We had an idea it was coming soon when it prematurely was visible on the Chromecast support page last week. This morning, HBO GO was updated in the Play Store bringing Chromecast support. If you already have a Chromecast and an HBO subscription, just grab the HBO GO app from the Play Store by using one of the links below. If you already have HBO GO installed, then all you have to do is download the update, and you will be good to go. Download links after the break.
Cheers Anon!
Pandora recently recently received Chromecast support, as did Hulu Plus, leaving HBO Go as the lone man out. According to the Google support page for Chromecast, support could be coming very soon, however. HBO Go is shown next to Pandora and Hulu Plus as a “new” app to Chromecast in the compatible apps and services section.
Someone probably slipped up and put this on the site prematurely, as there’s no description for HBO Go like there is for the other supported services. It’s still exciting to know that we should see support for the streaming service any day for Google’s insanely enticing $35 streaming dongle.
Source: 9to5Google
HBO has (finally) reached some kind of agreement with Google to allow their shows to be sold through Google Play. There are a few catches here, though. As of right now, there are only a few shows available, not all of their programming. You’ll be able to buy episodes/seasons of Game of Thrones, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, The Newsroom, Veep, Girls, and The Wire. It’s not a massive selection, but it’s not bad at all. HBO is committed to getting more shows available in the future. You also can’t get the newest completed seasons if they haven’t been released on DVD yet (Game of Thrones seasons 1 and 2 are available, but not season 3) and they probably won’t be available until the most recent seasons hit store shelves and another new season starts.
Even with those few shortcomings, it’s great to finally have a legitimate (and relatively affordable) way to buy and watch some of these shows digitally.
source: Google Play
What’s that? You’re tired of the content from YouTube, Netflix, and Google Play on your Chromecast already? While I don’t think that’s possible, especially in a week’s time, have no fear! Vimeo and Redbox Instant have been confirmed to be working on adding support for Chromecast.
This move will surely cause Chromecast to be unavailable online for even more time, as the demand for the device has skyrocketed since its initial announcement last week.
Other media sources, such as Vimeo, Plex, HBO Go, Pandora, AOL, Revision3 are all rumored to be working on supporting Chromecast, or are at least “actively investigating and optimistic.”
If you weren’t planning on getting Chromecast before, are you now?
Source: Gigaom
Are you a fan of HBO or Cinemax? You’ll be pretty happy with the latest updates to the HBO GO and MAX GO apps, which have added in incredibly convenient HDMI support. Now you’ll be able to get your favorite television shows on your big screen television easier than ever. This is a definite improvement over having to watch content on your phone screen all the time. Hit the link below to get your hands on the update.
Considering our Android smartphones and tablets can handle HD content and allow us to view the content onto a bigger screen via HDMI, you’d think that it would be fairly common for apps to allow for those cool features. However, HBO Go and Cinemax are two apps that can surprisingly handle high-quality content, yet does not allow users to utilize HDMI. While it is a major bummer, it would be wise to remember that there are crafty Android users who can always find a workaround to such and yes friends— a crafty Android user managed to get HDMI working on the HBO Go and Cinemax apps. XDA member HBOTroll1 managed to modify both apps’ .apk files and managed to have the HDMI fully functional. HBOTroll1 was only able to test the customized .apk files out on his DROID 4 smartphone, but it’s expected that it will work on most other phones as well. It appears as though the customized files will possibly work on non-rooted devices as well, but there is no official word or confirmation just yet.
Full details are available once you hit the source thread below.
source: XDA Forums | Dropbox 1, 2
The HBO Go app received an update yesterday that originally stated it supported Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, along with “performance enhancements and bug fixes”. Unfortunately, many of us who own Jelly Bean devices such as the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7, discovered the app actually didn’t work.
Luckily HBO updated their app quickly, most likely changing permissions in the Play Store to allow devices actually running Jelly Bean, and the app is now available to download on the Nexus 7. Hit the break for download links.
Even though HBO GO was made available for the Kindle Fire last month, full Android tablet support was still lacking. For a streaming video app, this was nearly inexcusable. But the latest update has changed all that. Any Android tablet running any version of Android up to 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich should be able to install and run the latest HBO GO.
Interestingly, the app will not run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean yet, but considering there aren’t many tablets that are officially running the days-old version of Android, there’s still time to catch up. To be able to use the app, you need to already have a subscription to HBO with your cable company. If you do, and you also have an Android tablet, grab the update from the download link below and start streaming.
Kindle Fire owners should be pleased to know that the HBO Go app is now compatible with the device. Starting today, you can grab the HBO Go app from the Amazon Appstore and stream videos without having to use your browser. Unfortunately the app still doesn’t support other Android tablets but I imagine that future updates will slowly bring more tablet compatibility. For those of you Kindle Fire owners who also have a HBO subscription you can grab the app from the Amazon link below. Full press release and promo video after the break.
Hungry for more ways to legally stream movies and TV shows to your Android? Home Box office Inc has just released a Cinemax version of its popular HBO GO application to the Android Market called MAX GO. Just like HBO GO, it’s free for Cinemax subscribers to enjoy over 400 hit movies and Max After Dark series (access may vary by your service provider).
Being an AT&T U-verse subscriber, I’m a little disappointed MAX GO is currently not available (though it’s an option in the sign-in list). Hopefully this will be addressed soon.
It’s great to see more ways to enjoy a service you already pay for on the GO at no extra cost. Grab the app for free in the market link below.
[via market]