Penny Arcade - Comic - Subscriptor

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Penny Arcade - Comic - Subscriptor

Videogaming-related online strip by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. Includes news and commentary.

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LazyDogJumper

While I understand the gripe I feel there's a fairly clear distinction in most cases. HBO, Disney, etc is the channel/company that produces these shows. HBOMax, Disney+ etc is the streaming service used by these consumer to access the shows that are produced. If Lovecraft Country is produced by HBO there's a significant chance it's on HBOMax. (Note: I DID have to google whether it actually was called HBOMax and no HBO Go or something) (2nd note: I don't capitalize the verb "google" when I say i'm googling something. This is a completely different gripe.)

YoungFrey

The answer is 'Yes", HBO Max does include HBO.

Quid

HBO’s transition to streaming has been confusing as hell since they keep changing names of subscription offerings. HBO Now is now just HBO, HBO Go no longer exists apparently? HBO Max is HBO but with a bunch of other stuff from Warner, which means HBO no longer offers everything HBO has access to.

I commiserate with Tycho deeply here.

Quid

YoungFrey wrote: »

The answer is 'Yes", HBO Max does include HBO.

HBO Max is based on WarnerMedia's HBO premium TV service and includes all of its programming, plus a range of additional original programming and library content from all parts of WarnerMedia, as well as third-party content providers from which WarnerMedia bought streaming rights.

HBO Go does not. HBO Go is for people who already have the cable channel, but it does not include all of its contents.

HBO Go is a TV Everywhere video on demand streaming service offered by the American premium cable network HBO. It allows HBO subscribers to stream selections of HBO content, including current and past series, films, specials, and sporting events, through either the HBO website, or apps on mobile devices, video game consoles, and digital media players. The service first launched on February 18, 2010.

HBO Now also does not. It is just HBO Go, but you can buy it without subscribing to HBO cable.

The main difference between HBO GO and HBO NOW is how you get them. HBO NOW is an à la carte streaming option, and HBO GO is an on-the-go feature that comes with a cable subscription or Amazon Prime. The prices are a little different, too, but the content you'll get from each is exactly the same.

HBO Go no longer exists and people using that service now have HBO Max. Unless they’re streaming via roku or Amazon devices because distribution contracts have not been finalized with their companies.

LazyDogJumper

Ok, having seen the comments I feel there was a part of this I was not privy to before. I didn't realize HBO has already gone through multiple names/services. I'm not sure that's what the gripe was about but definitely gripe-able.

Platy

Hey, Beastmaster's On

dennis

LazyDogJumper wrote: »

While I understand the gripe I feel there's a fairly clear distinction in most cases.
[...]
If Lovecraft Country is produced by HBO there's a significant chance it's on HBOMax.

(emphasis added)

I think you just proved their point.

marsilies

HBO Max has everything on HBO, plus more. It's explicitly a superset of HBO.

HBO, HBO Go, and HBO Now all had all the same content. HBO Go was for people subscribed to HBO via cable, while HBO Now is for getting HBO content without paying via cable. HBO Go is now gone because anyone subscribing to HBO via cable should have access to HBO Max. HBO Now should go away too, but AT&T is in dispute with some of the streaming box providers like Roku and Amazon FireTV over HBO Max, so HBO Now is sticking around for the short term.

In the super long term, regular cable HBO will likely go away as well as cable dies a long, slow death. But as mentioned before, if you're subscribed to cable HBO, you get HBO Max as well.

So most people now either have HBO with HBO Max included, or are subscribed directly to HBO Max. If someone is still subscribed to HBO Now, they probably should switch over the HBO Max for the same price, unless they have a Roku or FireTV.

MaryAmelia

All I get out of this is that if I want to watch HBO, it is much much easier for me to just torrent that shit.

Which is part of the reason why people moved away from cable in the first place, but hey what can you do.

Ringo

marsilies wrote: »

HBO Max has everything on HBO, plus more. It's explicitly a superset of HBO.

HBO, HBO Go, and HBO Now all had all the same content. HBO Go was for people subscribed to HBO via cable, while HBO Now is for getting HBO content without paying via cable. HBO Go is now gone because anyone subscribing to HBO via cable should have access to HBO Max. HBO Now should go away too, but AT&T is in dispute with some of the streaming box providers like Roku and Amazon FireTV over HBO Max, so HBO Now is sticking around for the short term.

In the super long term, regular cable HBO will likely go away as well as cable dies a long, slow death. But as mentioned before, if you're subscribed to cable HBO, you get HBO Max as well.

So most people now either have HBO with HBO Max included, or are subscribed directly to HBO Max. If someone is still subscribed to HBO Now, they probably should switch over the HBO Max for the same price, unless they have a Roku or FireTV.

Third Base!

ironzerg

What's funny is that by cutting the cord on cable television, we've just reverse engineered cable television.

But now instead of a set-top box from the cable company that has 3000 channels, I now have a little box that plugs into my TV that has 3000 apps on it.

