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HBO Go Comes To the PS4, But Not If You Have Comcast

Comcast has oddly been blocking Comcast users from enjoying HBO Go on select devices for years now. Since 2011 users complained that the cable giant didn't allow HBO Go to work on Roku if you're a Comcast cable subscriber, and while that was only recently remedied, Comcast's also been blocking its customers from using HBO Go on the Playstation 3 for around a year now.

I've yet to see a meaningful answer as to why that's the case, Comcast only telling different news outlets that getting authentication to work (the app has to confirm you are a traditional cable subscriber) takes time:

quote:
"With every new website, device or player we authenticate, we need to work through technical integration and customer service which takes time and resources. Moving forward, we will continue to prioritize as we partner with various players."
Of course Sony this week announced that HBO is now available for Playstation 4 customers, but again -- not if you're a Comcast customer. Over at the official Comcast forums, the company has backed away from the "technical integration and customer service" excuse, and now will only say the service doesn't work due to an unspecific "business decision":
quote:
HBO Go availability on PS3 (and some other devices) are business decisions and deal with business terms that have not yet been agreed to between the parties. Thanks for your continued patience.
If you check out the HBO Go for PS4 activation page, you'll note that most of the other major broadband ISPs have approved the app (including AT&T, Verizon and Comcast), so whatever "business terms" Comcast is waiting for HBO or Sony to agree to are quite specific to Comcast.

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smk11
join:2014-11-12

1 recommendation

smk11

Member

Comcast sucks

Why the hell do you have to approve access to a video?
pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora

Premium Member

Re: Comcast sucks

said by smk11:

Why the hell do you have to approve access to a video?

It's all good. Our secret FCC rule nobody is allowed to read will solve every problem on Internet.

fuziwuzi
Not born yesterday
Premium Member
join:2005-07-01
Palm Springs, CA
Hitron EN2251
Nest H2D

1 recommendation

fuziwuzi

Premium Member

Re: Comcast sucks

said by pandora:

said by smk11:

Why the hell do you have to approve access to a video?

It's all good. Our secret FCC rule nobody is allowed to read will solve every problem on Internet.

Maybe if the Republican appointees would get off their *** and release it so everyone could read it, maybe? After all, it is only 8 pages, not the 300+ that some people keep claiming.
pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora

Premium Member

Re: Comcast sucks

said by fuziwuzi:

said by pandora:

said by smk11:

Why the hell do you have to approve access to a video?

It's all good. Our secret FCC rule nobody is allowed to read will solve every problem on Internet.

Maybe if the Republican appointees would get off their *** and release it so everyone could read it, maybe? After all, it is only 8 pages, not the 300+ that some people keep claiming.

Republicans didn't vote for it, and would be violating Democrat FCC rules. In our world today, only Democrats can perpetrate government felonies with impunity.

fuziwuzi
Not born yesterday
Premium Member
join:2005-07-01
Palm Springs, CA
Hitron EN2251
Nest H2D

fuziwuzi

Premium Member

Re: Comcast sucks

said by pandora:

Republicans didn't vote for it, and would be violating Democrat FCC rules. In our world today, only Democrats can perpetrate government felonies with impunity.

It is a shame you didn't comment with accuracy. The FCC rules have been in place a long time and have applied to both Republican and Democrat appointees. The rules require each member to submit any edits they may have and sign off before the rules can be published. This process has nothing to do with voting, the vote has already been cast and the measure passed and will go into effect regardless. It is only the publishing of the rules that is hindered by the childish antics of the Republican members who are failing to submit their edits and sign off on the publication. Then GOP operatives and mouthpieces complain about the rules not being published. Pure childish behavior.
pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora

Premium Member

Re: Comcast sucks

said by fuziwuzi:

said by pandora:

Republicans didn't vote for it, and would be violating Democrat FCC rules. In our world today, only Democrats can perpetrate government felonies with impunity.

It is a shame you didn't comment with accuracy. The FCC rules have been in place a long time and have applied to both Republican and Democrat appointees. The rules require each member to submit any edits they may have and sign off before the rules can be published. T

If the Democrats at our FCC can change the way our Internet works, certainly they can change a rule.

fuziwuzi
Not born yesterday
Premium Member
join:2005-07-01
Palm Springs, CA
Hitron EN2251
Nest H2D

fuziwuzi

Premium Member

Re: Comcast sucks

said by pandora:

If the Democrats at our FCC can change the way our Internet works, certainly they can change a rule.

Why should they? Why can't we expect the GOP operatives to behave like adults, instead? Wouldn't that be much more simple to accomplish? Oh, but then the GOP wouldn't have anything to whine about. They prevent the rules from being published then whine about the rules not being published. And that makes sense to you?
pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora

Premium Member

Re: Comcast sucks

said by fuziwuzi:

said by pandora:

If the Democrats at our FCC can change the way our Internet works, certainly they can change a rule.

