Filed under: Fun, Internet, Video, Features
Use Hulu, Pandora, or the BBC iPlayer from any country
Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. While using a proxy server might violate the usage license of your ISP or the site you are using, it is as far as I know, not illegal. Still, if you are cautious or in doubt, check with a real lawyer or just refrain from using this type of tool.
For anyone who lives outside the US (or is a US citizen but goes outside the country for vacation), one of the more frustrating aspects of most of the TV streaming services I wrote about earlier is that they are restricted to users accessing the site from the United States. On the flip-side, the BBC's iPlayer is restricted to UK users only, because the BBC is funded by the British public.
OK, fine, I understand the BBC position. If I paid taxes to sponsor the programming, I might be miffed if the rest of the world had free access too. But what if you are a UK resident who happens to go on holiday to another part of Europe? Should you really have to miss "EastEnders?" I say, "no."
So, how do you access sites restricted by location? The same way savvy Chinese users can break pas the Great Firewall of China: proxy servers.
Update: The comments, and some subsequent research on my part, confirm that Hulu and some of the other US-based providers are now doing geo-checks at the RTSP stream level, so a HTTP proxy bypass won't work. CBS.com will still work with a proxy workaround, and obviously, BBC's iPlayer.
Right now, using a VPN, which is usually going to cost some money (around $15 - $20 should get you enough bandwidth for several months, depending on what service you use), is the best workaround. I'll keep investigating.
Hotspot Shield, which we wrote about back in January, may still work for non-US residents.
/Update
Now, I want to be clear, although there are many types of proxy servers with varying degrees of anonymity, that is beyond the scope of this post. This is strictly for accessing video (or audio) content that blocks or allows access based on region.
By connecting your browser through a proxy server from another country, you can access information that might otherwise be blocked. Although almost all modern web browsers will allow you to alter your proxy settings at will, Firefox is generally the easiest browser to configure.
You want to start by installing FoxyProxy or another proxy manager. FoxyProxy replaces the default Firefox proxy setting in Preferences and is extremely easy to configure and turn off and on. You can even set up certain rules for using a proxy only when you access certain sites, making the experience even more autonomous.
After installing FoxyProxy (just allow the default setup unless you want to configure advanced settings for yourself), the next step is to find an available, and free proxy server that resides in the same place as the content you are trying to access.
You can Google "proxy server [country name]" or go to sites like this, which provide frequently updated proxy lists. Just sort by country.
Then, try a few HTTP proxies out. Enter in the IP or URL and the port into FoxyProxy. Then select the option to use that proxy for all URLS (you can just click on a list in the bottom of your Firefox status bar). That's it!
The BBC iPlayer streaming in Atlanta, GA
It might take some effort to find a proxy that is in the country you are wanting to impersonate and that is not slow as molasses, but keep plugging away, I find off-peak times work best, and you are good to go.
A few additional caveats:
- Don't access any banking sites or enter in information that is personally sensitive while using a proxy connection, unless you know the source and feel comfortable with its security.
- Some sites like Google and Wikipedia block proxy servers or limit their ability to access or contribute information.
- Many of the free proxy servers are only open for brief periods of time. Just because one connection works one day does no mean it will work the next. Or even in an hour.
Additional proxy lists are available here, here, here (this is a great US-based proxy) and here. Google is a great resource too.
With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet.
They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Foodie_Monster said 1:31PM on 9-19-2008
Guys, this post is useless without a link or two to *good* proxy server lists.
Reply
Christina Warren said 1:38PM on 9-19-2008
http://www.samair.ru/ isn't good? That was what I linked to in the post and that was where I managed to get my working proxies for BBC iPlayer last night and this morning.
I'll update with some other options too.
Reply
pete said 1:48PM on 9-19-2008
proxy's don't work for hulu as they have software to tell if your using proxy. you now have to use vpn which is to slow for streaming.so the usa can go and suck my nut's as british tv is much better!
Reply
Christina Warren said 1:50PM on 9-19-2008
Try some of the steps here:
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2008/07/01/access-and-visit-us-only-restricted-websites-hulu-pandora-veoh-abc-cw-from-outside-of-united-states/
or using TOR. I haven't tried Hulu from a non-US based computer (well, rather had someone try it) in a few months, but I feel pretty certain it can be circumvented with some sort of scheme. If not, one of the other providers who shows Hulu content CAN, that's absolutely certain.
