# HBO NOW works on Tivo via Amazon Video



## jw15851 (Aug 2, 2002)

HBO Go, requires that you have a cable subscription. HBO Now, is the equivalent streaming service that does not require cable. It "now" must be purchased through a 3rd party such as itunes, amazon, etc. Note that Tivo has a HBO Go app, but not HBO Now... so if you've cut the cord, what to do?

Use Amazon Video.
I was able to sign up for HBO Now via Amazon, and instantly the HBO content was available via the Amazon app on my Tivo as though it were Amazon content. Works great and does not require a dedicated HBO app. Game of Thrones streaming on Tivo. 

Hope that helps people out there.


----------



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Are you talking about "Amazon Channels" where you can subscribe to HBO, Starz, etc on a monthly basis via Amazon Prime? If so then yes that's been available for quite a while now and working with Amazon TiVo client. I use it to subscribe once a month to HBO occasionally to binge watch Game of Thrones or other series, then unsubscribe until there is something good to watch again.

As a bonus, the video quality of Amazon streams is MUCH better than the crappy Cox quality for their linear channels.


----------



## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

moyekj said:


> Are you talking about "Amazon Channels" where you can subscribe to HBO, Starz, etc on a monthly basis via Amazon Prime? If so then yes that's been available for quite a while now and working with Amazon TiVo client. I use it to subscribe once a month to HBO occasionally to binge watch Game of Thrones or other series, then unsubscribe until there is something good to watch again.
> 
> As a bonus, the video quality of Amazon streams is MUCH better than the crappy Cox quality for their linear channels.


Yeah, I've found that the HD video quality for Showtime is definitely better via Amazon than it is via Showtime's own apps (Showtime and Showtime Anytime). I'm sure the same is true for HBO, Starz and Cinemax, all of which are also available via Amazon Channels with Amazon Prime.


----------



## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Also, tons of the OLDER HBO stuff is already included with the regular Prime subscription.


----------



## BadMouth (Mar 1, 2016)

Bit late, as the last episode of the season of GOT just aired.
Episodes were available for streaming at the same time they aired. It worked great. In fact it was a much better experience than I had last year with HBO now.


----------



## Johncv (Jun 11, 2002)

mattack said:


> Also, tons of the OLDER HBO stuff is already included with the regular Prime subscription.


Just a side note, the HBO stuff that come with Prime is going away sometime next year 2018. HBO canceled the contract with Amazon. The channel will remain.


----------



## KingsFan6 (Jan 1, 2016)

Some observations I've made. PQ of HBO through Amazon or HBO Now seem to be the same, which is no surprise. What I've also noticed t

HBO through Amazon on the TiVo is great. I have an older soundbar that doesn't decode DD+, but when I play the HBO shows through the Amazon HBO app on the TiVo, the soundbar receives a standard DD signal for shows that are delivered in DD+. I take that to mean that the TiVo is transcoding DD+ to DD. However, when I watch on the Amazon app through Roku, which cannot transcode, I get just stereo.


----------



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

You would think for such a popular show such as Game of Thrones, that TiVo would have season 7 showing as available from Amazon, but of course they still do not... Of course if you start the Amazon app you can find it yourself.


----------



## mrizzo80 (Apr 17, 2012)

moyekj said:


> You would think for such a popular show such as Game of Thrones, that TiVo would have season 7 showing as available from Amazon, but of course they still do not... Of course if you start the Amazon app you can find it yourself.


I'm not positive, but I think HBO withholds shows from being purchased until the season is over. (Which it is, of course, for GoT, but it's only been a few days... which is usually the minimum lag time for TiVo's OTT database to reflect availability. Maybe it will show up in the next day or two?)


----------



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Does anyone know how soon Amazon channel subscription content is available? For example for Game of Thrones airing on a Sunday night, is it available from Amazon channels that same night or is there some lag in availability? So far I've used it for past seasons of shows so don't know how soon content is made available.


----------



## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Johncv said:


> Just a side note, the HBO stuff that come with Prime is going away sometime next year 2018. HBO canceled the contract with Amazon. The channel will remain.


Thanks, bummer. I do subscribe to HBO on cable (actually "paying for it" instead of it supposedly being "free" in my old expired bundle, though John Oliver is about the only thing I record regularly -- though I just caught up within the past week.. I have been watching HBO movies On Demand though)... But anyway, I happened to start watching Newsroom BECAUSE of it being on Amazon Prime. (My regular headphones had busted so I had ones that were much quieter temporarily, and for some reason Amazon Prime has louder sound on at least some shows than the Tivo app -- so I could still watch TV at the gym.. and started watching Newsroom!)

I won't pay TWICE for HBO though.


----------



## BadMouth (Mar 1, 2016)

moyekj said:


> Does anyone know how soon Amazon channel subscription content is available? For example for Game of Thrones airing on a Sunday night, is it available from Amazon channels that same night or is there some lag in availability? So far I've used it for past seasons of shows so don't know how soon content is made available.


