You no longer have to resort to third-party measures to watch HBO Max on your Vizio television. Vizio’s built-in SmartCast operating system now has an HBO Max app of its very own, meaning that you now have one fewer reason to use some other streaming hardware like a Roku player or Amazon Fire TV device to catch up on Succession ahead of Season 3’s premiere this fall.
At launch, the Vizio implementation will add a carousel on the SmartCast home screen that features content from HBO Max that’s currently available for free. That includes featured episodes from Game of Thrones, Euphoria, and Perry Mason — all of which are available on the legacy HBO service — as well as new HBO Max originals like Love Life and Raised by Wolves, for starters.
Also important is that you’ll be able to watch available titles in 4K resolution when using the HBO Max app in SmartCast.
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“Vizio’s mission is to bring the best possible entertainment experience to the millions of people that use our products each day. Making it easy to access the premium library and iconic programming from HBO Max through our SmartCast platform helps us deliver on that mission,” Mike O’Donnell, chief revenue officer for Platform+ at Vizio, said in a press release. “We look forward to deepening our relationship with WarnerMedia to engage and excite our shared loyal customers.”
That’s all a big deal in the name of simplicity (for the end user, anyway), and it continues the trend of television manufacturers doing all they can to keep you in their own ecosystem — where they can get every last ounce of dollars and data out of you — and out of someone else’s.
HBO Max is the streaming service from WarnerMedia (which eventually is going to be rolled into a new service combined with Discovery) that encompasses all of the legacy HBO content that you’ve enjoyed for years and combines it with the work of the larger family that falls under the WarnerMedia family. That includes films from Warner Bros., of course, as well as a host of new original series from HBO Max. The service also is where you’ll find the entire DC Universe, as well as shows that full under the Turner family of networks, including TCM, TNT, TBS, and more. Studio Ghibli has also found a home on HBO Max, as has the Crunchyroll Collection, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Looney Toons, Sesame Workshop, and more.
HBO Max comes in a couple of flavors. There’s an ad-free option that gets you everything the service has to offer, including offline downloads, same-day streaming of Warner Bros. 2021 movie releases, and the ability to watch select content in 4K resolution. It costs $15 a month — same as the legacy HBO service did. There’s also a newer option that includes advertising and eschews the ability to save shows for offline viewing, or to watch anything in 4K resolution. It’s available for $10 a month.
