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.

Not a Review - Comments on what I want for entertainment

With the blackouts of CBS stations on Time Warner Cable and the rumors of Apple and Google deals with content providers for a new type of television, I thought I would break from the usual review format here to give some commentary. Primarily, I want to outline what I would want (in a perfect world) out of TV.

First off, I think the old model of channels bundled from Cable providers for $20 - $150/month with loads of commercials is just not fair to the consumers. The cable companies make money from the advertising and monthly fees and then have to share that with the content providers (if the show is made by someone else). This means that we consumers are basically having the pay two fees to watch a show: our cable bill and with our time for the commercials (or more of a cable bill for a DVR so that you can record and skip the commercials). Where is the benefit to us the viewers?

Second off, the alternatives to the old model are not perfect either. You can go even older with an antenna and picking up limited channels over the airwaves without a direct cost to the provider, but the offerings are limited and you still have commercials. Or you can cut off the cable and do what we have for the last two years and watch on-demand programs through Netflix (or if you prefer, Hulu or Amazon), buy individual shows on DVD or through season passes on iTunes and/or just wait for the DVDs to be released a year later and have them shipped from Netflix. Here you either have limited options, are at the mercy of the deals the on-demand sources have made with content providers or have to wait sometimes a year to see shows (often being spoiled long before then). The one thing these options get right is that you are paying only for what you want to see (not a billion channels you never watch).

Another way the older content providers and cable companies are getting things wrong is with their online offerings. Last season I tried to watch Revolution online at NBC.com - the show as fine, but the experience of watching it on the website sucked. The show would stop 2/3 of the way through an episode. To get it restarted I would have to watch the last commercial break again. Ugh. Now NBC (and this isn't just them, but they are providing the best examples these days) has the rights to all the Premier League matches from the UK, which they are offering on-line through their NBC Sports Live website or their new App. Great, watch any match all season long wherever you like. IF, if you have a cable subscription that includes NBC Sports (I think). You see, when you try to view something you have to log into your cable provider and see if you have the channel. If you don't they tell you, Sorry you can't view this content - go upgrade your cable subscription. I don't have cable and I certainly don't want to pay $60 a month to get the package that includes the sports channel!

What is the solution? Well, the rumored Apple model may be the best way, depending on cost and advertising. The rumor is that Apple is trying to sign deals with the content providers (the show producers and distributors) to have channel Apps that may be available through a subscription fee. I would be all for that. HBO GO for a $5 - $10 a month? Sold. NBC Sports Live to allow me to see English Premier League games at $5 - $10 a month? Probably do that too. Also still be able to buy individual show packages through iTunes and Amazon and get them the next day without commercials? Great. The only catch here would be commercials. See, if I am paying directly for the content - even through a subscription fee monthly, then the commercials better be in the app out of my way or non-existent. I don't want to pay and then have to wait through commercials to watch what I have subscribed or paid to. I am okay if you want to tack a commercial on to the end of a show and allowing me to exit if I don't want to watch the commercial, but putting it up front (hey, yeah, I am looking at you YouTube) or throughout the show (current online model from most channels) is just annoying and unnecessary.

So there it is. Make a set-top box or integrated TV that has the ability to provide season passes to shows or subscription based channel apps at a reasonable price (and reasonable isn't $30 a month). Or just have everyone sell their episodes the day after they air over cable - I'll gladly pay to see them the next day without commercials (not a year later, HBO - still haven't bought a single episode of Game of Thrones, because after a year of waiting I just get the discs from Netflix by the time they are out). Stop the advertising and high costs of cable for channels I (and no one else) will ever care about. The channels that have compelling content (or the producers/distributors with good shows) will thrive and we will get more of that. Those that aren't good will wither or adapt. Either way we will get what we want to see at a more reasonable price. Hopefully someone will get on this before I am too old to enjoy it. I'll try to get back to a regular review next time. Have a Mick Happy day.