Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
HBO GO and HBO NOW Will No Longer Be Available on 2nd and 3rd Gen Apple TVs Starting April 30
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
For those of you on ATV Gen 3, you can probably just cancel HBO Now and subscribe to HBO Channel in Apple TV app on the device. I'm sure Apple's own servers will continue to support the streaming from there. And it might be why HBO is sunsetting support. This doesn't help HBO Go folks through their Cable Subscriptions, but it's something at least for those on the HBO Now platform.
How long do you all expect companies to support old hardware??? Seriously... do you really expect support forever?
If I have a 3rd-gen Apple TV, this does nothing to provide me with the best streaming experience.
According to MacTracker the 3rd-gen Apple TV has been discontinued for only 3½ years.
The most likely reason is that HBO is probably switching to a newer video codec or version of h.264 that the older gen Apple TVs can't hardware decode.
Wow... I can’t believe, I gave up on it but I‘m still using it on an old plasma. Definitely giving it a try later!
I do not expect support forever but I would greatly appreciate a technical explanation of why support is being dropped from a device that works perfectly today.
Vague statements like this: "In order to provide the best streaming experience, we need to make some changes to our supported devices list." always invite more questions than answers. 30 days notice is also fishy and unacceptable. What is changing in 30 days that HBO didn't know about months ago or even a year ago.
"In order to provide the best streaming experience"...
I hate corporate double speak like this. Just say you're not supporting it because of the problems it's causing AT&T. Don't say you're doing it for us... I don't have an Apple TV, but not streaming at all is certainly not "the best experience".
I hate corporate double speak like this. Just say you're not supporting it because of the problems it's causing AT&T. Don't say you're doing it for us... I don't have an Apple TV, but not streaming at all is certainly not "the best experience".
Last edited:
Well, I have to say, my 3rd gen Apple TV is wonderful. It allows me to use Hulu still with a friend's account (the 4th gen checks location and locks you out if not at the home address) and it does not authenticate HBO anymore. We do not pay for HBO but the 3rd gen Apple TV still lets us watch for free. This has been going on for at least 6 months so I am not surprised that they are ending support for it.
I think A5 decodes H264 on the SoC, if you’re saying is correct probably the A5 processor can’t handle all H264 profiles.
Could this be due to them dropping support for an older codec? Anyone know if later apple TV models included h.265 decoding in hardware? Perhaps this ties into bandwidth saving in the time of Covid?
You think they would at least wait until this COVID 19 mess is over, since streaming is busy as ever! Kinda crap to do it during this time.
With millions of people shuttered in, great timing HBO.
Last edited:
Apparently not. HBO Now folks will get access to HBO Max though. Max is basically HBO plus Warner.
https://www.hbomax.com/faq/
The 3rd gen Apple TV uses a single core variant of the A5, so it’s roughly on par with the 2010 iPhone 4. I’m shocked it’s been supported this long.
I dunno. Given Apple doesn't make panels such a TV would just be little more than a branded Samsung or LG TV with an embedded ATV at higher cost than both combined today. Sure some folks would buy it but is that really where Apple should go? You never know...
I have used my Apple TV 4s to watch Hulu on an account that is based out of a different state. The 4th gen does not lock you out if you are not at your home address.
