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Wow. While it's not the latest and greatest shows that are on Prime, that's an impressive collection they've put up. I'm both a subscriber of HBO and of Prime,

Wow. While it's not the latest and greatest shows that are on Prime, that's an impressive collection they've put up. I'm both a subscriber of HBO and of Prime, and I'll actually be using this. You see, I have a Roku, and Comcast won't allow HBOGO over Roku, but they do allow Prime Instant Video. So, woohoo for that! I'm wondering if Amazon ran into these limitations with their new Roku-killer and decided to end-around them by brining HBO series into the fold.

cmelbye 12y ago
> Comcast won't allow HBOGO over Roku Wait, what? Do they seriously do that? Can Comcast please die any more quickly?
- emehrkay 12y ago
  A very un-sarcastic "thanks Obama" seems to be in order edit: strage downvotes considering that Obama specifically stated that this type of behavior is something that he wouldn't condone (once in office) and given that net neutrality is topical...
  - IanDrake 12y ago
    When it comes to unilateral actions, the president is mostly Commander in Chief of our military. Meaning, he could pull all our troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and close Gitmo tomorrow just by saying so. I assume he has similar command control over the NSA, the FBI, and the CIA. It's important to separate well meaning rhetoric that's out of his hands from the actual lies he's told about the things he has power over.
    - emehrkay 12y ago
      We all understand that, but we all know that the boss is the face of his workers' shortcomings/winnings.
    - dragonwriter 12y ago
      > When it comes to unilateral actions, the president is mostly Commander in Chief of our military. Meaning, he could pull all our troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and close Gitmo tomorrow just by saying so. Unless, for instance, any of that required spending money, and Congress explicitly forbade spending money for the purpose. Or Congress otherwise prohibited the military from doing what the President wanted to direct. Commander-in-Chief doesn't mean "dictator", it means that Congress' power to "make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces" is limited so as not to allow them to vote to have someone other than, and independent of the authority of, the President direct how the military will operate within the rules Congress has set, it doesn't give the President independent authority to set the rules on his own, or to direct the military in a manner contrary to the rules established by Congress.
      - bratsche 12y ago
        > Unless, for instance, any of that required spending money, and Congress explicitly forbade spending money for the purpose. Or Congress otherwise prohibited the military from doing what the President wanted to direct. Wait, can Congress do that? I know that they approve budgets obviously, but I thought all they could do was allocate it to different departments. I didn't think they could say, "here's this money but you can only use it for this purpose.. you absolutely cannot use it for this other purpose". I thought their only way of stopping some part of the government from doing something was to create a law removing that authority. And it's hard to imagine them removing the military's authority from withdrawing from a war. :)
        dragonwriter 12y ago
        > Wait, can Congress do that? Yes. > I know that they approve budgets obviously, but I thought all they could do was allocate it to different departments. I didn't think they could say, "here's this money but you can only use it for this purpose.. you absolutely cannot use it for this other purpose". Not only can they do that, that is usually how they allocate money. Even when there is some flexibility in how the funds are spent, that flexibility is defined in the law appropriating the funds. > And it's hard to imagine them removing the military's authority from withdrawing from a war. Withdrawing from a war is an unlikely thing for Congress to act to bar, sure, but that's not because they couldn't, just because they would be unlikely to choose to. Closing the detention facility at Guantanamo, well, that's a different story. While they haven't exactly prohibited it, they've removed funds for it from budgets and prohibited the specific steps the administration proposed to take to do it (such as transferring prisoners from Guantanamo to the US.)
  - e40 12y ago
    You're getting downvotes because "Thanks Obama" has become a joke meme. That's looked down upon here at HN.
- wil421 12y ago
  Yes they do. I recently switched from AT&T back to Comcast and I was horrified when I tired to connect my roku to HBOGO. The message pretty much said my only option was to use the Comcast box and watch On Demand.
  - ecoffey 12y ago
    But don't worry, they're committed to Net Neutrality without the need for regulation :-)
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
  - MiguelHudnandez 12y ago
    Can you get a screenshot of the message? That is basically the net neutrality debate summed up in one photo. Edit: I found this: http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2011/11/comcast-not-supporting-roku-hbo-go-channel-.html http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2011/11/comcast-not-supporting... So, if this is the same issue: it's not that Comcast is using packet inspection to prevent HBO Go from working, it's that they have not partnered with HBO to allow authentication. So you are paying Comcast for HBO but you are not getting them to vouch for that fact.
