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HBO Now App Removed From 2nd and 3rd Generation Apple TV Models

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Apr 12, 2001
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As expected, HBO removed support for its HBO Now app on second and third-generation Apple TV models over the weekend.

apple-tv-2nd-gen-remote-setup-wrap-steps-wrap.jpg

Early last month, the company announced that it would be removing support for older Apple TV devices at the end of April, a decision it said was made "in order to provide the best streaming experience."

Following pushback from users, a couple of days later HBO said that it would be extending the deadline to May 15, with HBO GO to remain available for "a few additional months."

The company hoped that the extended deadline would provide people with enough time to upgrade their ?Apple TV? models and otherwise prepare for the day they are removed.

Affected users are advised to try alternate ways to access content, including streaming HBO GO using another streaming device like Roku and Amazon Fire TV, using AirPlay to stream HBO GO to Apple TV, using an HDMI cable to connect a phone, tablet, or computer to a TV, and using Chromecast to cast HBO GO from a phone, tablet, or computer to a TV.

HBO GO and HBO NOW remain functional on the newest ?Apple TV? HD and ?Apple TV? 4K platforms. Numerous shows and movies can also be streamed for free on HBO GO and HBO NOW, including Silicon Valley, Succession, The Wire, and more.

Article Link: HBO Now App Removed From 2nd and 3rd Generation Apple TV Models
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/05/18/hbo-now-app-removed-older-apple-tvs/
Techwatcher said:
It’s a video streaming app. There’s no way any version of an Apple TV can’t handle it. This was taken off for no reason.
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it was taken out because HBO and apple have a licensing agreement and the fact apple wants people to buy newer apple tvs. HBO is not just removing its app from older apple tvs they have also been removing the app from many older "smart" TVs too. They don't want to support older platforms.
 
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pray2crom said:
it was taken out because HBO and apple have a licensing agreement and the fact apple wants people to buy newer apple tvs. HBO is not just removing its app from older apple tvs they have also been removing the app from many older "smart" TVs too. They don't want to support older platforms.
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Which is no GOOD reason as far as subscribers are concerned.
 
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There could be a valid reason HBO is removing old versions of the app, like maybe they want to start using a different codec now, one that older devices couldn’t handle well due to CPU constraints. Or that the older devices provided a poor experience.

I doubt there’s any conspiracy here. Most of the time when companies make old programs reach end of life, it’s because the cost of supporting the old program is too high. Trying to fix old bugs in old programs is not a very efficient use of company time.
 
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MacRumors said:
apple-tv-2nd-gen-remote-setup-wrap-steps-wrap.jpg
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God I miss that remote! Apply TV when from the best remote I've ever used to the worst, and that's no exaggeration in either direction :'(
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Somebody should make a Siri remote modelled after that one!
 
pray2crom said:
it was taken out because HBO and apple have a licensing agreement and the fact apple wants people to buy newer apple tvs. HBO is not just removing its app from older apple tvs they have also been removing the app from many older "smart" TVs too. They don't want to support older platforms.
Click to expand...
hahahaha. You just made that up. Presumably, HBO did not want to support 32 bit devices any longer. Strange that they couldn't keep their older software still running though. This was announced awhile ago, sheesh
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allenvanhellen said:
Which is no GOOD reason as far as subscribers are concerned.
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Also he is wrong, just wrong, so that is no good reason, not even a right reason
 
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pray2crom said:
it was taken out because HBO and apple have a licensing agreement and the fact apple wants people to buy newer apple tvs. HBO is not just removing its app from older apple tvs they have also been removing the app from many older "smart" TVs too. They don't want to support older platforms.
Click to expand...

The 2nd gen used an A4, 3rd A5. Both 32 bit only. I suspect the lack of 64 bit processors had a huge part to do with this.
 
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I really thought they delayed the removal since a new Apple TV device was imminent. Probably still is, but still would have made sense to release it first before the removal.
 
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azentropy said:
I really thought they delayed the removal since a new Apple TV device was imminent. Probably still is, but still would have made sense to release it first before the removal.
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I really hope they don't delay the new device until the WWDC keynote, just so they can release it along with the Apple TV+ announcements.
 