I commented above that the show is made available at the same time it airs live. It was for GOT anyway.

The amazon app on a few devices allows for streaming of the live HBO channel, but not TiVo. Being able to launch the show at the same time it airs was a better experience IMO.

When the first episode of this season aired, I had the live stream going on a PC until I saw if it worked on the TiVo. Shortly before the show started, I had it playing on both devices (including ads for other shows beforehand).


----------



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

BadMouth said:


> I commented above that the show is made available at the same time it airs live. It was for GOT anyway.
> 
> The amazon app on a few devices allows for streaming of the live HBO channel, but not TiVo. Being able to launch the show at the same time it airs was a better experience IMO.
> 
> When the first episode of this season aired, I had the live stream going on a PC until I saw if it worked on the TiVo. Shortly before the show started, I had it playing on both devices (including ads for other shows beforehand).


OK thanks, and I would assume it's available at first time zone airing, i.e. East Coast time?


----------



## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

Content from HBO, Showtime, etc. through Amazon Channels (add-ons to a Prime Video subscription) is typically available for on-demand streaming in the Amazon Video app at the same time that the show debuts on its respective live linear channel on cable. Exceptions are live shows (e.g. Politically Incorrect with Bill Mahr, boxing matches) and sometimes other shows that finish production only shortly before airing (e.g. The Circus). Those shows typically show up hours or even a day or two later in the Amazon Video app. I believe I've read where a few very certain programs in the past were available in HBO Go/HBO Now apps but now via Amazon Channels, although I'm not sure what they were or, frankly, if that's even true.

Multiple live linear HD channels from HBO (e.g. HBO, HBO2, HBO Family), Showtime, Starz and Cinemax can be streamed via Amazon Channels but only on supported devices. I believe the only TV-connected supported devices are Amazon Fire TV boxes and sticks. You can stream them on a computer using the Chrome or Firefox web browsers at amazon.com.

TiVo's OnePass database knows nothing about Amazon Channels. If you've added Showtime to your Amazon Prime subscription, yes, you can find and watch the same on-demand content inside the TiVo Amazon Video app that you can watch in the Showtime (OTT) or Showtime Anytime apps, including new stuff that just debuted, BUT TiVo's OnePass system will only be able to find that content IF it's also available from Amazon outside of the Amazon Channels feature (e.g. if it's available for rental or purchase or if it's also on Prime Video). Since it takes months after a new season of a premium series debuts before it becomes available for rental/purchase on Amazon, it likewise takes months before that season will show up as viewable through the Amazon app in TiVo's OnePass database.


----------



## Johncv (Jun 11, 2002)

mattack said:


> Thanks, bummer. I do subscribe to HBO on cable (actually "paying for it" instead of it supposedly being "free" in my old expired bundle, though John Oliver is about the only thing I record regularly -- though I just caught up within the past week.. I have been watching HBO movies On Demand though)... But anyway, I happened to start watching Newsroom BECAUSE of it being on Amazon Prime. (My regular headphones had busted so I had ones that were much quieter temporarily, and for some reason Amazon Prime has louder sound on at least some shows than the Tivo app -- so I could still watch TV at the gym.. and started watching Newsroom!)
> 
> I won't pay TWICE for HBO though.


Huh  You can watch all the HBO stuff on HBO Go.


----------



## porges (Feb 28, 2001)

I haven't verified this because I don't have HBO via Amazon, but if they make the entire program available at the correct start time, you can FF to the end and get an hour ahead of people on cable. If you want.


----------



## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

porges said:


> I haven't verified this because I don't have HBO via Amazon, but if they make the entire program available at the correct start time, you can FF to the end and get an hour ahead of people on cable. If you want.


Um, ok.


----------



## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

porges said:


> I haven't verified this because I don't have HBO via Amazon, but if they make the entire program available at the correct start time, you can FF to the end and get an hour ahead of people on cable. If you want.


But then you won't know what happened at the beginning.


----------



## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

moyekj said:


> You would think for such a popular show such as Game of Thrones, that TiVo would have season 7 showing as available from Amazon, but of course they still do not... Of course if you start the Amazon app you can find it yourself.


----------



## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

Gotta sell that blue ray and DVD before giving the show awsy


----------



## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

I am assuming you have to subscribe to Starz or HBO through your provider to get all this


----------



## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

mattyro7878 said:


> I am assuming you have to subscribe to Starz or HBO through your provider to get all this


?? This thread is about subbing to HBO through Amazon not a cable/satellite service. Also to get access to HBO via the Amazon Prime app you have to sub to HBO through Amazon, if you sub to HBO via a cable/satellite provider or any other way you can not get access to HBO via the Amazon Prime App.


----------



## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

atmuscarella said:


> if you sub to HBO via a cable/satellite provider or any other way you can not get access to HBO via the Amazon Prime App


...without also subscribing thru amazon


----------

