Those who sideloaded HBO Now, how is your stream quality?

by brcreeker

I sideloaded the HBO Now app this morning after just discovering there is now an Android TV version. The app works fine, but the streaming quality is kind of shit. Whenever I start a stream, the quality is fantastic (I think it's 1080p), and then after about 5-10 seconds, the screen will flicker and the quality drops to a really low bitrate. The textures are really soft, and the edges are very fuzzy. Has anyone else experienced this?

I know for a fact it's not my network, since I have a 60Mb down, and I have a solid 802.11ac connection to my router.

I'm wondering if this may be a side effect of the app being designed for the Sony TV, but I'm just not sure. I keep scratching my head as to why HBO seems to be so hesitant to develop this for all Android TV devices. Are there still some hardware or platform exclusivity deals in place that I am unaware of?

ha7on

I would be surprised if it is 1080p. I have a Sony 4k and HBO Now didn't look great.

Trebla_Imein

I sideloaded it to my nvidia shield tv, and I would say it probably between 480p-720p.

edit: 60Mb down, wired connection.

Dvdgorila

I sideloaded it on my Nvidia shield, and the quality is terrible. The picture quality is better on my third gen apple tv. Haven't tested it on Amazon fire tv yet. I'm disappointed as I want to use my Nvidia exclusively.

lonewitness

Has anyone got it working on the nexusplayer?

brcreeker

Update: I picked one of the new 2015 Chromecasts up today from Best Buy, and the cast quality from HBO Now is astounding. I've had zero issues with bitrate drops or anything. So we're apparently going to have to wait for an update, but for now, I at least have a working option. I'd much rather just use one device, but I'll at least be able to use the Chromecast whenever I get a TV in my office. Hopefully by then the Android TV option will work properly.