# HBO max captioning



## c133roamioerrors

Worked recently but not now.


----------



## MScottC

c133roamioerrors said:


> Worked recently but not now.


Had the same issue last night and this morning while watching IN THE HEIGHTS and HACKS. It would be there as long as the timeline was on the bottom of the screen, but the moment the timeline disappeared, so did the captions.

Edit: This on a Tivo 4K Stream


----------



## jay_man2

It was a mess while I was watching Hacks. I even rebooted my AppleTV thinking that would fix it.


----------



## c133roamioerrors

HBO max captioning works fine on my computer. Xfinity supplied HBO max for free but there is no app on my roamio and don't expect there to be one in the future. I bought the 4k for HBO max so unless there is a fix, the purchase was a waste of money. I can probably add the app to my blu-ray. My configuration is roamio to receiver to TV. I'm not in a hurry since I can catch up on episodes later. Disappointing that Tivo won't add apps to the roamio.


----------



## Jacopo

Tested CC on The Joker and it worked just fine


----------



## MrDell

jay_man2 said:


> It was a mess while I was watching Hacks. I even rebooted my AppleTV thinking that would fix it.


I believe that the HBO Max app was just updated on Apple TV&#8230;. I think that most issues are fixed now.


----------



## jay_man2

MrDell said:


> I believe that the HBO Max app was just updated on Apple TV&#8230;. I think that most issues are fixed now.


This was after that update.


----------



## MrDell

jay_man2 said:


> This was after that update.


Oh my! HBO really dropped the ball with this app&#8230; Apple should insist that all apps follow their protocol&#8230;people are paying extra for Apple TV for this reason!


----------



## c133roamioerrors

I tried it today and nothing has changed. It isn't captions/no captions. Captions show for a few line of dialog and then disappear. Pausing shows a few more lines, then ....


----------



## UCLABB

c133roamioerrors said:


> I tried it today and nothing has changed. It isn't captions/no captions. Captions show for a few line of dialog and then disappear. Pausing shows a few more lines, then ....


*&$#&*( I bought the 4K Stream specifically for HBO Max. CCs not working. It's there only while the timeline shows.


----------



## jay_man2

UCLABB said:


> *&$#&*( I bought the 4K Stream specifically for HBO Max. CCs not working. It's there only while the timeline shows.


It's got issues on the AppleTV too.


----------



## UCLABB

jay_man2 said:


> It's got issues on the AppleTV too.


Thanks, I guess the problem is with hbo then.


----------



## c133roamioerrors

I emailed Tivo and it got logged in but no response. I found out when I chatted. I've been asked to do everything except a human sacrifice before I can call support. Cleared the cache, no change. cleared the data which messed everything up so I unplugged and plugged which got me back to to where I was. Uninstalled the app and reinstalled the app, no change. I hate this tech support approach. First thing, tech support should already have info that this a known problem, chat people didn't. If tech support put it on a known problem list, chat support could say it is being worked on. 

I have two Tivo DVR which I pay monthly fees. I get a free xfinity dvr that probably has hbomax imbedded in it. I like having my own dvr. Before xfinity went digital I had two Panasonic DVR that downloaded the schedule using radio waves and had no monthly charge. I don't like the home dvr concept that xfinity uses. My son has a Tivo and we have a Tivo combined we are able to record more programs. 

Tivo quit writing apps for the dvrs and I am stuck with having to stream with device that is poorly documented and doesn't work.


----------



## c133roamioerrors

Case was closed without any resolution comments. Retested and nothing has changed. Wrote nasty response on case.


----------



## jay_man2

c133roamioerrors said:


> Case was closed without any resolution comments. Retested and nothing has changed. Wrote nasty response on case.


If it is an issue affecting the HBO Max app across a variety of platforms there's not much TiVo can do other than toss it to AT&T to fix.


----------



## c133roamioerrors

If the case was closed with that comment it would be ok. Tivo hasn't even acknowledged that it is a problem.


----------



## jenmcnitt

I am also having this problem with the app. It works correctly when I use the HBOMax app on my iPad. I submitted a ticket with TIVO but it seems like we need to do that with HBOmax also.

I found this email address for contacting support: 
[email protected]


----------



## c133roamioerrors

I used the link and got a response with a text form to be completed in the response. I sent the updated email and there has been no reply.


----------



## UCLABB

c133roamioerrors said:


> I used the link and got a response with a text form to be completed in the response. I sent the updated email and there has been no reply.


Same here. Crickets so far.
Captioning does work on the Android TV my wife watches so it's not a universal HBO Max problem.


----------



## jenmcnitt

Still no updates and no reply’s from HBO support. Since some in my family rely on captions I am going to cancel my HBOMax sub until this is fixed. I don’t want to get yet another streaming device. At least out other streaming apps all work still.


----------



## UCLABB

jenmcnitt said:


> Still no updates and no reply's from HBO support. Since some in my family rely on captions I am going to cancel my HBOMax sub until this is fixed. I don't want to get yet another streaming device. At least out other streaming apps all work still.


Have tried casting from a phone or tablet? I didn't like tying up the device, but it worked fine. I got the stream so I wouldn't have to do that anymore.


----------



## John Sack

What is the best-quality way to stream from the HBO Max app? 
I can chromecast using the TiVo 4K. Or
I can Airplay2 to my LG TV.

I'm wondering which will give me HDR.

John

PS: I found that the captions DO appear to work if they are captions at the top of the screen. Not very useful, but that's what I found.


