Recently, Forbes.com reported that Xbox is Winning the Living Room War through their Kinect camera and new Xbox music service. While this is great news for Xbox and Microsoft, it also has an upside for a certain HBO show. The hit fantasy series Game of Thrones has become a massive hit in its first two seasons. It has brought in incredible numbers and the allure is still growing. As a result, HBO is continuing to find new and creative ways to bring a more interactive viewing experience to fans.
From Forbes.com:
“The hot new demo they’re showing now is the aforementioned SmartGlass, a technology intended to patch the seams among your Xbox, Windows PCs and mobile phone, even an iPhone or Android. SmartGlass lets you watch a movie on your tablet and then press a button to transfer the film to your Xbox, which puts it on your TV right where you left off. Once the show is on the big screen the tablet becomes a smart controller and can play interactive features or display info about the film. HBO is now integrating SmartGlass technology with the hit fantasy series Game of Thrones. When viewers watch the show on their TV, their tablet or phone will display a map of the show’s current location or a family tree when a new character appears on the screen.”
HBOGo has long had the interactive features named in this quote, and many others. We reported a few weeks ago that HBO added the service to Kindle Fire, as well as rumors of it being included Nintendo’s new WiiU console. It’s already available on Xbox, and while not specifically stated in the article, the SmartGlass app will almost certainly work in conjunction with HBOGo. The big news here is fans that own an Xbox and have access to HBOGo can now use the service on their home theater systems. SmartGlass allows you to move various forms of media across multiple screens and in a world where you can now watch your favorite HBO programs on multiple devices, this may be just what some fans were waiting for.