    - NoPiece 12y ago
      That is weird because you can authenticate HBO Go on a PC with Comcast, so they have done some integration already.
      - wmf 12y ago
        It sounds like some kind of architectural mistake led to needing separate authentication code for every ISP-device combination.
      - MiguelHudnandez 12y ago
        That seems more damning than if they just did not "play" at all with HBO Go.
- zachlipton 12y ago
  Yep. See http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140305/14254626446/comcast-still-blocking-hbo-go-roku-now-playstation-3-incapable-explaining-why.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140305/14254626446/comcas....
  - ProAm 12y ago
    Wow, how is that legal? (honest question). If you are a paid subscriber to both Comcast and HBO GO I don't see what the issue is?
    - zachlipton 12y ago
      HBO Go (in the US anyway) doesn't have "paid subscribers." Comcast customers who have subscribe to HBO as part of their TV packages get access to HBO Go as an additional service. Comcast authenticates subscribers to tell HBO Go whether to allow users access to the service. But in this case, they aren't supporting their authentication on Roku devices.
    - fryguy 12y ago
      It's legal in the sense that you are buying an inferior version of HBO from Comcast than you are from other providers. Comcast isn't blocking HBO Go. It's just not giving it to you. Unfortunately, the only way to get HBO Go is through your TV provider (unless they've changed it recently).
- uncleruckus 12y ago
  HBOGo is also blocked on Samsung TVs
  - krisdol 12y ago
    May be comcast-only. It works for TWC
  - zachlipton 12y ago
    Odd. It works for me on a Samsung Smart TV. Was able to authenticate to my account (Comcast sub) with no problem.
  - thoughtpalette 12y ago
    I'm also able to log in to HBOGO on my Samsung Series 6 TV. Not sure where you're getting that from.
- mesh 12y ago
  Comcast also does not allow HBOGO via the PS3.
balls187 12y ago
Actually, The Wire is the greatest show HBO has ever made. Latest, no. Greatest, YES. Comcast also doesn't allow their Comcast iOS app to stream via Airplay.
- psychometry 12y ago
  As the old adage goes...there are two types of people in the world: those who think The Wire is the greatest TV show ever made and those who have never seen The Wire.
  - Touche 12y ago
    Seen it, didn't like it.
    - dublinben 12y ago
      You've watched the entire series, and you didn't like it?
      - jwoah12 12y ago
        Why would anyone watch the entire series if they didn't like the episodes they started with?
        ohsnapman 12y ago
        Because The Wire is not about instant gratification. It's layers on layers that pay off in multiples by the time you're into the later seasons. Even season two, by far the weakest season, is a total treat the second time you watch it and know what you're looking for.
        CJefferson 12y ago
        The problem is that there are too many things in this world which people assure me will be amazing if I just stick with them, and not enough time to try them all out. Got to season 3 of the Sopranos -- still hated it. Used vim for 9 weeks as my only editor -- still hated it.
ultimoo 12y ago
How is HBOGO different from Xfinity On Demand? If you subscribe to HBO, all content is anyway available OD, so there is no real need for a separate 'client' for watching it.
- dangrossman 12y ago
  Because Roku is a one-time purchase, where additional cable boxes are monthly fees. I already own the Roku. By taking away HBO Go access on it, I can no longer watch HBO in that room at all. Last I checked, all the content wasn't available on-demand either. There was a larger selection on HBO Go versus On Demand. OD only has the last 1-2 seasons of the series it has at all, and has fewer movies. HBO Go has all the seasons of all the series.
  - evanm 12y ago
    My iPad was a one-time purchase and Comcast doesn't have a problem with me streaming HBO Go content on that. So why the Roku?
    - stonemetal 12y ago
      Comcast doesn't sale or rent iPad competitors so they don't feel the need to cripple the iPad.
    - Ricapar 12y ago
      Is your iPad permanently hooked up to your TV? Many people have rather large HDTVs and would much prefer to watch on there rather than on a tiny screen you have to carry around or dock somewhere.
- nitrogen 12y ago
  Maybe your question is genuine, so I'll reply with my genuine response: why not? What business is it of Comcast if someone wants to watch an Internet service they've paid for on their Roku or Playstation or Linux PC?
- emehrkay 12y ago
moskie 12y ago
> I'm both a subscriber of HBO and of Prime, and I'll actually be using this. You see, I have a Roku... I'm in a similar situation, but I use a Chromecast instead of a Roku. Why oh why Amazon doesn't implement Chromecast support baffles me so much. I would spend a good amount of money on their streaming content that way. Instead, my money goes into the Google Play store.
- blktiger 12y ago
  Maybe because they want you to buy a Fire TV? :P Amazon Prime is already on a lot of devices and I'm sure that they just haven't had enough pressure to implement chromecast support yet.

