YouTube TV now offers HBO and Cinemax w/ HBO Max bundle [Updated]
Following an announcement earlier this year, YouTube TV has today opened up access to HBO, Cinemax, and HBO Max through your current subscription.
HBO Now has now made its way to Chromecast
Update: The HBO Now APK with Chromecast support is now available to download. It should be rolling out over the next several hours on the Play Store.
Yes, it’s true. Following the service’s introduction on Android and some of Amazon’s platforms a few weeks ago, Google has announced today that HBO is now rolling out support for Chromecast as well.
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A ‘Game of Thrones’ fan created a Google Maps-flavored Westeros map
You can’t browse through George R.R. Martin’s fictional continent of Westeros from the hit series Game of Thrones on Google Maps just yet, but you can now at least see what that might look like thanks to Reddit user salvag. Below you’ll find the beautiful Westeros map recreated by salvag, which is very nicely designed in the flavor of Google Maps.
And no: he claims this map contains no spoilers. It’s even available as a poster for sale on Etsy, starting at $21 before shipping.
Maybe someday Google will grant our wishes and create something more interactive. Until then, however, Game of Thrones fans might want to try QuarterMaester.info, which includes all the continents from the series along with a “spoiler control.”
The idea of Google Maps being used for non-Earth or fictional locales is not a new one, with one of the more well-known examples being Google’s own recreation of Mars using the Maps software.
9to5Toys Lunch Break: Moto X (2014) from $350, Moto 360 from $180, Lexar 128GB microSD card $86, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
Today’s can’t miss deals:
Moto X (2014) unlocked 32GB for $350 (Reg. $550) OR 64GB for $375 (Reg. $600)
Moto 360 available for $180 (Reg. $250) for a limited time
Lexar 128GB Micro-SD Card (95MB/s) for 4K video recording, more for $86 shipped
Amazon free app of the day: Jumping Finn Turbo – Adventure Time (Reg. $1)
Black LG G Watch Android Wear smartwatch brand new: $128 shipped (Reg. $230)
Pebble Smartwatch for your Android phone: $80 (Orig. $100)
Samsung’s new SD cards bring faster speeds, larger storage for 4K video and photography
Review: iOttie’s Active Edge bike mount safely puts your smartphone front and center, exclusive 30% promo code
More new gear from today:
Stream Amazon Prime Instant Video movies and TV shows at 30,000-ft in the air w/ no extra fees
- New! Games/Apps: Shadow of Mordor $20, TurboScan $1, iOS freebies, more
- New! Laptop bags: Belkin Messenger $20, Lowepro Passport $20, more
- New! Entourage Complete Series on Blu-ray for $85 shipped (Orig. $300), more
- New! Daily Deals: Sol Republic Relays in black or white $40, more
More deals still alive:
Canon Refurb Cams: SL1 $300 (Orig. $550), Rebel T5 w/ lens kit $300 (Orig. $440), more
- Apple 11-inch MacBook Air 1.6GHz/4GB/128GB (newest): $750 shipped (Reg. $899)
- Netgear N300 Wi-Fi range extender for $25 shipped (Reg. $37+)
- Mother’s Day Deals: Flower arrangements from $34, much more
- Bluetooth Speakers: Sony SRSX5 $130 (Reg. $180), UE Mini Boom $70 (Orig. $100)
- Multi-magazine subs from $4/yr: Wired, Men’s Health, ESPN, many more
- Google doubling the free trial period for new Play Music All Access members
- iPhone 6 MFi battery cases: UNU DX 3,000mAh $50, Anker Premium 3,100mAh $30
- Spotify reboots its popular 3-month $0.99 Premium plan for new subscribers
- Poweradd iPhone 6/6Plus cases (variety of styles/colors) $2 shipped (Reg. $8)
- ‘ExoMount Touch’ Universal Car Mount $20 Shipped (Orig. $30, Tax only in CA)
- Seagate’s recently released USB 3.0 Expansion drives: 4TB desktop $100, 1TB Portable $55
- Wireless EarPod-style Bluetooth 4 headphones (compatible w/Apple Watch): $12 shipped
- HBO NOW free trial offer drops to one week after initial promo period, sign up now
- iTunes Free App of the Week: Mighty Switch Force! Hose It Down! ($2 value)
- Ring Wifi Video Doorbell w/ iPhone/Android app: $189 Shipped (Orig. $229)
- T-Mobile is once again dishing up free MLB At Bat access to its customers ($20 value)
- 3.2-ft MFi Lightning cable + 2.4A Car Charger for $9 (Reg. $17)
- Regal’s $1 Summer Movies promo includes The Lego Movie, Paddington, more
- Free Xbox Live games for May: Mafia 2, F1 2013, CastleStorm DE, Pool Nation FX, more
- Free PlayStation Plus games for May: Guacamelee!, Unfinished Swan, more
New products & more:
GE’s new lightbulbs have HomeKit compatibility and will help you sleep better
- Connected Cycle’s smart pedals will track your riding and help you find a lost bicycle
- IKAWA’s coffee roaster brings the experience home w/ iOS connectivity and custom recipes
- Give your iPhone a shake to create exciting videos with TomTom’s new Bandit action cam
- Hulu just paid $180 million for Seinfeld, get the entire series for $65
- Patriot’s USB-C Flash Drives are primed for new MacBook and Chromebook Pixel owners
- The ON magnetic portable charging station from RUBIX takes inductive charging on the road
Android users at last get access to Amazon Instant Video as of today
Amazon seems to have finally accepted that access to Amazon Instant Video still isn’t going to make anyone want to buy a Fire Phone. As of today, Amazon Prime members in the U.S. can watch Instant Video on any Android device using the updated Amazon app.
