HBO Now Review

The family and I have been sans cable TV for nearly 4 years now. One of the things we have always said is that we have no problem paying for the content we want to see. We just don't want to be paying $60 - $100 a month for a bunch of channels we will never watch. Don't even get me started on commercials as well. We bought 3 apple TV boxes for our televisions and started streaming Netflix (we already were paying for Netflix on top of our monthly cable TV bill). We supplemented Netflix by buying season passes through iTunes to any TV shows we wanted to watch. Upside was access to shows the day after they aired without any commercials. It even felt like we were saving money when we used credit card points to get iTunes cards. Since then we have purchased replacement apple TV boxes twice but overall we probably have saved a few thousand dollars by not having cable TV. On thing that always bothered me was that we couldn't access shows like Game of Thrones because a) HBO wouldn't allow season passes for the show on iTunes and b) they wouldn't allow viewing of their content without a cable subscription, until now.

This past week saw the rollout of HBO Now, a standalone HBO streaming service available without cable subscription. For $14.99 a month, you have unlimited access to HBO series and whatever movies they are currently offering. Though a bit pricey over all when compared to Netflix's streaming service, HBO Now does offer some things Netflix can't.

With HBO Now, you get access to content like Game of Thrones, Sex in the City, The Sopranos and Entourage (along with others). All available right after they originally air (no waiting for the season to end or the DVDs to be released a year later). You also get access to a mix of older and recently released movies, most of which are not available on Netflix. There are also the sports (mainly boxing), comedy and documentary specials that HBO has produced. HBO Now is accessible by computer, an app on Apple TV as well as a mobile device app (I have been using it on my iPad Mini). There is also one feature in the app that is unique compared to Netflix, the +10 button, allowing you to fast forward 10 seconds, which is so much better than trying to track forward using the scrolling bar - which always leads to buffering delays on Netflix.

HBO Now interface

As with any new service, there are some drawbacks that you should be aware of. The first movie we streamed on our Apple TV, The Heat, had a lot of stuttering in the video playback - no problems with the sound. The user interface on the mobile app is a little limited on the home screen when you first open the app, I find using the menu button the best way to navigate. The other drawback compared to Netflix is that content rotates on and off the service much faster than with Netflix (not including HBO-specific shows and specials). The monthly cost is also a little on the high side for the total amount of content provided, but the free first month helped mitigate some of that cost.

Main front screen for HBO Now - the 3 menu button upper left is your friend

I was able to sign up and register my device quickly through the iPad app using my iTunes account. This means I can pay the monthly fee through iTunes and not worry about my credit card being hit (as long as I keep an iTunes balance up). You can stop the subscription renewal at any time, it only renews one month at a time. Want to see all of a given show, sign up for a month after it has aired and stream it all then let the subscription lapse.

HBO Now is exactly what all content providers should be moving toward. There is no need for a "middle man" cable provider curating a large number of channels - we want and will pay for access to specific content we want to watch. It is cheaper for the viewer and directly benefits content providers who offer what we want to see. Is the service perfect, no, is it a good start, yes. Especially with the free first month, you should jump in and give it a try. HBO Now gets 4 Mick Happies. Now back to watching The Grand Budapest Hotel.