Nerve Endings Firing Away

In a great move that indicates moving ahead with the times, HBO announced that it would soon offer all of its content online. Of course, being the premium channel it will not offer this content for free. In a much easier way to weed out freeloaders, you will be able to see this online content if you are subscribed to its TV offerings and are accessing the Internet through the same provider. That is, if you use Comcast both for your cable as well as Internet, you would be able to view all of HBO’s content online. We use Suddenlink, a Comcast offshoot, for our needs so we would be able to avail of this facility as well.

However before you go check out HBO’s site, it would help to know that the service is not yet offered nationally and is currently offered on an experimental basis in Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I’m sure it would be as successful as HBO On Demand. I prefer the online viewing experience not because I’m a computer nerd but simply because it offers me the flexibility of watching the shows at my convenience and not planning my day or night around the TV timings. Quality-wise, I’m sure your television set or rather your latest LCD flatscreen HDTV is much better than the tiny computer screen but digging through the archives of Sopranos which I have largely missed is incentive enough. Also, the 400-odd movies in its archives will be available to watch any time. Ash and I have been catching up on prime time Fox or NBC shows that we have missed. I am aware that most national networks offer some content online but I’m more kicked about HBO simply due to their higher quality of programming and of course, movies.

Netflix recently eliminated the hours limit on its Watch Instantly option and opened up possibilities of choosing movies that you always wanted to watch but didn’t want to wait for it to arrive in the mail. Although the offerings are limited right now, there is plenty to keep you busy until they add more.

Although media and entertainment companies have been slow and reluctant to go the digital way, few companies like Apple, Netflix, and now HBO are blazing a new path and giving their consumers an easier, convenient, and enhanced alternative. I hope to see HBO’s service expanded to our region soon.