cmelbye 12y ago

> Comcast won't allow HBOGO over Roku Wait, what? Do they seriously do that? Can Comcast please die any more quickly?

emehrkay 12y ago
A very un-sarcastic "thanks Obama" seems to be in order edit: strage downvotes considering that Obama specifically stated that this type of behavior is something that he wouldn't condone (once in office) and given that net neutrality is topical...
- IanDrake 12y ago
  When it comes to unilateral actions, the president is mostly Commander in Chief of our military. Meaning, he could pull all our troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and close Gitmo tomorrow just by saying so. I assume he has similar command control over the NSA, the FBI, and the CIA. It's important to separate well meaning rhetoric that's out of his hands from the actual lies he's told about the things he has power over.
  - emehrkay 12y ago
    We all understand that, but we all know that the boss is the face of his workers' shortcomings/winnings.
  - dragonwriter 12y ago
    > When it comes to unilateral actions, the president is mostly Commander in Chief of our military. Meaning, he could pull all our troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and close Gitmo tomorrow just by saying so. Unless, for instance, any of that required spending money, and Congress explicitly forbade spending money for the purpose. Or Congress otherwise prohibited the military from doing what the President wanted to direct. Commander-in-Chief doesn't mean "dictator", it means that Congress' power to "make rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval forces" is limited so as not to allow them to vote to have someone other than, and independent of the authority of, the President direct how the military will operate within the rules Congress has set, it doesn't give the President independent authority to set the rules on his own, or to direct the military in a manner contrary to the rules established by Congress.
    - bratsche 12y ago
      > Unless, for instance, any of that required spending money, and Congress explicitly forbade spending money for the purpose. Or Congress otherwise prohibited the military from doing what the President wanted to direct. Wait, can Congress do that? I know that they approve budgets obviously, but I thought all they could do was allocate it to different departments. I didn't think they could say, "here's this money but you can only use it for this purpose.. you absolutely cannot use it for this other purpose". I thought their only way of stopping some part of the government from doing something was to create a law removing that authority. And it's hard to imagine them removing the military's authority from withdrawing from a war. :)
      - dragonwriter 12y ago
        > Wait, can Congress do that? Yes. > I know that they approve budgets obviously, but I thought all they could do was allocate it to different departments. I didn't think they could say, "here's this money but you can only use it for this purpose.. you absolutely cannot use it for this other purpose". Not only can they do that, that is usually how they allocate money. Even when there is some flexibility in how the funds are spent, that flexibility is defined in the law appropriating the funds. > And it's hard to imagine them removing the military's authority from withdrawing from a war. Withdrawing from a war is an unlikely thing for Congress to act to bar, sure, but that's not because they couldn't, just because they would be unlikely to choose to. Closing the detention facility at Guantanamo, well, that's a different story. While they haven't exactly prohibited it, they've removed funds for it from budgets and prohibited the specific steps the administration proposed to take to do it (such as transferring prisoners from Guantanamo to the US.)
- e40 12y ago
  You're getting downvotes because "Thanks Obama" has become a joke meme. That's looked down upon here at HN.
wil421 12y ago
Yes they do. I recently switched from AT&T back to Comcast and I was horrified when I tired to connect my roku to HBOGO. The message pretty much said my only option was to use the Comcast box and watch On Demand.
- ecoffey 12y ago
  But don't worry, they're committed to Net Neutrality without the need for regulation :-)
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- MiguelHudnandez 12y ago
  Can you get a screenshot of the message? That is basically the net neutrality debate summed up in one photo. Edit: I found this: http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2011/11/comcast-not-supporting-roku-hbo-go-channel-.html http://www.hackingnetflix.com/2011/11/comcast-not-supporting... So, if this is the same issue: it's not that Comcast is using packet inspection to prevent HBO Go from working, it's that they have not partnered with HBO to allow authentication. So you are paying Comcast for HBO but you are not getting them to vouch for that fact.
  - NoPiece 12y ago
    That is weird because you can authenticate HBO Go on a PC with Comcast, so they have done some integration already.
    - wmf 12y ago
      It sounds like some kind of architectural mistake led to needing separate authentication code for every ISP-device combination.
    - MiguelHudnandez 12y ago
      That seems more damning than if they just did not "play" at all with HBO Go.
zachlipton 12y ago
Yep. See http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140305/14254626446/comcast-still-blocking-hbo-go-roku-now-playstation-3-incapable-explaining-why.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140305/14254626446/comcas....
- ProAm 12y ago
  Wow, how is that legal? (honest question). If you are a paid subscriber to both Comcast and HBO GO I don't see what the issue is?
  - zachlipton 12y ago
    HBO Go (in the US anyway) doesn't have "paid subscribers." Comcast customers who have subscribe to HBO as part of their TV packages get access to HBO Go as an additional service. Comcast authenticates subscribers to tell HBO Go whether to allow users access to the service. But in this case, they aren't supporting their authentication on Roku devices.
  - fryguy 12y ago
    It's legal in the sense that you are buying an inferior version of HBO from Comcast than you are from other providers. Comcast isn't blocking HBO Go. It's just not giving it to you. Unfortunately, the only way to get HBO Go is through your TV provider (unless they've changed it recently).
uncleruckus 12y ago
HBOGo is also blocked on Samsung TVs
- krisdol 12y ago
  May be comcast-only. It works for TWC
- zachlipton 12y ago
  Odd. It works for me on a Samsung Smart TV. Was able to authenticate to my account (Comcast sub) with no problem.
- thoughtpalette 12y ago
  I'm also able to log in to HBOGO on my Samsung Series 6 TV. Not sure where you're getting that from.
mesh 12y ago
Comcast also does not allow HBOGO via the PS3.

