HBO Now: HBO Announces New Video Streaming Service for Apple TV
On television, internet is the new cable. On 10 March cable company HBO confirmed this trend by announcing a new video streaming service, HBO Now, available exclusively through Apple TV. HBO Now goes live this April (just in time for the new, highly anticipated season of Game of Thrones) to the tune of $14.99/month.
Unlike HBO’s previous streaming service, HBO Now is available to those without cable or satellite
subscriptions. Anyone with a broadband connection and an Apple TV device (which, in a joint announcement, Apple reduced from $99 to $69) can access all HBO’s boxing coverage, documentaries, movies, and shows.
HBO is the latest cable company to undergo a shift in consciousness from viewing the internet as a supplement to cable or satellite subscriptions to viewing the internet as the primary means of reaching today’s consumers.
Televisions are no longer the dominant entertainment devices and never will be again; the popularity of mobile devices like phones, laptops, and tablets is driving the shift away from stationary services like cable and satellite towards internet services.
Likewise, the wide availability of 4G LTE networks is driving the shift from cable and satellite to internet on a technical level. With 4G LTE, broadband connections are finally fast enough to stream videos at the quality and volume cable and satellite subscribers are accustomed to.
For users on a 3G network (the generation before 4G LTE) video streaming can be less than ideal. Since 3G transfers data slower than 4G LTE, if you have 3G be sure to watch video in standard definition (SD) not high definition (HD) to avoid buffering. HBO Now will, presumably, have an SD option for low-speed connections (other video streaming services, like Netflix, have this option).
Trends indicate that access to high-speed internet is the key to watching video in the future. Universal coverage, then, is the key to accessing and sharing video-recorded information, whether it is the news or the newest episode of Game of Thrones. If you are a rural user located outside conventional network coverage and want to use Apple TV/HBO Now, purchase an EVDO modem from a rural provider like X-Broadband (evdodepotusa.com). Evdo Depot USA offers rural users the 3G and 4G LTE access that urban users take for granted and that is necessary to enjoy new video streaming services
