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When it comes to streaming in 2020, you have plenty of choices! One of the newest is HBO Max, a service that bundles HBO content, original HBO Max shows content specifically for the platform, and shows from the Warner Bros. archive.
The HBO Max streaming service is impressive, but like all streaming media, it requires a great connection or some workarounds for offline viewing. We’ll show you how to get the most out of your HBO Max streaming experience – and how to save shows for offline viewing later on!
What is HBO Max
Get comfy, because you’ve got 100 years of epic entertainment in your hands. You’ll have unlimited access to all of HBO, together with even more favorites from Sesame Workshop, DC, Warner Bros., and more. More reasons to love HBO Max: Thousands of hours of hit movies, addictive series, and exclusive Max Originals. Stream HBO GO Movies and TV Shows on your Mac. Built for macOS. With HBO GO you can watch big premieres as they air—plus every episode of HBO's addictive series such as Game of Thrones, Westworld, and My Brilliant. HBO Max is the streaming platform that bundles all of HBO together with even more of your favorite TV series, blockbuster movies, plus new Max Originals. Get comfy, because you’ve got 100 years of epic entertainment in your hands. You’ll have unlimited access to all of HBO, together with even more. At this time, HBO Max is not supported on the X1 TV Box. We're working to make HBO Max available on the X1. In the meantime, you can install the HBO Max app on any supported device and sign in using your Xfinity account.
HBO Max is a very purple (seriously, HBO chose to use purple as its primary color, and it’s kind of nauseating) platform for watching HBO content as well as shows from Warner Bros., New Line Cinema, TBS, TNT, Cartoon Network, CNN, New Line Cinema, The CW, Crunchyroll, and Adult Swim.
Its popularity stems from HBO leading the pack when it comes to original content. Over the past few years, no other network has done quite what HBO has with shows like Game of Thrones or Westworld. Netflix and Hulu have their moments, but HBO is still the class leader for original content.
It also has a ton of content from Warner Bros., adding to its lineup with older blockbuster shows like Friends, Rick and Morty, Big Bang Theory, and Adventure Time. Because it’s Warner Bros., you also have the entire Looney Tunes catalog available to you, which is sort of worth it on its own!
The HBO Max release date was May 27, 2020, the natural culmination of the Time Warner acquisition by AT&T. After purchasing Time Warner, AT&T quickly announced plans to create a subscription streaming service for its now-vast library of content. A New York Times investigation found AT&T executives believed HBO would be ‘beaten’ by Netflix without a streaming service and more original content.
HBO tried HBO Go first, an app that surfaced HBO content for a limited time, which was free to use if you were an HBO subscriber. Then came HBO Now, a precursor for HBO Max which had on-demand content from HBO. With Max, HBO is now an umbrella brand for all of Warner Media’s offerings.
How Much Does HBO Max Cost
After a seven-day trial, the HBO Max price is $14.99 per month.
For those who were already subscribing to HBO Now, the switch to HBO Max was automatic. One day, the app was just purple, and you had more content!
If you haven’t signed up yet, doing so is easy. All you have to do is create a username and password on HBO Max’s subscription page and submit payment information. It’s literally the exact same process as any other service.
What Devices Can You Watch HBO Max On
HBO Max works on the following devices:
- Android phones and tablets (with Android OS 5+)
- Android TV (OS 5+)
- Apple TV (4th gen and later)
- Chromebooks
- Chromecast
- iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch (with iOS 12.2+)
- PC and Mac computers
- PlayStation 4
- Samsung TV (2016+)
- Xbox One
Naturally, HBO Max is also available on the web via any browser. As you can see from the list, HBO Max is also available in the App Store for use on any modern iOS or iPad iOS device.
What Can You Watch on HBO Max
Like any other streaming service, HBO has content you just won’t find anywhere else. It’s also worth considering ownership of content when it comes to HBO Max; you can watch shows like Adventure Time on other services like Hulu, but there could come a time when Warner Media pulls that content from other services. If you’re really into a show owned by Warner Media, HBO Max is likely worth your investment.
Shows like Game of Thrones, Last Week Tonight, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Sopranos, and other popular HBO shows are expected. But HBO Max has originals like Craftopia, On the Record, Love Life, and Legendary. Warner Media content such as Rick and Morty, Pretty Little Liars, Friends, and the full Harry Potter series are available as well. HBO Max also has HBO’s deep catalog of current and classic movies to choose from.
How to Use HBO Max Streaming Service
HBO Max is a great streaming service made better with great original content. Its originals will never be found elsewhere – so if you’re interested in an HBO show, you’ll need HBO Max.
