HBO has quietly begun offering movies in 3D through its HBO On Demand HD service, as we first reported back in September would happen early this year, with one of the first titles being from HBO sister company Warner Bros, “Clash of the Titans,” as expected.
Sources say “Avatar” will be coming to HBO in 3D later this year.
So far, only Comcast and the Verizon Fios services offer the HD version of HBO on Demand, the latter of which is available at no extra charge to any HBO subscriber. Any additional channel requires more bandwidth from programmers and HD requires even more space, with 3D eating up more on top of that since two video streams are required.
HBO’s move comes just as the DISH Network announced last month that it is also offering 3D movies on demand in 1080p HiDef. DISH began with 3D films from HBO parent Warner Bros. such as “The Last Airbender” and ” Cats and Dogs: The Search for Kitty Galore,” and Disney films such as “A Christmas Carol” and “Step Up 3D,” the latter of which was also being shown last month on ESPN 3D.
This month’s DISH offerings will include Universal’s “Despicable Me” and DreamWorks Animation’s “Shrek Forever After,” and Lionsgate’s “Saw 3D: The Final Chapter.”
In addition to “Clash,” the HBO on Demand HD 3D movies being offered include “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” from Fox, “Monsters vs. Aliens” from DreamWorks, and “Coraline” from Universal.
The Disney, Warmer, and Universal titles have also just been released on Blu-ray 3D and Lionsgate’s “Saw 3D” is coming on Jan. 25. But none of the DreamWorks titles or Fox’s “Ice Age 3D” have been announced for Blu-ray Disc yet.
— By Scott Hettrick
I PAID 6 MONTHS IN ADVANCE TO GET THE FREE 3D MOVIES OFFERED ONDEMAND THROUGH HBO AND CHARTER SAID HBO PULLED THE 3D CONTENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I BOUGHT A 3D TV FOR THE 3D MOVIES THAT HBO OFFERED!!!! SO NOW WHAT?! WHY WOULD YOU TAKE AWAY THAT CONTENT?!!!! I AM SO CLOSE TO CANCELLING MY HBO!!!!! DO YOU HEAR ME??????!!!!! HBO IS USLESS TO ME NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1