HBO GO Streaming: The Best Video App Available

HBO GO streaming over an iPad with headphones is an amazing experience — especially if you’re in bed. But there’s more to HBO GO than just “bed streaming.” It’s an amazing app. If you don’t have it, and you have a HBO subscription, you need to download it right now.

The HBO GO app is not only available for iPhone, iPad, or Android; it’s also available for Apple TV, Kindle Fire, Roku, Samsung TVs, and the XBox 360 gaming console. It’s available for desktops and laptops, too. HBO GO lets you stream all the HBO shows, movies, and sports, with extra features, free of charge, because it is included with your HBO subscription through your television provider. If you have cable, fiber, or satellite TV through Comcast, AT&T, or Dish (to name a few), you’re in luck. Go to your computer, mobile device, or streaming player, and start using HBO GO right away. It’s amazing!

Getting Started

After signing in with your username and password that’s associated with your individual television provider account, you will instantly notice how cool the HBO GO streaming app is.

A collage of rectangle-like windows, each with a different movie or show, will come alive (the windows cycle slowly, and sometimes they actually play). The navigation is in the footer (below): Home, Movies, Series, Comedy, Sports, Documentaries, and Late Night. Each program has interactive features with exclusive content tied to each episode, personalized watch lists, series passes which automatically send new episodes of your favorite shows to your watch lists, parental controls to keep HBO GO family-friendly, and Facebook/Twitter links to alert your friends what you’re watching.

Activate and Use

Click on a window to activate that window. Say you pick Game of Thrones. A tab will let you browse the entire series. On the right, a tab with seasons; pick the one you want to watch. Below, the episodes are listed in numerical order.

Click an episode. After it loads, you can start at any time. During the episode, you’ll see extra features below; if you decide to click on any of them, the episode will pause.

View Extra Features

Say you want to see a map of the lands of Game of Thrones. There’s a fantastic map with King’s Landing, Dragonstone, Casterly Rock, and more. Want more? Click on a town, and a description appears. This is very helpful (specifically) for this show, because sometimes — unless you’ve read the books by George R.R. Martin — characters talk about towns and locations that have not yet been introduced.

Click on a guide to the houses. You’ll see a useful diagram with the claimants to the Throne and their flags. Click on a house, and a family tree appears with a list of characters from the show.

HBO GO is simply amazing and makes a wonderful guide to shows, with character breakdowns and more. If you have an HBO subscription at home, what are you waiting for? This is the best video-streaming app available today.