Instead of asking my mom which channel my cartoons are on, I'm now asking my wife which service the series is on.

MichaelLC

I just want the game HBO Go where you play your favorite HBO characters like Mob Guy, Medieval Lady, Dragon, Android, and others in a tile based puzzle game.

dennis

ironzerg wrote: »

What's funny is that by cutting the cord on cable television, we've just reverse engineered cable television.

But now instead of a set-top box from the cable company that has 3000 channels, I now have a little box that plugs into my TV that has 3000 apps on it.

Instead of asking my mom which channel my cartoons are on, I'm now asking my wife which service the series is on.

Yes, it's a bit of a reinvention of the wheel. When people would always say they wanted a la carte cable, I always thought "a la carte or not, they're still going to want to squeeze you for the same amount a month, or preferably more".

I will say the significant thing we've improved is that we have play-on-demand rather than "you'll either plan on being in front of the TV or make arrangements to record it".

Quid

dennis wrote: »

ironzerg wrote: »

What's funny is that by cutting the cord on cable television, we've just reverse engineered cable television.

But now instead of a set-top box from the cable company that has 3000 channels, I now have a little box that plugs into my TV that has 3000 apps on it.

Instead of asking my mom which channel my cartoons are on, I'm now asking my wife which service the series is on.

Yes, it's a bit of a reinvention of the wheel. When people would always say they wanted a la carte cable, I always thought "a la carte or not, they're still going to want to squeeze you for the same amount a month, or preferably more".

I will say the significant thing we've improved is that we have play-on-demand rather than "you'll either plan on being in front of the TV or make arrangements to record it".

With HBO, Netflix, Hulu, and Disney we’re paying about $47 a month.

To even reach the point where HBO is offered with Comcast is $85. For 12 months where it’s then bumped up to $135. 24 months later it’s up to $145 for “processing fees” they were so gracious to handle up to that point. That stuff, of course, is mentioned nowhere near the advertised price.

And sure, you can always call them, haggle, and threaten to leave when it increases but I’d rather not deal with that nonsense.

flamebroiledchicken

Here's a crazy idea: instead of HBO Go, HBO Now, and HBO Max, they could just have one service and call it, oh I dunno, "HBO".

MichaelLC

flamebroiledchicken wrote: »

Here's a crazy idea: instead of HBO Go, HBO Now, and HBO Max, they could just have one service and call it, oh I dunno, "HBO".

Home Box Office has never been more relevant.

dennis

Quid wrote: »

dennis wrote: »

ironzerg wrote: »

What's funny is that by cutting the cord on cable television, we've just reverse engineered cable television.

But now instead of a set-top box from the cable company that has 3000 channels, I now have a little box that plugs into my TV that has 3000 apps on it.

Instead of asking my mom which channel my cartoons are on, I'm now asking my wife which service the series is on.

Yes, it's a bit of a reinvention of the wheel. When people would always say they wanted a la carte cable, I always thought "a la carte or not, they're still going to want to squeeze you for the same amount a month, or preferably more".

I will say the significant thing we've improved is that we have play-on-demand rather than "you'll either plan on being in front of the TV or make arrangements to record it".

With HBO, Netflix, Hulu, and Disney we’re paying about $47 a month.

To even reach the point where HBO is offered with Comcast is $85. For 12 months where it’s then bumped up to $135. 24 months later it’s up to $145 for “processing fees” they were so gracious to handle up to that point. That stuff, of course, is mentioned nowhere near the advertised price.

And sure, you can always call them, haggle, and threaten to leave when it increases but I’d rather not deal with that nonsense.

To clarify, I was talking about the non-streamed stuff they had back then, when people were still wanting a la carte TV. I'm saying back then, with what was being produced and none of it was on-demand.

Preacher

This comic speaks to me as someone who is routinely confused by what services I have for the things I paid for.

marsilies

Quid wrote: »

With HBO, Netflix, Hulu, and Disney we’re paying about $47 a month.

To even reach the point where HBO is offered with Comcast is $85. For 12 months where it’s then bumped up to $135..

To you mean a tier where HBO is bundled? You're typically allowed to add HBO to even a basic cable tier.

Quid

Yep. They weren’t offering bundles until that point for my area when I checked the website.

shadowysea07

Even with the price hikes and numerous new streaming services popping up it's still far away from cable. Like a post mentioned the ability to watch whatever you want whenever you want without the need to record it or plan to be in front of the tv in advance is a drastic improvement. And that's without factoring in wrong listing times or shows being delayed and not airing when they originally would among other issues cable has.

Also there are quite a few free streaming options and hulu originally was one of them. The one negative I have with the streaming services is that now they don't provide warnings in advance when a show is going to expire like they used to. A few services like disney going after exclusive rights for some content is a bit annoying as well. Some have bad video players that are unstable like crunchyroll.

The only improvement tv wise is stuff like roku where you can watch tv without having to resort to the extortion of cable depending on where you live.