Prime members in the US can stream unlimited Prime Instant Video from inside the Amazon app using the Prime Instant Video player, including HBO shows The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, Six Feet Under, and The Wire …
Expect more Chromecast apps soon as Google schedules hackathon
We haven’t yet seen too many apps that can stream content to Chromecast dongles, but all that is likely to change over the next month or two as Google has scheduled a Chromecast ‘hackathon’ at its Mountain View HQ next month, reports Engadget.
Google has invited several developers including CyanogenMod / AirCast dev Koushik Dutta and Thomas Kjeldsen to a hackathon on December 7th and 8th in Mountain View. An opportunity to test drive the “upcoming release” of the Cast SDK is promised, plus an opportunity to talk with Google engineers about what it can do …
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HBO GO for Android picks up Chromecast support
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9jA2km9TKM]
Google announced today Chromecast support for the HBO GO app for Android.
This means HBO GO subscribers can now push content from their Android Devices to their Chromecast-connected HDTVs. HBO GO casting is also available from the website from Chrome browser.
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HBO Go appears on Chromecast support page, streaming support likely coming soon
Just a few weeks ago, Pandora became the latest app to receive support for streaming via the Chromecast, as did Hulu Plus just before that. This left a couple of key holdouts, one of which being HBO Go. HBO Go has been rumored as coming to the Chromecast since the device’s launch, with HBO confirming earlier this summer that it was in talks to support the Chromecast in the “future.” It now looks as if the launch is not very far off.
As first noted by Droid Life, Google’s “Now Casting” support page has been updated to include HBO Go. It’s touted as a “new” app, along with Pandora and Hulu Plus. Oddly, however, there is no HBO icon and the description simply reads “none.” This makes it seem like Google’s support page was updated a bit prematurely, although it does signal that a launch is imminent and that the two are still in talks to work together. We wouldn’t be surprised to hear an official announcement from Google and HBO relatively soon.
At $35, the Chromecast is becoming even more enticing of an offer as Google continues to beef up the streaming selection to compete with the Apple TV and Roku.
HBO shows now being added to Google Play, Game of Thrones included
In an effort to further beef up its content selection, Google has just started adding HBO shows to Google Play. The ever-popular Game of Thrones, Newsroom, and True Blood are now available to purchase episode-by-episode or by season. Boardwalk Empire, Veep, The Wire, and Girls are also now available. Episode pricing varies from $1.99 to $2.99.
Season selections are unfortunately limited at this point, however. For instance, only season one of The Newsroom is available, while only the first two seasons of Game of Thrones are available. Hopefully, as time progresses, more seasons and episodes of these popular HBO shows will become available, but for now, check out the offerings on Google Play.
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Hulu is just the latest doing Chromecast
“We are actively working with Google to bring Hulu Plus to the platform,” Hulu rep Meredith Kendall said. “At Hulu, we’re constantly innovating to provide our users with access to their favorite TV shows anytime, anywhere, on any device.”
What a stark contrast to when GoogleTV was released and Hulu blocked, yes BLOCKED, Google TVs from accessing Hulu content. Yes, a few years makes a big difference and Hulu has since gotten comfortable on set top boxes, but I think the model where Google puts content owners in control has struck a chord with content distributors. They are 100% in control of what goes on Chromecast.
“Here’s how you put your content on a Chromecast. They are $35 and going to be everywhere. Do what you want” works.
Vimeo, HBO, Redbox, and many others are also jumping on board.
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HBO considers U-turn on cable-free access to HBO Go
Reuters reported that HBO might consider a reversal of its previous position of not allowing access to HBO Go without a cable subscription.
HBO Go launched 3 years ago to allow subscribers to watch shows on tablets, but the service is so far restricted to those who have a cable TV subscription with an HBO partner and pay a top-up HBO fee. Co-President Eric Kessler had previously, and rather naively, said in a video interview at VideoNuze that those abandoning cable TV for purely online viewing was “minimal” and a temporary response to the economy, and he said there was no reason to offer a standalone mobile service.
This position now appears to be softening, with CEO Richard Plepler recognizing that a growing number of consumers want to choose both content and viewing platform at will.
“Right now we have the right model,” Plepler told Reuters on Wednesday evening at the Season 3 premiere of HBO’s hit TV show “Game of Thrones.” “Maybe HBO GO, with our broadband partners, could evolve.”
Companies like HBO are faced with a difficult tightrope act. While they earn billions of dollars from their existing sales model, any new offering that risks cannibalizing revenue is a frightening prospect for the company. Equally, however, it’s clear that ‘cable-cutting’ —giving up cable TV subscriptions in favor of online viewing— will only increase. Failing to respond to this is not an option.
One number will be looming very large in front of HBO: 25 million. That’s the number of illegal downloads of its hit show “Game of Thrones”. While some substantial proportion of those people would download pirated content for free no matter what options were available, there is a growing phenomenon of illegal downloads by those who would be willing to pay for content simply because existing deals don’t allow them the freedom to simply pay for the content they want on the device they want.
Sony GoogleTV Blu-Ray now $180
From 9to5toys.com:
PC Connection offers the Sony GoogleTV BluRay Player NSZ-GT1 for $199. 9to5 coupon code 9to5Blu10 drops it $20 to $179.99, the lowest price we’ve seen. Google just updated its TV line to 2.0 which has applications, an easier menu system, HBO co and more. It features support for the Android-based Google TV service, 1080p upscaling, 8GB of built-in storage, 802.11n wireless and Ethernet connectivity, four USB ports, HDMI output, and more.
