I Want my HBO ... on my Blu Ray

September 28, 2012 12:25 PM

I subscribe to HBO. Why the heck can't I get it on my Blu-Ray? Is there some other way to get it on my TV (besides going to the actual channel)?

The Mr. and I are wanting to recapture the magic of Boardwalk Empire from the beginning. We have a subscription to HBO. Our cable provider (Charter) offers HBO on Demand and HBO Go. The 1st season of BE is not available on demand so we're looking to HBO GO (which does have it). The problem is getting it to work on our Blu Ray player.

We have a Sony Bravia BDP-S570/BM U2 Blu Ray player. It has Netflix, Hulu and Amazon. It does not have HBO GO. From what I've read, it's not possible to download apps onto the Blu Ray because Sony doesn't let you do that. So, is there another work around here? I can get HBO Go on my computer, but we want to watch it in all of its gorey glory on our big TV (a 2004 Pioneer Elite).

As for other options: we have Netflix streaming but it doesn't offer BE. We aren't interested in switching to DVDs because hey, we're already paying for HBO. Amazon has it online but we'd have to pay $35 for the entire season. My goal here is to take advantage of the HBO stuff that I'm already paying for.

posted by Leezie to computers & internet (13 answers total)

If the hardware doesn't support HBO Go, you can't get HBO Go on it until they decide to support it. That's the problem with that sort of technology; the manufacturer gets to pick what you can watch on it and what you can't.

Does your PC have HDMI-out? HDMI cables are dirt cheap; I just got a 25' one for something like fifteen dollars on Monoprice. It's not totally convenient, but it does the job.
posted by griphus at 12:27 PM on September 28, 2012

Roku will let you use HBO Go. The cheapest one is $50. Make sure that your cable company lets you use Roku before you go this route.

Otherwise, HDMI cable like griphus suggets. If you have a mac, there are Thunderdbolt/Displayport to HDMI converters available that will transmit both sound and video simultaneously.
posted by iamscott at 12:28 PM on September 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

It was Amazon, not Monoprice, sorry. But it's still 25 feet of cable for twelve bucks.
posted by griphus at 12:28 PM on September 28, 2012

Actually, if your TV is from 2004, it might not have HDMI-in. More likely it'll be component or S-Video and RCA audio. It's not that hard to connect it to the TV, but you'll need to tell us what your computer can output and what your TV can take as input.
posted by griphus at 12:32 PM on September 28, 2012

Damn you Sony!!! My computer is brand new, so if it doesn't have an HDMI-out cable, I'd be shocked. I will look into that since I was able to get it to work on the PC.

I really wish we had gotten a Roku. But, the blu ray - streaming combo was just too good to pass up.

Thank you griphus and iamscott!
posted by Leezie at 12:33 PM on September 28, 2012

Your computer's video card and your TV will need to be HDCP-compliant if you wish to go the HDMI route.

I watch HBO GO on my Roku, but as another commenter noted, not all cable/satellite providers are eligible to have HBO GO stream through it.
posted by Tanizaki at 12:33 PM on September 28, 2012

griphus - can I memail you with that info? Hubby is more technically minded than I. I will have him investigate when he gets home. Thanks.
posted by Leezie at 12:34 PM on September 28, 2012

Sure, but send it to my username at Gmail instead of via MeMail. If he's not sure, just ask him to take a photo of the back of the TV and send that along.
posted by griphus at 12:36 PM on September 28, 2012

Does the blu-ray player have a web browser? We watch HBO Go through the browser on our blu-ray player.
posted by amarynth at 12:36 PM on September 28, 2012

+1 for Roku. I have the purple one, with the HBO Go channel installed, and it's cheap and easy+fun to use (muuuuch faster than my Samsung BluRay's apps). I tried finding ways to get more out of my BluRay player and am so glad I gave up and bought the Roku.
posted by katieinshoes at 12:37 PM on September 28, 2012

Thanks griphus. Will do.

amarynth- blu ray does not have a web browser that I can tell. But, I will investigate.
posted by Leezie at 12:38 PM on September 28, 2012

Do you have an Xbox? You can get HBO GO content through Xbox Live.
posted by jquinby at 12:44 PM on September 28, 2012 [1 favorite]

Your PC/laptop may have what is called a DisplayPort. If so you can get an adapter like this to convert to HDMI.
posted by Justin Case at 1:47 PM on September 28, 2012