----------



## UCLABB

John Sack said:


> What is the best-quality way to stream from the HBO Max app?
> I can chromecast using the TiVo 4K. Or
> I can Airplay2 to my LG TV.
> 
> I'm wondering which will give me HDR.
> 
> John
> 
> PS: I found that the captions DO appear to work if they are captions at the top of the screen. Not very useful, but that's what I found.


I don't think you can cast in 4K.


----------



## mike-d

UCLABB said:


> *&$#&*( I bought the 4K Stream specifically for HBO Max. CCs not working. It's there only while the timeline shows.


I am having the exact same issue with HBOMAX on the Stream 4K. Opened a ticket with Tivo, but they have no solution. Opened a ticket with HBO, their first response says the Tivo Stream 4K is not supported by their app, so I directed them to their own website that says the Stream is supported. Great - Everyone blames someone else!

Have you had any success?


----------



## UCLABB

mike-d said:


> I am having the exact same issue with HBOMAX on the Stream 4K. Opened a ticket with Tivo, but they have no solution. Opened a ticket with HBO, their first response says the Tivo Stream 4K is not supported by their app, so I directed them to their own website that says the Stream is supported. Great - Everyone blames someone else!
> 
> Have you had any success?


I filed a request using their form. Have never heard anything. As I mentioned in the other thread, the HBOMax app has been added to LG smart TVs. I downloaded it and it worked great.


----------



## John Sack

UCLABB said:


> I filed a request using their form. Have never heard anything. As I mentioned in the other thread, the HBOMax app has been added to LG smart TVs. I downloaded it and it worked great.


Yay! you are right, the HBOMax app is now available on LG tvs! That is the only reason I have been trying to solve this problem... since I have an LG TV. Thanks, UCLABB for the heads up on that!


----------



## BruceTinTucson

I've had the same problem and traded email with HBOMax until I got through to an Advanced Support person. They've finally admitted that there's a problem and he just sent me the following

- In speaking with other departments it seems they are aware of this issue with Tivo and are currently working on a fix but it's seems I don't have more options unfortunately to try to fix it ourselves. I have added your information to the case and have reached out to see if a fix can come soon. I do apologize for the disruption and I'll reach out if I see some good news. Thanks again for taking the time it is appreciated.

I've worked around this by using an iPad to stream HBOMax to the Tivo Stream and the closed captions work - hurrah!


----------



## flao

i’m glad to see i’m not the only person who has and is completely annoyed by this problem. i’m disheartened to see that after months of complaints it still hasn’t been resolved.


----------



## ywlke

I discovered that de-Tivo'ing fixes this issue. I think it's because Tivo/Android's captioning service is conflicting with HBO Max's built-in one, and the former gets disabled as part of the de-Tivo process.


----------



## mike-d

ywlke said:


> I discovered that de-Tivo'ing fixes this issue. I think it's because Tivo/Android's captioning service is conflicting with HBO Max's built-in one, and the former gets disabled as part of the de-Tivo process.


HI - So - OK - What is the De-Tivo-ing process???


----------



## JoeKustra

mike-d said:


> HI - So - OK - What is the De-Tivo-ing process???


perhaps: Here's How to De-Tivo Your Stream + Speed It Up


----------



## ts4kuser

de-Tivo'ing didn't fix it for me, but HBO Max updated to the latest version on my device and now captions are working. The only glitch I notice now is the pause/seek bar pops up whenever the volume is adjusted.


----------



## mike-d

ts4kuser said:


> de-Tivo'ing didn't fix it for me, but HBO Max updated to the latest version on my device and now captions are working. The only glitch I notice now is the pause/seek bar pops up whenever the volume is adjusted.


The Captions on the HBOMAX app are still not working on the TiVo Stream 4K!!! This is driving me crazy.


----------



## ywlke

mike-d said:


> The Captions on the HBOMAX app are still not working on the TiVo Stream 4K!!! This is driving me crazy.


I thought I got it working earlier but today it wasn't working again  So now I have no idea why it worked before.


----------



## mike-d

ywlke said:


> I thought I got it working earlier but today it wasn't working again  So now I have no idea why it worked before.


Yes - They work occasionally, but 99% of the time not. I have tried HBO Support, but they just keep sending instructions on how to turn on captions. When I have called, they say it is being escalated, then I never hear back again. This is quite bad, especially as this is paid service and we do deserve better.


----------



## ts4kuser

When it (temporarily) worked for me, the interface looked a bit different. That's why I thought it had updated. The buttons had big blue indicators around them when focused, like an additional accessibility feature. It makes me wonder if there is some kind of way to force an accessibility mode which would then display the captions.


----------



## mike-d

ts4kuser said:


> When it (temporarily) worked for me, the interface looked a bit different. That's why I thought it had updated. The buttons had big blue indicators around them when focused, like an additional accessibility feature. It makes me wonder if there is some kind of way to force an accessibility mode which would then display the captions.


Yea - At one point it actually worked during the show credits, then stopped. Very strange behavior. I have just today opened yet another support ticket with HBOMAX. They usually say it has been escalated, then they stop contacting me. I wonder if they do not want to support the somewhat obscure TiVo Stream, with the Old Android TV Version 9 software?


----------



## amitshlo

I have found a working workaround!
In the app settings under "Closed Captions" I have changed the font to "Type" and the size to "medium" and now subtitles works.
It's possible other fonts and sizes will also work, haven't checked.


----------

