HBO Now Review: It Passed theGame of ThronesTest, But Is That Enough?

I still remember that terrible night in 2011 when millions of fan screamed in agony as Game of Thrones started , stammer , and died on HBO Go . We all felt burn by HBO ’s crappy internet service . But HBO Now , launched just in time for last nighttime ’s GOT premiere , foretell to be better . Was it ? Yes .

What Is It?

HBO Now is a brand - newfangled app project for citizenry who do n’t have transmission line . It ’s been available for Apple devices since last calendar week . You just download it from the App Store , sign up with your e-mail savoir-faire , and you receive a free month to get you fleece . If you do n’t have an Apple equipment , you’re able to get the same content viaSling TVon a variety of other platforms . Either way , it ’s $ 15 per month , or so twice what it cost for standardised streaming servicing from Netflix or Hulu Plus .

Still , you get a pretty big rush for that 15 vaulting horse , with every instalment of HBO ’s popular series on hydrant — from Silicon Valley and Girls , to Boardwalk Empire , Veep , and the John Oliver show . When you ’re done with those , you may mainline classic HBO series like Curb Your Enthusiasm , Six Feet Under , The Sopranos , and True Detective . There are several popular Romance American display as well . you may finish your night by watching dozens of on - demand movies , too .

Of of course , you ’ll be doing it on your iPhone or iPad ( like I did ) , unless you have an Apple TV or Sling TV . That ’s hunky-dory . I love watching television set on my iPad .

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Bonus points if you may count on out what equipment my iPad is roost on right now .

Opening the app , you see a simple interface that volunteer the most popular content up top — just scroll down to see more . A fare pops out of the left side to offer motion picture , serial publication , funniness , documentaries and even “ late night ” pick like Intergalactic Swingers . It ’s easy to use , and well-off to search . Though the Sling television receiver version offer live HBO programming , HBO Now finger more like Netflix . You pluck what you want to watch from a menu , and just start gorging .

The Game of Thrones Test

When I tune in to watch the Game of Thrones premier last dark , it was as smooth as Milk River . Just a couple of moment to load up the show , and no stutters . Of course , my Comcast connexion gets about 100Mbps down , so cistron that into your rating of my valuation . I also ask folk on Twitter what their experience were and most were favorable . Our review editor Sean Hollister remark that he got booted out right in the center of that tense conversation between Jamie and Cersei , but he was able to get right back in .

You may be the King ’s Guard , but I ’m the Master of Guilt Trips .

Consumerist reportedthat there were scattered charge about lack of accessibility , but no far-flung crashing . Here ’s the worst experience that I heard about anecdotally on Twitter , from@rmd1023 :

Ms 0527 Jessica Jones Daredevil Born Again

@AnnaleenWatched on hbo now in a web browser window . Massive stuttering lag .

— HTTP 1.1/418 Teapot ( @rmd1023)April 13 , 2015

But like I said , my experience was good . Just to see how it would go , I begin and block the show a few times . No lag . I even jump out of the app , then back in — and the show started again precisely where I ’d left off . It felt almost like see a video file hive away topically on my iPad .

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That Old-School TV Experience

So does HBO Now experience like watching old - fashioned television , where you ’d melodic line in at a sure sentence to watch a show with all your friends ? utterly not . Most of you kids plausibly do n’t even remember what watching bouncy tv was like , but it did not involve make a pause button for bathroom breaks or a little time to wad your vape with fresh - ground flowers . It also did not involve being able to learn a show on easterly time , despite being in San Francisco like I am . Oh and finally , it REALLY did n’t involve being able to pirate the first four episodes of a newfangled cable show on the internet the night before the season premiere air .

So again , HBO Now does not deliver a TV experience that is anything like what us old go through trying to watch Star Trek : The Next Generation on our local stations in the early nineties . And thank the All - Mighty Benevolent Space Cats for that . severely , TV sucked . Do n’t ever do that again .

HBO Now does give you the chance to determine shows at the same time that they beam on cablegram , and that ’s overnice . But it also gives you all the convenience of cyclosis , which is to say you’re able to break and rewind — or take screenshots of stuff that you might want to look at again later .

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I mean , there was nothing in that episode that I would desire to screenshot for later on . Nope . Not me .

One quirk of the user interface on HBO Now did unintentionally emulate old - fashioned TV watching . Right up until 5:58 Pacific Time , there was absolutely no indication that the time of year premiere of GOT was about to broadcast . Sure , they had advert for time of year 4 . But nothing tell , “ Hey watch the premiere of Season 5 ! ” You just had to know to tune in when it was about to come about .

OK , so where is season 5 ? What , no tormenter 15 minutes before it ’s supposed to go live ?

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Oh hey , there it is ! Very subtle .

And then , at 5:58 , without any flourish , suddenly there was another season of GOT in the menu .

Should You Chuck HBO for HBO Now?

HBO Now has stood up to its toughest test , which is basically not collapsing under the load of billion of the great unwashed well out . It has therefore already exceed HBO ’s old online offering , HBO Go . Which mean that the cable behemoth actually has an app worth shelling out some Johnny Cash for . But should you get HBO Now or else of HBO ?

If you already have an Apple machine or Sling TV , and you love HBO mental object , I reckon the answer is a tentative yes . $ 15 is a fairly good deal to get all of HBO ’s content , plus the power to determine newfangled shows at the same metre they air on cable’s length . That said , once you ’ve tear - determine all the HBO back content , is it really deserving shell out $ 15 per calendar month just to watch maybe 3 or 4 new episodes of your favorite series each hebdomad ? It ’s a conundrum .

You recognize nothing about cord cutting , Jon Snow .

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Plus , it may seem cheaper on its grimace to cut the cord and get HBO Now , but cable is n’t just about the premium content . Most cable companies offer HBO as part of a much bigger package , with scores of transmission channel in multiple languages — and these packages usually include a streaming religious service that lets you watch back episodes of all your favorite shows , too . Soif you want to recreate the full cable experience , you ’d take HBO Now , Netflix , Hulu Plus , and several other on-line services . Which winds up cost quite a bit , and is kind of a pain in the atomic number 33 .

But if you just desire Game of Thrones , signing up for HBO Now for the next few months will get you everything you require — plus all that marvelous back catalog of shows you ’ve always been think to watch .

get hold of the author at[email protected ] .

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