I’m not sure why I hadn’t previously tested this but, while traveling Internationally over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I confirmed what we probably all knew — most US-based content is inaccessible from abroad. Hulu Plus, Netflix, Pandora, and Slacker threw regional restriction error messages from their respective iPhone apps. Additionally, an iTunes movie rental download I started in the US and completed in Europe vanished from my device entirely.
However, on the audio front, two services helped get me through the trip: Slacker’s cached stations, which I’d loaded up on prior to travel, and surprisingly XM Sirius streamed just fine. In terms of video, while I don’t speak the language, the German equivalent of Home Shopping Network or QVC proved to be far more entertaining than anticipated.
I normally catch Hulu Plus in gym, hence my looking for alternatives. Can’t wait until iBBC goes international next year. I will subscribe. And hopefully it’ll work anywhere/everywhere.
Did you happen to try setting up a connection to a US proxy server or VPN. I would think Netflix, et al would work then.
I imagine the iTunes movie rental deletion was just the standard expiration logic?
Morac, I didn’t take a computer – tried to partially disconnect. Spoofing the IP via proxy or running a VPN would most likely have worked – unless the services have targeted and identified some common hosts – also why a secure tunnel to my home network and out would be better. Didn’t think to research an iPhone proxy (and honestly I was mostly out and about having fun offline).
JP, nope. Never got to hit ‘play’ so I never started the 24 hour timer. It was just gone, no record of it being there. Very odd. Will email Apple support and ask about it.
Good old locally stored content saves the day!
A Slingbox would have saved the day too, as the hotel WiFi was blazing (and free as a Hilton HHonors free frequent traveler), but I’m mostly packed for a move next week. (My pre-loaded Kindle also came in handy on a train ride to/from Austria and on the flight home yesterday.)
My nephew lives over in Belgium and uses a paid VPN provider to view Netflix, Hulu and a bunch of other streaming sites that wont normally work outside the US.
This paid VPN has been working flawlessly for him for quite a while with no major interrupts or downgraded quality in the stream.
You can definitely use the VPN with a mobile device as well.
Yeah, you should have setup a simple VPN. I use these guys (although, mac daddy davez should have a VPN on his home router, WHS, server farm already, right!)
http://www.hotspotvpn.com
They are cheap, can be weekly, or monthly, one gets a couple VPN logins, computer or iphone/ipad Works great, fast, reliable and YES NETFLIX, Apple store download, and skype work fine – EVEN IN DUBAI!
Just a FYI, iOS (iPhone/iPad/etc) natively supports VPN so no computer is required.
HotSpot Shield works well.
http://hotspotshield.com/clientless/iphone/
Well, since we’re putting recommendations in, I use openvpn.net and it has always worked fine for me. They have locations all over the globe, and you can switch as needed (depending on your plan). And yes, the iPhone does support VPN use.
Morac, Turns out I knew that once (and obviously have forgotten, maybe since I don’t travel overseas often or for extended periods). I did subscribe at one point to an International VPN to get BBC content (but not via phone). Although, I still think I’d probably set up a secure tunnel back home and out – more work upfront, but potentially more benefit in the long run. If I were motivated.
If you have a recent router, you can run something like tomato os (which, with slingboxes, vudus, xboxs and the other znf toys you SHOULD have in order to optimize QOS at the inpo) or dd-wrt, which include a VPN option on the OS. Then, with the hopefully business class cable pipe you simply MUST have, you can just route it all home. I also find this helps GREATLY with the use of video conferencing back home to imacs or facetiming with members in the LAN, since the tunnel maintains the route better than just hoping out in the cloud, from places like dubai or on a boat on the yangtzee. :-)
So the Slingbox would have worked?
Gear, Yah the Slingbox would have been hosted by me at my place and I don’t enforce any regional restrictions. ;)
tivoboy, I’m nowhere near my bandwidth ceiling and haven’t had to mess with prioritizing traffic. If I roll my own tunnel, I’d obviously need to rethink and reconfigure how I do things. But I’m not really motivated to go down that path at this time. Maybe once we get settled into the new place. (Should we place wagers on Cox’s ability to seamlessly migrate my services Saturday afternoon as promised?)
I’ll take that bet, but you might not want to lose YOUR SHIRT just after moving into a new place. :-)
If they DO migrate everything perfectly, seamlessly, it will be a rare and non-statistically relevant tweet.
Well, we’d be taking the same bet that it ain’t gonna happen as promised… Fortunately, I’ve always got a number of connectivity options and we’re not actually moving for a week after that – so I’m ready for disruption and have a backup plan or two.
It’s funny that you mentioned the Slingbox, because that what I was going to suggest. My system setup is SA8300 ~> Logitech Revue ~> HDFury ~> Slingbox Pro-HD.
On a recent trip to New Zealand, I too noticed that none of the streaming apps from America would work. However, I used my Logitech Revue through my Slingbox my own personal proxy server to get Netflix and Pandora over seas.
Dear Eferz,
How do you connect your Revue through a vpn? I am in China. My vpn is connected at my desktop, but my Revue in my living room stays with the Chinese ip.
Any help would be appreciated.