HBO Max has rebranded and its new name now is “Max”. The change takes effect today and to mark its launch, the streaming service is expanding its 4K content eight-fold, amidst other new features.
Max will introduce a new Ultimate Ad-Free tier that will offer four concurrent streams, up to 100 offline downloads, and nearly 8 times more movies and episodes of 4K UHD content (some in 60fps format) than the previous HBO Max, including popular programs such asGame of Thrones,The Last of Us,Harry Potter,The Lord of the Rings trilogy,The Dark Knighttrilogy,TheMatrixfilms and more, all for $20/month or $120/year.
Existing HBO Max subscribers will still have access to their current plan features for a minimum of six months following launch.
“We understand the value of offering our users a cinematic playback experience and to that end, we’ve implemented more advanced technology workflows that allow us to release more 4K content in a faster, more efficient way,” said Sudheer Sirivara, Global Technology Platform, Warner Bros. Discovery. “Max will offer more than 1,000 films and episodes in 4K at launch, and we’ll be adding more every month as we move forward.”
Dolby Atmos and Vision will be available for some content and devices. Additionally, all Warner Bros. movies released this year and henceforth will be available in 4K UHD when they arrive on Max after their theatrical windows.
Many of HBO Max subscribers will have their apps automatically updated, by May 23, while others will be prompted to update to the new Max app.
HBO Max subscribers will have their previous plan, profiles, avatars, settings, “continue watching” and “my list” items the same on Max. Ahead of the launch, customers can also pre-register for Max on theGoogle Play Storeor pre-order on theApple App Storenow. Additional information can be foundhere.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has set up standby “war rooms” in multiple locations worldwide ahead of the launch— including in Bellevue, Wash., New York, and London — with staff monitoring systems that are set to trigger up to 1,000 alerts if anything goes wrong.
The company also says it will evaluate customer feedback on a daily basis to prioritize new features and fixes.
Max is available on the same platforms as HBO Max, including iOS (iPhone and iPad), Android, Amazon Fire TV and Fire Tablet, Android TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, LG Smart TV, Roku, Samsung TV, Vizio SmartCast TV, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, and web browsers (including Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge for Windows and Apple Safari).
Key Differences & Improvements Between HBO Max & The New Max
- Over Twicethe Content:Max offers 35,000-plus hours of programming, more than twice what was on HBO Max. The new content is largely from HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID, Magnolia Network, and other legacy Discovery networks. The additional content includes seasons of “House Hunters,” “Property Brothers,” “Chopped,” “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” “Say Yes to the Dress,” “Deadliest Catch,” “Fixer Upper,” “Magnolia Table With Joanna Gaines”, etc.
- Better Performance Video Playback: The new Max combines the technology of both HBO Max and Discovery+ to to provide more consistent and stable performance across all devices. According to WBD, the new Max app’s video playback experience is designed to deliver “smooth and cinematic video.
- Simplified Navigation:The new Max has streamlined categories, improved content details pages, dedicated brand hubs, and thematic content rails to make finding content and discovering new TV shows and movies faster and easier. The left-side rail of the Max UI on TVs has only four items – search, home, My Stuff and settings. Whereas the old HBO Max had 45 items, including on submenus. In addition, on certain platforms, Max features an easier sign-in process that lets you scan a QR code or use Wi-Fi-based sign-in features.
- New Personalization Features: Max provides personalized content recommendations for each user profile across the whole service, based on viewing activity, unlike in HBO Max, where content recommendations were featured only on the home screen.
- Max, as with HBO Max does not include user ratings to provide personalized content recommendations. Also, after watching a movie or content, a new end-card recommendation (which WBD calls the “genre outro”) will suggest other content to watch.
- New 4K Plan: Max is available in three tiers, two with the same pricing as HBO Max’s previous plans plus a new premium option that includes 4K Ultra HD content and up to four concurrent streams:
- Max With Ads ($9.99/month or $99.99/year): 2 concurrent streams, Full HD video resolution, no offline downloads, 5.1 surround sound quality
- Max Ad Free ($15.99/month or $149.99/year): 2 concurrent streams, Full HD video resolution, 30 offline downloads, 5.1 surround sound quality
- Max Ultimate Ad Free ($19.99/month or $199.99/year): 4 concurrent streams, 4K Ultra HD resolution content, 100 offline downloads, immersive audio with Dolby Atmos (may include restrictions in some content categories). Theexpanded 4K UHD content catalog will comprise more than 1,000 movies and TV episodes; all Warner Bros. movies released this year and going forward when they arrive on Max following their theatrical windows.
- Kids Profile With Parental Control: Max offers a default kids profile for new subscribers with parental controls, which includes the ability to limit content by ratings, lock access to adult profiles; and prevent children from leaving the kids’ profile. Kids’ profiles are set by default to only allow access to contents with PG and TV-PG ratings or lower.
- New Download Experience for Offline Viewing:According to WBD, Max now features a new download experience that addresses problems in HBO Max.
- More Profile Avatars Icons:Max will have over 350 profile icons for users to choose from, after adding about 100 new avatars for characters like Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dobby, Voldemort, Professor McGonagall, and Hagrid from Harry Potter; Joel, Ellie and a Clicker from “The Last of Us”; Tanya, Portia and Valentina from “The White Lotus”; and Peacemaker, Emilia Harcourt and Adrian Chase from “Peacemaker.”
Avatar icons from Discovery shows like Chip & Joanna Gaines from “Fixer Upper,” Guy Fieri from “Diners, Drive-ins & Dives,” Bobby Flay from “Beat Bobby Flay,” Jonathan and Drew Scott from “Property Brothers,” Dr. Sandra Lee from “Dr. Pimple Popper,” Trixie Mattel from “Trixie Motel,” Annie Suwan and Kenny Niedermeier from the “90 Day Fiancé” franchise, and a variety of sharks such as a Tiger, Whale, Hammerhead, Bull and Mako from Discovery’s Shark Week are also available.
These new avatars are in addition to characters that have been available in HBO Max from classics like “Game of Thrones,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Sopranos,” “Friends,” “The House of the Dragon,” “Insecure,” “Succession,” “Hacks” and “The West Wing.”
- Better Accessibility Features:Max will offer 6,500 hours of audio descriptive content which includes shows lifestyle brands like Magnolia, TLC, and HGTV as well as the HBO and Max originals. Also, Max will support screen reader technology on the web, Roku, Vizio, LG, Samsung, Xbox, PlayStation 5, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android Mobile, Android TV, Google TV, Amazon Fire TV, DirecTV, Comcast and Cox.