Why should they? Why can't we expect the GOP operatives to behave like adults, instead? Wouldn't that be much more simple to accomplish? Oh, but then the GOP wouldn't have anything to whine about. They prevent the rules from being published then whine about the rules not being published. And that makes sense to you?

Didn't our leader promise the most open and transparent government in history? Maybe to fulfill a long forgotten campaign promise?

fuziwuzi
Not born yesterday
Premium Member
join:2005-07-01
Palm Springs, CA

fuziwuzi

Premium Member

Re: Comcast sucks

So the best you can do is deflect from the issue. Why are you so reluctant to face facts?
pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora

Premium Member

Re: Comcast sucks

said by fuziwuzi:

So the best you can do is deflect from the issue. Why are you so reluctant to face facts?

The bast I can do is articulate a desire for open government. Which you seem opposed to.

fuziwuzi
Not born yesterday
Premium Member
join:2005-07-01
Palm Springs, CA

fuziwuzi

Premium Member

Re: Comcast sucks

You've not articulated anything but deflection from the topic.
HeadSpinning
MNSi Internet
join:2005-05-29
Windsor, ON

HeadSpinning to smk11

Member

to smk11
said by smk11:

Why the hell do you have to approve access to a video?

Because if you can watch HBO content on your PS4, you might not want to rent an additional cable box from them.

fonzbear2000
Premium Member
join:2005-08-09
Saint Paul, MN

1 recommendation

fonzbear2000

Premium Member

Any movie comes to me for FREE!

No matter what ISP I have since I use free streaming sites to watch them. Including DVD screening copies of movies still in theaters!
Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO

1 recommendation

Skippy25

Member

Re: Any movie comes to me for FREE!

You should be very proud of yourself as being part of the problem.

fonzbear2000
Premium Member
join:2005-08-09
Saint Paul, MN

fonzbear2000

Premium Member

Re: Any movie comes to me for FREE!

said by Skippy25:

You should be very proud of yourself as being part of the problem.

Hollywood is the problem with their greed and overpriced movie tickets.
Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO

Skippy25

Member

Re: Any movie comes to me for FREE!

No excuse. Wait for it to come out on DVD and pay your $1.39 to rent it from Red Box.

davidc502
join:2002-03-06
Mount Juliet, TN

davidc502

Member

Also the Amazon FireTV

Comcast doesn't support users on Amazon FireTV either.

The list is likely longer than we will ever know.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

Re: Also the Amazon FireTV

How much of that is Comcast vs the developer of the device? I suspect that it's partly the device developers fault and partly Comcast's fault.
Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO

1 recommendation

Skippy25

Member

Re: Also the Amazon FireTV

Well that would depend. Does FireTV or HBO Go use some special protocol that is not part of the TCP/IP standards? If not, then it is 100% Comcast fault as they are going out of their way to not make it work.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

Re: Also the Amazon FireTV

Do you have first hand insider information from either side? I'm going to say no. So you can't claim it's 100% anyone's fault because you do not have any facts to back up your claim.
Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO

Skippy25

Member

Re: Also the Amazon FireTV

How about the fact that of all the providers it is only Comcast with this issue.

Every single other provider has this up an working except for this one. Are you honestly going to claim that unless I have some insider secret that there is no way we can be assured it is not Comcast based on that one fact? Or are you going to try to pull some lawyer speak on us and get this by with reasonable doubt? Well what I doubt, and it is with good past history of seeing how Comcast operates, is that they were the only one of all the other providers that just couldnt get it working just yet.

Take that along with his comments that clearly shows it must be a business deal they strike with Sony and again we know that it is 100% Comcast blocking it. Sony has no vested interest in blocking it, unless of course you are going to make the silly claim that Sony is trying to get money from Comcast to allow their subscribers to use the service.

davidc502
join:2002-03-06
Mount Juliet, TN

davidc502 to Skippy25

Member

to Skippy25
said by Skippy25:

Well that would depend. Does FireTV or HBO Go use some special protocol that is not part of the TCP/IP standards? If not, then it is 100% Comcast fault as they are going out of their way to not make it work.

Ah, No.

SpottedCat
join:2004-06-27
Miami, FL

1 recommendation

SpottedCat

Member

This silliness needs to stop...

We have money, we want to watch content, we want to pay the content provider for that content.

We need to get rid of all these stupid agreements involving middlemen like cable companies.

It should be as simple as.. if I want to watch HBO stuff, I pay HBO. HBO is happy, I'm happy, and my ISP is happy as I pay them every month too.

But noo, everything has to be complicated and difficult.

Flyonthewall
@teksavvy.com

Flyonthewall

Anon

Give us moar money!

Sorry, you might cancel your Comcast cable, so no soup for you!

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
Premium Member
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

IowaCowboy

Premium Member

Re: Give us moar money!

