ENTERPRISE

Understanding Geo-blocking (Part 3)

7/17/2013 9:09:13 AM

What’s on the box?

Windows/Mac

If you simply want to watch videos on your computer, or a Home theatre PC connected to your television, the Hola browser plugin should serve you well for Hulu, Netflix, Amazon and BBC iPlayer. Try both Chrome and Firefox if you run into problems. If you get no joy, experiment with proxy servers or try a DNS-based service – substituting its DS servers for your defaults. To change your DNS settings on a Mac, go to System Preferences, Network, Advanced and the DNS tab. On windows, open Network and Sharing Center from the Control Panel, click Change Adaptor Settings, right-click on the adapter you’re using to connect to the internet and choose Properties. Right-click Internet Protocol Version 4, choose Properties and then alter the DNS settings. Don’t worry about advanced geo-dodging techniques with iTunes, just switch to your foreign account.

BBC’s iPlayer has a wealth of content that ex-pats would die to watch

BBC’s iPlayer has a wealth of content that ex-pats would die to watch

Apple/Android

There are Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video and BBC iPlayer apps for Android and Apple’s iOS but they’re not to be found in the Australian stores. You’ll need a US/UK account to download them from iTunes. Meanwhile running a VPN on Android gives you access to foreign Google Play stores and we got into the US and UK with WiTopia. If the apps don’t show up, try searching for them in the browser, clicking on the link and then opening them in Google Play. Along with BBC iPlayer for Android you’ll need BBC Media Player.

Amazon Prime lets you both streams and rent movies

Amazon Prime lets you both streams and rent movies

If you can’t find an android app, or the current version isn’t compatible with your device, consider searching online for APK app files and side loading them onto your device via email. You’ll need to allow the installation of non-market apps, so proceed at your own risk. Results will vary depending on your particular hardware and OS. We were forced to side load BBC Media Player, because Google Play wouldn’t let us download it even using WiTopia. We also tried side loading Amazon Instant Video because it’s supposedly not compatible with our Samsung Galaxy S3, but the app wasn’t stable.

Even with the apps installed on your devices, you still can’t play videos until you cloak your location. Both iOS and Android have built-in VPN clients. We didn’t have much luck bypassing geo-blocking with WiTopia, but such things are always in flux.

We had more luck changing the DNS settings. On an iGadget, dip into the Wi-Fi menu, click the blue arrow next to your network of choice, tap DNS and change the address to that provided by a service such as Unblock US. On an Android 4.0 device, press and hold the required network, tick “Show Advanced Options”, Set IP settings to static and then scroll down to change the DNS settings. If you’ve got root access, check out apps such as Set DNS and DNS Changer.

Switching between Unblock US and Tunlr’s primary and secondary servers offered mixed results for Netflix and Hulu. UnoTelly’s primary Australian server delivered the goods on iOS and Android for Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer and Amazon (expect for our unstable Amazon sideload on Android).

Apple TV

Along with the iTunes store and YouTube, the little Apple TV also features built-in access to Netflix and Hulu.

Apple TV can be made much more useful to Australian users

Apple TV can be made much more useful to Australian users

You don’t need to bypass geo-blocking to hire movies from the US iTunes store, just got to Settings, iTunes Store and switch to your US account. To use Netflix or HuluPlus, go to Settings, General, Network, then set Configure DNS to manual. Both services initially refused to work with Unblock US but came around after a while. Once again UnoTelly delivered better results. If you’ve got an iGadget, you can also mirror streaming video apps to the Apple TV.

PlayStation 3

Along with local Catch Up TV and its Australian movie rental service, a little geo-dodging trickery lets you access Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video on the PlayStation 3.

Create a new user, select that user and then create a new PSN account with United States set as the country. Now log into the PlayStation Store, scroll down to apps and install Netflix, HuluPlus and Amazon Instant Video. If this fails, try this workaround from Unblock US: tinyurl.com/6owbo6v.

 To alter the PS3’s DNS settings go to Settings, Network Settings, Internet Connection Settings and Custom. Choose Wired or Wireless and then accept all the defaults except for DNS. We had no luck with Unblock US, but all three video services worked with UnoTelly.

Apart from Amazon, you might also hire movies from the US PlayStation Store. It didn’t like our Visa Load&Go card but, through the PSN website, we linked our Australian AMEX card using a US state and postcode. You need to hook up the PS3 to a VPN before it lets you pay and then watch the movie.

Xbox 360

Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video are all available on the Xbox 360

Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video are all available on the Xbox 360

Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Instant Video are all available on the Xbox 360, along with Australian Catch Up TV and movie rentals.

Go to Social, sign out and then create a new profile. You should have the option to choose the US as your location. Otherwise create a US account online at tinyurl.com/cwrjxkf. After creating your US Xbox Live and Windows Live accounts you can also sign up for Xbox Live Gold, which you’ll need to watch the video services. Online you’ve the option of using a gift voucher, credit card or PayPal (the latter isn’t available if you sign up via the console). We used a US PayPal account linked to our Visa Load&Go without any trouble. We’ve seen a claim that Microsoft can block Australian cards, even for the Australian store, if you try to use them with a US account. It might not be true, but we didn’t want to risk it.

If you created your US Xbox Live account online you can download it to your console – the option is alongside Create a new profile. Once you’re signed in you can download the Netflix and Hulu apps from the Xbox Live marketplace, but not the Amazon app.

Go to Settings, System, Network, Configure and manually change the DNS settings. Test the settings so they take effect and then sign back into your US account. Using UnoTelly’s DNS we could watch Netflix and Hulu but still not download the Amazon app. Once we hooked up the Xbox 360 to a VPN we could download and watch the Amazon app, as well as hire movies from the US Xbox Live marketplace.

Boxee Box

There are Netflix and BBC iPlayer apps for the Boxee Box, but you’ll need a VPN to see them unless you want to roll back the firmware.

The Boxee Box can be made even more useful with a few little tweaks

The Boxee Box can be made even more useful with a few little tweaks

Unfortunately the option to disable “Hide feeds and applications that cannot be played in your location” is gone from the Boxee Box menus. If you can’t see the foreign apps you want, changing the DNS settings won’t help and we had no luck using app repositories. Thankfully the Boxee Box supports VPNs and proxy servers. Using WiTopia we watched Netflix, and the BBC iPlayer, but they disappear when you disable the VPN. We had more luck by rolling back to firmware 1.1.3.19252 (tinyurl.com/agtaco2) and temporarily blocking access to “app.boxee.tv/chkupd/” with router-side filtering to prevent it finding the latest firmware. Using UnoTelly’s DNS, without the VPN, we could watch Netflix but not BBC iPlayer.

Conclusion

As the world becomes a smaller and smaller place, thanks to high speed connections and the cultural impact of the internet, it’s plain that content creators and publishers are going to need to address the shift to a global model of media consumption. It’s clear to us that, for now, we’re existing in a liminal state where license holders want to control distribution, but for little obvious purpose – especially when there is literally no alternative method to consume content in a lot of countries like Australia.

The options for publishers are clear – either open up distribution channels to a wider audience, or continue to suffer the debilitating effects of torrent-based file sharing and piracy.

In the meantime, however, conscientious consumers must judge for themselves how best to proceed. Hopefully, this article has served to at least inform you of the fuller range of options available, along with any inherent risks in the processes.

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