Techwatcher said:
It’s a video streaming app. There’s no way any version of an Apple TV can’t handle it. This was taken off for no reason.
Click to expand...

There's a reason, you'll find out in 11 days.
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UltimaKilo said:
What a strange time to pull support. The Apple TV3 is plenty beefy enough to handle HBO and it’s future codecs. Slap in the face to subscribers.
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Apple TV 3 cannot handle future codecs at all, it lacks the hardware capability.
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TiggrToo said:
The 2nd gen used an A4, 3rd A5. Both 32 bit only. I suspect the lack of 64 bit processors had a huge part to do with this.
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More importantly, both lack h.265 decoding hardware. In a couple of weeks, you will likely hear an announcement with the launch of HBO Max that they're moving everything to 4k and HDR. This means, they'll let the device decode and decide the resolution rather than store multiple video types.
 
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UltimaKilo said:
What a strange time to pull support. The Apple TV3 is plenty beefy enough to handle HBO and it’s future codecs. Slap in the face to subscribers.
Click to expand...

To be fair, the chip (A5) was made for the iPad 2 in 2011 - and also shipped in the iPhone 4S. "Beefy" wouldn't be the best way to describe it, and I really doubt it would be able to support modern codecs in software (VP9, H.265).

That being said, there's no trace of new codecs and improved video quality on the HBO side - so I guess it has more to do with software maintenance than actually moving onwards.
 
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cualexander said:
There could be a valid reason HBO is removing old versions of the app, like maybe they want to start using a different codec now, one that older devices couldn’t handle well due to CPU constraints. Or that the older devices provided a poor experience.

I doubt there’s any conspiracy here. Most of the time when companies make old programs reach end of life, it’s because the cost of supporting the old program is too high. Trying to fix old bugs in old programs is not a very efficient use of company time.
Click to expand...

This is likely exactly right. They are converging these apps into one service and likely moving to 4k for the first time.
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xyz01 said:
To be fair, the chip (A5) was made for the iPad 2 in 2011 - and also shipped in the iPhone 4S. "Beefy" wouldn't be the best way to describe it, and I really doubt it would be able to support modern codecs in software (VP9, H.265).

That being said, there's no trace of new codecs and improved video quality on the HBO side - so I guess it has more to do with software maintenance than actually moving onwards.
Click to expand...

HBO Max launches in 11 days, you'll likely hear about this by then.
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MauiPa said:
hahahaha. You just made that up. Presumably, HBO did not want to support 32 bit devices any longer. Strange that they couldn't keep their older software still running though. This was announced awhile ago, sheesh
[automerge]1589798995[/automerge]

Also he is wrong, just wrong, so that is no good reason, not even a right reason
Click to expand...

Where are you presuming anything about 32 bit devices? Every sign points to h.265 as they've removed support for only hardware that doesn't do h.265.
 
Iconoclysm said:
There's a reason, you'll find out in 11 days.
Click to expand...


If you're referring to HBO MAX then that's actually coming in 9 days, and I will automatically get that as part of my AT&T plan so I'm aware of what's happening. Even then that's no excuse unless they're getting rid of HBO Now/HBO Go completely.
 
MauiPa said:
hahahaha. You just made that up. Presumably, HBO did not want to support 32 bit devices any longer. Strange that they couldn't keep their older software still running though. This was announced awhile ago, sheesh
Click to expand...

Actually you made that up. There's no binary app that runs on the 2nd and 3rd gen Apple TV. It takes is an XML template per page, just like a website. That's why every app has essentially the same UI. Apple modernized this on the 4th gen and called it TVML.

The issues are either the specific format of the Apple TV 2/3 versus usage, compression (lack of HEVC, lack of 1080 support on the 2nd gen, lack of 1080p60 on the 3rd gen), older DRM, inability to customize the UI for specific features or ads, or the fact that the UX is simply slow nowadays.
 
HBO: we want to provide the best possible streaming service to everyone

Everyone: yay

HBO: *removes streaming from devices*

2nd/3rd gen AppleTV owners: ...

HBO: There, isn't that better?
 
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