comcast.  You can access it on your pc, xbox 360 or smartphone or tablet only.  On demand has thousands of free movies and shows so I don't know what on demand you are looking it.  Yes the current dvr's can only record 2 shows at once.  New new comcast box coming out can record 4.   To logon to hbo go you have to do it on one of the devices mentioned above and with the primary account holders credentials.

ROKU, ROKU, ROKU.

The theead is about Comcast's continuing refusal allow access from Roku. I ssume that they would have heln the Xbox360 as well if the opposition had not been so intense. Also the 360 is an addition to the primary media center not a threat to extra Comcast boxes like a Roku is.

I let my HBO drop because of this issue and am shopping a new provider.

[mykpfsu77]

Xbox 360's cost alot more than Roku boxes, so Comcast has less to fear from them.  People don't "cut the cord" with Xbox's.

[vincent228]

HELLO! xbox=Microsoft, comcast=Microsoft partner. http://www.comcast.com/About/PressRelease/PressReleaseDetail.ashx?PRID=886&SCRedirect=true just do a Google search "comcast partner Microsoft". It will all be crystal clear.

[vincent228]

And don't you have to pay Microsoft monthly or yearly to get their online services? And this is after you already pay for HBO to comcast. I know. I checked.

[vincent228]

And don't you have to pay Microsoft monthly or yearly to get their online services? And this is after you already pay for HBO to comcast. I know. I checked.

[DMilnerJax]

I travel quite a bit, and the Roku travels with me. My sister has a hotel where we stay frequently, but her rooms don't have the on-demand capabilty...Roku lets me view my programming when there--and until I switched from Dish to Comcast, I could view the HBO programming as well.  Yes, I could stream it from my computer, except I am generally USING my computer while watching television.  Geesh, if I had known how much functionality I would lose by switching from Dish to Comcast, I would never have made the switch, and guarantee that as soon as this contract period is over, I will switch back to Dish unless many things change.

[DMilnerJax]

As am I.  I made the switch from Dish to Comast just over a month ago.  Had the Comcast installer not cut my Dish cables to feed the Comcast lines into the house, I would have switched back right then....The functionality that I now have with Comcast is a fraction of that I had with Dish, and I am on the highest Comcast plan available. 

--The DVR capacity is less than half of what I could store in HD on the Dish receivers,

--Anyroom DVR is not really that--with Dish I could also start recordings from any room also....

--the remotes are not programmable so that when you have two tvs in the same room (don't ask-it has to do with hubby and football)--when you change one the other also changes more often than not,

--I can't stream live television when I am away from home (which I am quite a bit),

--can't view my recorded programs when away from home,

--wait on hold forever (sometimes up to an hour or more) to get to tech support and then get incorrect answers, if the tech even knows what you are talking about (I have spent - and I have the phone logs to show it - more than 20 hours on the phone with Comcast techs and customer support within the first three weeks of my service, and on almost all of those calls, I did not get a correct answer and in at least two, the tech did not even know what I was talking about when trying to describe an issue I was having on THEIR website/DVR Manager screen--matter of fact, the one tech said he had never seen the screen himself;  

and the list goes on and on and on...Now, I've lost my Roku HBO GO capability.....Again, unless Comcast makes serious changes to their service, I will be going back to Dish at the earliest opportunity.

[DMilnerJax]

Over a year later and still not available on Roku. 

[DMilnerJax]

Well, since I was able to view it flawlessly on Roku when I was with Dish, not being able to provide a quality experience for their customers is invalid.  I will be returning to Dish when this Comcast contract mistake is over. Far too much functionality lost.

[DMilnerJax]

I don't have an xbox 360, and have no plans to purchase one. I don't have a tablet, and have not plans to purchase one. I DO have a 42" television screen that I would like to watch a number of movies and shows on that I can ONLY view on HBO GO since they are not available on demand.  I COULD hook an HDMI cable to my laptop and watch it from there on the televsion, EXCEPT, I need to use the PC for other tasks.  Also, with the Roku, I have a remote that can be used to do such things as rewind or fast forward or even pause....

On HBO GO, I have items in my watchlist that acts as a "filter" for the content so I don't have to repeatedly have to search and research for shows I am watching. The bottom line is that it is CONVENIENT, and is a service I had until I switched to Comcast.  Had I known the functionality I would lose by switching from Dish to Comcast, I would have found another way to access the AMC channel.

[tw98056]

In regards to your last comment:Had I known the functionality I would lose by switching from Dish to Comcast, I would have found another way to access the AMC channel.

Good news... Dish worked things out with AMC and it's back on their line up.  I'm moving to Dish in a few weeks, had it with Comcast raising their prices all the time and not allowing me to subscribe to HBO GO on my Roku.

[MickRonson]

---

@tw98056 wrote:

In regards to your last comment:Had I known the functionality I would lose by switching from Dish to Comcast, I would have found another way to access the AMC channel.

Good news... Dish worked things out with AMC and it's back on their line up.  I'm moving to Dish in a few weeks, had it with Comcast raising their prices all the time and not allowing me to subscribe to HBO GO on my Roku.

---

That's great news! That was a sticking point for me. Dish here I come!

[bhamley]

I have also used my Roku for streaming different things. When I signed up for HBO GO with Comcast, I was under the impression that I would be able to use my Roku to watch it. This is not the case. Is there any chance Comcast will try to compete with their competitors? Roku and Sony devices are becoming more and more popular. It would probably be a good investment for Comcast to get with the program.