Gta v mods police. Anyone who has ever experienced buffering or stalled streaming media can attest: it’s annoying, and can really ruin the experience. This is why we suggest an app like WiFi Explorer!
Chances are poor streaming quality is a result of shoddy WiFi. Though we like to blame the service we’re watching, it’s more often our fault! WiFi Explorer helps you monitor your home’s WiFi signals so you know you’re getting the best signal for streaming. It monitors signal strength, but also has a really handy signal-to-noise ratio view that tells you why a strong signal may not be as performant as you’d like.
You may also be a Mac-centric user (at Setapp, we definitely are!) who would rather watch HBO Max shows on the big screen. That brings its own headaches: you may find a show on the HBO Max website on your Mac, but watching it on a TV means you have to open the app there and search all over again. Annoying!
JustStream helps you avoid that workflow issue. It lives in your Mac’s menu bar, and lets you cast any video file type on your Mac to a smart TV or streaming media dongle like Chromecast or Apple TV. It’s the catch-all solution for streaming content from your Mac to a smart TV.
Can You Watch HBO Max Shows Offline
Yes, you can – with a lot of catches.
HBO Max allows you to download shows within its app, but limits that to 30 downloads per account (and all user profiles) at a time. Only five copies of a show or movie can be downloaded across devices. Downloads expire after 30 days, and/or 48 hours after you start watching a movie or show.
Reading between HBO’s lines, this actually means you are saving shows for offline viewing, not downloading them. A true download means you have your own file of the show. HBO’s option is great if you just want to save a movie to watch on a trip or something, but its limitations are annoying. You can only download 30 movies or shows, which would make it really difficult to download an entire series for a long trip.
If HBO’s options are just not good enough for you, try Capto. It’s a really handy screen recording app that lets you capture an entire screen or any window within a screen. It saves audio and video, too, which makes it great for recording full shows.
Capto records at up to 60 frames per second, which means you can get high-quality HBO Max shows saved to your Mac with ease.
Conclusion
HBO Max is awesome for straight-up streaming. If all you want to do is open an app and watch shows, it’s great.
When you need or want to go beyond the simple act of streaming, you’ll need apps that can help you get there. We like the trio of WiFi Explorer, Capto, and JustStream to enhance your HBO Max experience. WiFi Explorer keeps a watch on your WiFi streaming quality, Capto helps you record shows in high-definition, and JustStream lets you cast them to any smart device. For the Mac-centric streamer, they’re must-have apps!
And they’re all free as part of a seven day trial of Setapp, the world’s best suite of productivity apps for your Mac. With Setapp, you’ll get immediate and unlimited access to dozens of amazing apps spanning a multitude of use cases.
Best of all, when the trial period ends, continuing your unlimited access to Setapp is only $9.99 per month. You can get an immediate 10 percent discount by paying for a 12-month license upfront, reducing your cost to $8.99 per month. Families with multiple Macs will love Setapp’s $19.99 per month plan, which grants unlimited and immediate access to its full suite of apps on up to four unique Macs.
Give Setapp a try today!
Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
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You can download HBO Max movies and shows and watch them offline, although there are some restrictions you will need to be aware of. These include limitations on how many videos you can have downloaded at once and how long downloads can remain downloaded for before they are automatically deleted by HBO Max.
HBO Max launched on May 27, 2020 and with subscriptions costing exactly the same as a standard HBO subscription, the streaming service has immediately attracted a number of existing HBO subscribers, as well as some new subscribers looking to take advantage of the varied selection of videos. Furthermore, with the service containing many fan favorite franchises, there are going to be subscribers who want to download videos so they can be watched whenever, and wherever the user is.
Benefits of downloading videos for offline playback
One of the main benefits of downloading HBO Max videos for offline viewing is the fact that users are not restricted to an internet connection to watch their favorite movies and shows. For some users, this will simply be beneficial in terms of not having to worry about buffering or a reliable enough connection to ensure smooth and uninterrupted playback.
For others, downloading videos can help to ensure they don’t need to worry about any data caps placed on their plan by their provider. Instead, users can download videos when connected to home Wi-Fi and then access them locally on the device.
Read more: HBO Max Devices: Check If Your TV or Streaming Player Is Compatible
How to download HBO Max videos
Downloading a HBO Max movie or show episodes is fairly easy to do. This is a feature the company actively promotes and the Android and iOS apps are designed to makes it as easy as possible to download content. While the screenshots below demonstrate the process using an Android phone, they are largely the same for iPhone and iPad users.