balls187 12y ago

Actually, The Wire is the greatest show HBO has ever made. Latest, no. Greatest, YES. Comcast also doesn't allow their Comcast iOS app to stream via Airplay.

psychometry 12y ago
As the old adage goes...there are two types of people in the world: those who think The Wire is the greatest TV show ever made and those who have never seen The Wire.
- Touche 12y ago
  Seen it, didn't like it.
  - dublinben 12y ago
    You've watched the entire series, and you didn't like it?
    - jwoah12 12y ago
      Why would anyone watch the entire series if they didn't like the episodes they started with?
      - ohsnapman 12y ago
        Because The Wire is not about instant gratification. It's layers on layers that pay off in multiples by the time you're into the later seasons. Even season two, by far the weakest season, is a total treat the second time you watch it and know what you're looking for.
        CJefferson 12y ago
        The problem is that there are too many things in this world which people assure me will be amazing if I just stick with them, and not enough time to try them all out. Got to season 3 of the Sopranos -- still hated it. Used vim for 9 weeks as my only editor -- still hated it.

ultimoo 12y ago

How is HBOGO different from Xfinity On Demand? If you subscribe to HBO, all content is anyway available OD, so there is no real need for a separate 'client' for watching it.

dangrossman 12y ago
Because Roku is a one-time purchase, where additional cable boxes are monthly fees. I already own the Roku. By taking away HBO Go access on it, I can no longer watch HBO in that room at all. Last I checked, all the content wasn't available on-demand either. There was a larger selection on HBO Go versus On Demand. OD only has the last 1-2 seasons of the series it has at all, and has fewer movies. HBO Go has all the seasons of all the series.
- evanm 12y ago
  My iPad was a one-time purchase and Comcast doesn't have a problem with me streaming HBO Go content on that. So why the Roku?
  - stonemetal 12y ago
    Comcast doesn't sale or rent iPad competitors so they don't feel the need to cripple the iPad.
  - Ricapar 12y ago
    Is your iPad permanently hooked up to your TV? Many people have rather large HDTVs and would much prefer to watch on there rather than on a tiny screen you have to carry around or dock somewhere.
nitrogen 12y ago
Maybe your question is genuine, so I'll reply with my genuine response: why not? What business is it of Comcast if someone wants to watch an Internet service they've paid for on their Roku or Playstation or Linux PC?
emehrkay 12y ago

moskie 12y ago

> I'm both a subscriber of HBO and of Prime, and I'll actually be using this. You see, I have a Roku... I'm in a similar situation, but I use a Chromecast instead of a Roku. Why oh why Amazon doesn't implement Chromecast support baffles me so much. I would spend a good amount of money on their streaming content that way. Instead, my money goes into the Google Play store.

blktiger 12y ago
Maybe because they want you to buy a Fire TV? :P Amazon Prime is already on a lot of devices and I'm sure that they just haven't had enough pressure to implement chromecast support yet.