"HBO on Broadband" to offer free downloads, live feed

Being an HBO subscriber is about to get a lot more appealing, as the Time Warner-owned pay channel giant is set to roll out a new service that allows subscribers to both download select content as well as view live feeds on their PC. "HBO on Broadband," as the feature is called, will give HBO on Demand customers on Time Warner's Roadrunner network access to both the live east coast feed along with numerous TV episodes and Hollywood films, although downloads expire after 12 weeks or less, and you can't natively transfer any of this video swag to a portable device. Mac support is also conspicuously absent here, but seeing how the offer is confined to Time Warner cable and broadband subscribers only in Wisconsin for now, anyway, it's quite possible that an OS X client (and 64-bit Windows one) will become available as more regions get switched on. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, Judith]

[Quentyn @ Jan 25th 2008 3:08PM]

Test login

[derX @ Jan 21st 2008 10:26AM]

Hrm, why wouldn't there be Mac support...why wouldn't Apple want its users to download content without getting any profits?

OH, that's right! It's because it's Apple.

[Kizorblade @ Jan 21st 2008 10:47AM]

What?

[Bender Bending Rodriguez @ Jan 21st 2008 10:48AM]

Voted you down!

Time Warner not making a 64bit Windows version, a Linux version or an OS X version is NOT Apple's fault.

[Kizorblade @ Jan 21st 2008 10:58AM]

Actually, rereading your post for the 14th time I'm coming to some conclusions:

1) You think every single piece of OS X software is written by Apple

2) That Apple wants to make profits on everything it sells.
Apple doesn't make much profit from the songs it sells and none from Podcasts. However, they are there to sell iPods, which is where Apple makes it cash (hardware)

[chezzo @ Jan 21st 2008 12:55PM]

It's pretty impressive that somebody managed to turn this into an argument about Apple.

[derX @ Jan 21st 2008 1:42PM]

Urgh, I guess that was just a missed joke, how everyone turns everything into an Apple conspiracy.

I thought it was pretty obvious, I guess it failed.

*votes self down*

[Bender Bending Rodriguez @ Jan 21st 2008 10:50AM]

HAHA

So TIme Warner's HBO will be offering free content but then wants to charge broadband users per usage fees. What was it, like $6 per GB?

[Prime @ Jan 21st 2008 12:11PM]

Nice work, Bender!

[a ham sandwich @ Jan 21st 2008 11:06AM]

o man1 only for "customers on Time Warner's Roadrunner network"?

come on! people all over the country with countless tv providers pay for hbo! wheres the love?

[DJ @ Jan 21st 2008 11:32AM]

I live in Wisconsin (and yes, this is a day of mourning) and I have Digital Cable, Roadrunner and Digital Phone with all of the options on all three of them. This is the first I have heard of this. Even more interesting is that if I go to the TWC website http://www.timewarnercable.com/Milwaukee/ , I can't find anything about it.

[Jared @ Jan 21st 2008 12:31PM]

Hahaha, the Pacs lost, sending you some love from Minnesota

[Andrew @ Jan 21st 2008 12:53PM]

I live in Milwaukee now (only because Marquette has a great biomedical engineering program, usually from Chicago) and have HBO on Time Warner. I have yet to hear of this as well.

P.S. F*$# the Packers.

[Brent @ Jan 21st 2008 4:48PM]

Damn Andrew... I used to like you. Now you done pissed me off... to think all along you were from Chicago. Eh well, I guess I can try to get over my regional prejudices. Although, as a UW man, you going to Marquette doesn't help either. I've got a few friends there though, I wonder if we've ever played beer pong....

[Gnaget @ Jan 21st 2008 11:42AM]

so, when you say free downloads, you mean free if you pay for it?

Please tell me this isn't you giving them a break because they are "in the family"

[drummerjoe @ Jan 21st 2008 11:47AM]

I feel your pain too, DJ. But what I really want to see is an option to legally download HBO series without having to subscribe to cable.

[AJ in the East Bay @ Jan 21st 2008 12:48PM]

There you go, drummerjoe! I'd love to be able to have a Web-based HBO subscription that has nothing to do with cable or satellite.

[Ian @ Jan 21st 2008 11:13PM]

I find it interesting that many premium pay services, like Netflix or this HBO on demand exclude Apple's OS; it would seem that any customer willing to pay a premium price for hardware would also be a prime customer to pay for premium content. Yes, windows has more over all market penetration, but the more valuable consumer is would presumably be the one spending more on their computers.

[Quentyn @ Jan 22nd 2008 4:17AM]

Just about the dumbest crap I've ever heard.

[Ian @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:07PM]

Who do YOU think has more money; someone who buys a $299 Dell from WalMart or someone who walks into the Apple Soho store and buys a $1500 iMac?

[Quentyn @ Jan 25th 2008 3:07PM]

Still the dumbest crap I've ever heard. You can't guage someone's willingness to spend or their bank account because they buy a dell over a macbook. some people just dont like macs. Again, dumbest crap ever.

[SJ @ Jan 21st 2008 12:58PM]

I would sign up for just web-based HBO in a second. Need my Wire fix! Though of course there are *cough* other methods for now...

[Isaac @ Jan 21st 2008 1:34PM]

Gimme the Real Sex episodes without having to subscribe on the cablebox, and let me watch The Sopranos from day one, and I'm in. :)

Oh and yeah, I'm sure the lack of OS X client is because of Apple's greed... 'cause every piece of software comes out with both a PC and Apple version at the same time... errrrr... right? :P What a stupid assumption. Let me know when the service is available for a year or so nationwide and there still isn't an OS X client, then maybe there'll be some merit to an Apple-greed conspiracy.

[glenn s @ Jan 21st 2008 5:16PM]

This is not surprising at all. I just cancelled HBO so I could redirect that portion of my monthly entertainment dollars to Netflix. Now with Netflix downloads, I can get way more movies than HBO, and if I really care about the HBO shows, I can always rent 'em. Premium movie channels are going to lose a lot of subscribers in the near future if they don't start adding value fast.

[Timerider @ Jan 21st 2008 8:23PM]

I live in Wisconsin, but I don't have cable or satellite or broadband, and WTH is Roadrunner?

This seems to apply to about 50 people.

[Timerider @ Jan 21st 2008 8:25PM]

Oh yeah, and I have a Mac.

[Brent @ Jan 21st 2008 10:06PM]

Roadrunner = Time Warner cable internet. But then, you're not really here on dial-up either are you?

[fermanaziz @ Jan 22nd 2008 2:49PM]

http://www.allfreedownloadlinks.com
Ebooks,Video Tutorials, Games, Softwares, Wallpapers, Audio Books everything is free