Christian said 1:53PM on 9-19-2008
I think they just want to make sure they don't get sued or anything by posting a server list. Lawyers and all.
Reply
a599bc84 said 2:10PM on 9-19-2008
it can be circumvented using vpn as i said ,only cbs work's with proxy and the only show i liked on that was the price is right ha! ha!. as for tor that worse than vpn.
Reply
pete said 3:15PM on 9-19-2008
here you go christina hope you have sense of humour:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUdaPNXC_68
Reply
Christina Warren said 3:19PM on 9-19-2008
Brilliant!!
Travis said 3:22PM on 9-19-2008
Even though the banner ads can be annoying at times, the free version of Hotspot Shield does the job for me with Hulu, ComedyCentral, NBC, etc... from Canada.
Reply
tiocosa said 4:19AM on 11-05-2008
HEY TRAVIS, question
does the net performance ( i.e. speed of the video streaming ) goes down ?
I have the feeling that, HOTSPOT SHIELD, makes kind of a delay, and the video seems like breaked or even in pause sometimes.
Does anyone in the forum knows how to solve the problem ?
Kalinda said 1:30AM on 9-20-2008
Alas... I still get the same old "you can't watch this" crap on the iPlayer site. And I picked a good, fast proxy, too.
Trying an American one, the Daily Show.com now works, only the videos demand I get Flash player... and I have it installed already, so it's like ComedyCentral knows.
Reply
Christina Warren said 10:50AM on 9-22-2008
Keep trying various proxies -- it took me a while to finally find one that worked -- some were actually from countries NOT the UK, despite how they were advertised. The tools on the first site I link to in the post will tell you what country your IP is from, as a way of "checking" so to speak.
Richard said 3:58AM on 9-22-2008
This is great, I work in the UK for a Swedish company so all our traffic gets routed through them. Will make lunch times so much better :)
Reply
Olivier said 1:49PM on 9-22-2008
I live in Switzerland and have given foxy proxy a try. I have tested half a dozen different proxy servers in the UK and then browsed over to the BBC iPlayer, but there's nothing doing, it just won't work!
I guess this post is already outdated!
Reply
TIOCOSA said 10:26AM on 11-04-2008
OLIVER.. do you have any new set to check the PROXY settigns ?
I am in BASEL and also I can not connect.
please advice.
TIOCOSA
DocGonzo said 11:55AM on 9-26-2008
Or for less trouble, time, and effort, you could just pirate the damn shows. I mean come on. Streaming HD? Why bother? Legality aside, by using these sites, you are financially supporting them, and therefore endorsing the idea of constant advertising bombardment. And by downloading the shows instead of streaming, you can watch it again later without wasting the bandwidth again.
Reply
maltaexpat said 2:19AM on 10-17-2008
I have found a UK VPN server is the most reliable solution for watching BBC iPlayer abroad. I have tried several from banana and VPNgates but the best and cheapest ($9.95 a month) I have found so far is from www.consult-here.com/vpn.html
It is also seems faster and because my local internet connection to it is a decent speed I can now even watch BBC or ITV catch streaming live if I want to.
Reply
William Stewart said 6:59AM on 12-14-2008
Watch with Consult-here.com These guys have a Russian IP address, which freaks me out.
The www.consult-here.com/vpn.html is probably a site you should beware of.
Consult-here.com said 7:36AM on 12-14-2008
Hello we consult-here.com
We assume the previous posting was from an unhappy competitor!
We do not have a Russian ip address! We are a ligitimate business based in Malta with hundreds of satisfied clients.
If you would like to checkout just how genuine we are, visit us at:
www.consult-here.com/vpn.html
Thanks.
sp said 7:10PM on 10-19-2008
Christina, I stumbled across your posting and was excited as I'm been trying to find instructions on how I could do this...I'm not a techie :)
Anyway, I've still not got this to work but I am plugging away hoping to find a proxy that works so I too can get some iPlayer video!
Reply