And go to DirecTV/Dish.

davidc502
join:2002-03-06
Mount Juliet, TN

davidc502 to Flyonthewall

Member

to Flyonthewall
Ok, soup Nazi
mikesco8
join:2006-02-17
Southwick, MA

mikesco8

Member

when HBO stand alone comes

If Comcast starts losing HBO subscriptions because they won't play nice, that business decision might change real quick!
Paul in WA
join:2010-09-11
Centralia, WA

Paul in WA

Member

Re: when HBO stand alone comes

You are assuming that Comcast subscribers will be able to access the stand along HBO product.

odreian615
join:2006-01-18
Chicago, IL

odreian615

Member

This still goes on

Wow Comcrap.
rrr
join:2014-11-27

rrr

Member

But it works on the Xbox One.

HBO Go on the Xbox One has worked with Comcast since its release in November. Seems suspicious that the Sony devices are left out. I don't see it as being for technical reasons, but just business as usual.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

Re: But it works on the Xbox One.

bet they have a beef with Sony over something. And it cannot be sony wanting PS# to be an OTT platform because MS wants the same from the 360 and the One.

JasonOD
@comcastbusiness.net

JasonOD

Anon

Another perspective

Imagine you're Comcast, with millions of HBO subscribers and the knowledge that HBO's near future stand-alone product will undoubtedly cause revenue loss. Now you're being asked to support subscriber verification for HBO Go for free. Would you 'jump' all over that?
Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO

1 edit

1 recommendation

Skippy25

Member

Re: Another perspective

Should you even have a choice to interfere with it? Yet another example of Comcast putting their greed before their consumers.

Your internet is a dumbpipe, the sooner you realize that and start acting like it and begin adjusting your business models to it the better everyone will be.

I am not real sure why Sony doesn't just use IP identification to allow anyone on the Comcast network to automatically authenticate. Why pay those morons when you can completely bypass it?

All of this will really be a moot point when their standalone service goes live. Then consumers of Comcast can just cancel HBO all together with them and go standalone. See if Comcast suddenly wants to become subscriber friendly then. Bunch of clowns.

McShaken
Premium Member
join:2006-02-20
Olympia, WA

1 recommendation

McShaken

Premium Member

So much money, so little support....

Comcast is always dragging their heels on HBO Go. It took forever for them to allow HBO Go on Roku. They've got so much money, but so little customer service...
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd

Premium Member

Comcast is protecting box rental revenue.

its that simple, They know lots of people get a second full box verses one of those little digital tuner things so that they can watch premium channels and VOD. If the channels go on apps on a game console they cannot rent a box any more.
aadder
join:2002-08-03
Columbus, OH

aadder

Member

Net Neutrality Rules

Wouldn't this go against the new net neutrality rules?

•••

Ark4
join:2002-06-08
Lansing, MI

Ark4

Member

Ultrabook + HDMI

Just another reason I'm glad I watch anything I do watch on an ultrabook hooked to my 60" with HDMI. The thing is actually quieter than some STBs I've had in the past, and I can easily move the mouse around and click on things with an Xbox360 controller (although for most people, a Bluetooth mouse would probably work fine).

I never have to worry about any of this "pay extra to get the content to your TV" this way. HBO Go, Hulu, Netflix, NBC, YouTube, whatever. It all just works because everything seems to target desktop streaming first above all else.

Plus, for whatever reason, with Comcast, you basically get HBO + locals for free. They make it more expensive to get Internet only. I guess they want to count people as still subscribing to TV service, even though I don't have any STB plugged in, and only watch things on my laptop anyway.
mikesco8
join:2006-02-17
Southwick, MA

mikesco8

Member

FTC take notice...

See what lack of competition allows these companies to do? The Comcast / Time Warner merger must be stopped to keep this disease from spreading!
This is an example of how even though they do not compete geographically they do compete by allowing the public to see disparity between services provided.

Morac
Cat god
join:2001-08-30
Riverside, NJ

Morac

Member

Roku, Apple TV, and cord cutting

It took how many years for Comcast to allow HBOGo on Roku? I wonder how much cash Roku had to form over for that.

HBO Go is available on Apple TV with Comcast, which is somewhat ironic considering Apple TV will be the first device to offer HBO without a subscription to cable.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad

MVM

This is why Comcast subscribers can't have nice things

This is why we need Internet regulation: Comcast blocks HBO Go app from working on PS4
By Joel Hruska, ExtremeTech - March 5, 2015
»www.extremetech.com/comp ··· g-on-ps4
quote:
... It’s not clear to me if the Title II regulations proposed by the FCC would explicitly prevent Comcast from blocking HBO Go. One thing that likely will help, however, is the FCC’s move to preempt municipal broadband limits. Increased local competition and the availability of Google Fiber could collectively help break the logjam.

Comcast’s belief that it can cast its refusal to provide HBO Go service to customers as a business decision illustrates one of the most serious failures of Internet governance. Today, it’s perfectly legal for Comcast to refuse to provide a service that its customers pay for.

Sony customers have been complaining for a year that Comcast won’t provide HBO Go, and HBO has apparently been less-than motivated to solve the problem. Thus, we have a situation where the consumer has paid Sony for the PlayStation, paid HBO for the right to stream content, paid Comcast for the right to have an Internet connection, and yet is disallowed from using that service under the guise of “business decisions.”