How to download HBO Max movies and shows:
- Open the app
- Search for the movie or show episode to download
- Tap on the movie or show episode details
- Tap on the “Download” button
- Allow the download to finish
The instructions above works for any video on HBO Max that’s allowed to be downloaded. The actual “download” button is predominantly displayed on title pages and can be seen below the play and ‘add to list’ options.
Once selected, HBO Max will queue the video to be downloaded. How long it takes for the video to start downloading will depend on the internet connection and how many other videos the subscriber has set to download.
Likewise, once the download actually begins, how long it will take for the download to complete will vary, based on length of the video and the download speed available at the time. As an example, a random episode of Westworld took just over four minutes to fully download.
During the download process, users will see a notification on their phone indicating the download is still in progress, the percentage of the download that’s complete, and how long the download has taken so far.
To find and access downloaded HBO Max movies and shows, tap on the profile icon and then select the “Downloads” tab for a list of all videos available to watch offline.
General download restrictions and caveats
Before downloading, there are some general restrictions and caveats to be aware of, and these will vary depending on the subscriber’s individual circumstances. The most obvious of these is that downloaded files consume local storage on a device. Therefore, some users may find that depending on their smartphone or tablet’s storage limit, and how much of that limit has already been used, they may be limited in how many movies and shows they can download from services like HBO Max.
Another caveat is that while a downloaded show or movie can be watched offline and without consuming data, these downloads do consume data during the download process. Again, this will depend on length of show and video quality, but users will want to keep in mind any data limits when downloading.
To ensure mobile data limits are not impacted by downloads, the HBO Max app by default, is set to only allow downloads when connected to Wi-Fi. Subscribers can change this in the app’s settings menu to allow downloading videos over a mobile network.
How to download HBO Max videos over a mobile network:
- Open the HBO Max app
- Tap the Profile icon
- Tap the Settings icon (cog) in the upper-left corner
- Select “Video Options” from the list
- Toggle “Download Over WiFi Only” to off
One of the best ways to limit the amount of data consumed over Wi-Fi or a mobile network is to reduce the video quality of the download. This will not only result in the same videos using less data, but may also speed up the process of downloading videos to begin with.
How to change HBO Max download quality:
- Open the HBO Max app
- Tap the Profile icon
- Tap the Settings icon (cog) in the upper-left corner
- Select “Video Options” from the list
- Tap on the “Download Quality” option
- Select “Fastest download”
HBO Max download restrictions
Hbo Download App
While the limitations mentioned above are likely to apply to most streaming services that offer downloads, there are some restrictions that are specific to HBO Max. The two most important ones to be aware of is how many videos can be downloaded and for how long they remain downloaded for.
How many HBO Max videos can be downloaded
HBO Max only allows accounts to download a maximum of 30 videos. While that is likely to be enough for the average user at any one time, it is important to understand this restriction applies to an entire account. For example, if a single subscription is being shared with other family members, and each of those members have their own profile, the 30 downloads applies to the account as a whole and not each profile.
Once the 30-download limit is reached, subscribers will need to delete existing downloads before the option to add new ones becomes available again.
How to delete HBO Max downloads:
- Open the HBO Max app
- Tap the Profile icon
- Select the “Downloads” tab
- Tap “Edit”.
- Tap “X” next to a specific download to delete the single download
- Alternatively, tap “Clear all” to delete all downloads at the same time.
- Select “Done” when finished
How long HBO Max videos can remain downloaded for
HBO Max not only limits how many shows can be downloaded at one time, but also how long those videos can remain downloaded for before they are automatically deleted by the app. In general, there are three main limitations that can affect the length of how long a video remains available for offline playback.
- Unwatched downloads expire after 30 days
- Watched or part-watched videos expire 48 hours after starting playback.
- Movies and shows are automatically deleted when removed from HBO Max
How To Download Hbo On Mac
With the exception of movies and shows leaving HBO Max, each time a download is automatically deleted by the service, the subscriber is able to renew the download again so it remains available offline.
Can You Download Hbo On Mac Laptop
How to renew expired downloads:
- Open the HBO Max app
- Tap the Profile icon
- Select the “Downloads” tab
- Tap the expired download
- Tap “Renew for 30 Days”
HBO Max downloads: Bottom line
HBO Max provides subscribers with an easy way to download movies and shows for offline viewing, as well as selecting the quality of the recording and whether downloads can take place over mobile networks. However, the subscription services only allow unwatched downloads to remain available offline for 30 days, or for 48 hours once playback has started. Once either of these time-limits are reached, HBO Max will automatically delete the movie or show episode. HBO Max subscribers can renew an expired download as many times as they like, as long as the movie or show remains available to stream through the service.