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VPN services to allow Canadians to access sites like Hulu

332K views 425 replies 162 participants last post by  tvmaster 
#1 ·
Is it within the forum rules to discuss VPN services? Such services can give you anonymity on the web with the added benefit of appearing to come from another geography, and therefore allow Canadians to access streaming video sites such as Hulu and US TV network sites. Using a service with a UK IP would allow you to access BBC online content that is online available to UK based IP addresses.

I do not believe such products are illegal so I don't see a problem but I thought I should ask first.
 
#108 ·
will a VPN help my torrent speeds?

I dload anywhere from 2-20gb of content a month via utorrent. Will VPN help speed this up?

I am getting abysmal dload speeds currently (anywhere from 3Kb/sec to 100Kb/sec)

I have a WRT54GL router running Tomato.

P
 
#110 ·
For those of you using one of the DNS-based services (eg. unblock-us or unotelly), if you don't want to install their software, I found a free program to quickly switch your Windows DNS settings back and forth. For example, this would be handy if you want to switch between US Netflix and Cdn Netflix.

It's called DNS Jumper. The author's website is here:
http://www.sordum.com/?p=4573
The user interface could use some work, but the program does the job well.

I also found a more complex program that switches many settings, not just DNS, if you need something like that. It's called NetSetMan and it's free for non-commercial use, available here:
http://www.netsetman.com
 
#114 ·
I tried Unotelly and it works fine for the PC but on the PS3 90% of movies I try to stream give me an error "that title is unavailable to watch instantly".
I'm a happy user of unblock-us on my PS3 (which is a similar DNS-based service) and it works fine. I decided not to change my router settings, instead I changed the DNS entries on the PS3 and on 1 other computer (the rest of my computers still go to Netflix Canada).

There was one additional thing for the PS3, not sure if it is necessary but you could try it:
If you had Canadian Netflix installed before, hold "Start" and "Select" buttons on the controller at the same time while starting Netflix app on PS3. It will allow you to reset Netflix settings and activate it at Netflix.com
 
#117 ·
I re registered and it worked for a few hours but am back to the same error now. The PC while more reliable is also not bullet proof. I can't seem to find a rhyme or reason to it but sometimes when I go to Netflix it redirects me to Unotelly, or I get an error, and then sometimes it works just fine. It doesn't seem to be hit or miss in a sense of a roll of the dice on each attempt. If I am getting redirected it happens 100% of the time until it just seems to start working again later in the day without any further intervention. Same goes for the errors. I can get an error playing 20 movies in a row, go away and come back later in the day and it will start 20 movies in a row without a hitch.

I have noticed that even when I can't view Netflix Hulu still works so I get the impression that the Canadian Netflix account is still messing with it somewhere along the way. Just odd that it seems so random.
 
#121 ·
Hey guys, my situation is that I have a US address and high speed internet there and some old WRT54 routers. Can I install DD-WRT on to them to use it as an OpenVPN server in my US location? Then from Canada just VPN into that instead of a commercial VPN service (as per the title of this thread).

I'm pretty sure I can do it fine if I have OpenVPN running on an actual computer at the US address. I'm familiar with that and definitely familiar with running the OpenVPN client. But running a small LinkSys router to act as the OpenVPN server would be smaller, lighter, easier.

Anyone doing it that way? Thanks.
 
#125 ·
witopia vpn and ps3/xbox?

Hihi I just stumbled upon this thread. I have a VPN via Witopia and it works great on the Mac and i can use it on my ipad/iphone.

Any chance there is something that will work on my PS3 or Xbox?

I was told you need a special device with VPN inside then routed to the xbox/ps3?

Thanks for any advice.
 
#126 ·
Hihi I just stumbled upon this thread. I have a VPN via Witopia and it works great on the Mac and i can use it on my ipad/iphone.

Any chance there is something that will work on my PS3 or Xbox?

I was told you need a special device with VPN inside then routed to the xbox/ps3?

Thanks for any advice.
Hi aeroplane,

Great timing! I signed up for a 7 day trial for Astrill VPN and a 14 day trial for PlayOn Media server. The combination of the two allows me to stream Hulu (and a bunch of other) US content to my PS3. I'm sure the same would work for XBox, Wii or whatever. I acutally wrote my steps here.

I think the 14 day trial is plenty enough to see if it is worth it, and $50 for a lifetime subscription seems pretty good. Time will tell.
 
#132 ·
I signed up for the Astrill trial myself the other day. You pick the plan you want, go through the whole checkout process and then at the end choose 7 Day Trial. For some reason this still redirected me to a PayPal payment page but exiting out of that and logging into the Members section, I could see the trial was active.

I've never used a VPN before; their live chat was actually super helpful and didn't seem to be outsourced.
 
#133 ·
Xbmc + hulu + free proxy

Out of curiosity i dont watch much on hulu, but it would be nice to have for the odd time.

I was using unblockus but decided its not even worth 5 dollars for the rare times i use it.

Does anyone use a free u.s. proxy at all? Or is that a bad idea, do they stop working alot, and are they to slow to even stream standard def content?
 
#135 ·
Out of curiosity i dont watch much on hulu, but it would be nice to have for the odd time.

I was using unblockus but decided its not even worth 5 dollars for the rare times i use it.

Does anyone use a free u.s. proxy at all? Or is that a bad idea, do they stop working alot, and are they to slow to even stream standard def content?
You can try the DNS service I have mentioned. Though you don't get hulu free, but there are still many free channels which might interest you. Example: CBS (my fav !), spotify, pandora, aol, pbs etc etc......
 
#138 ·
I just wanted to post about my new setup. I purchased a Buffalo WHR-HP-G300N router from an online retailer to use behind my primary router for the purpose of connecting to my VPN using PPTP. The router comes pre-installed with DD-WRT so there is no firmware changes required.
I was experiencing frequent VPN connection drops using Windows 7 on my 2 HTPC's. This completely eliminated that problem with an added bonus.
I can now connect anything to the VPN, my wii and blu-ray player are on U.S. netflix now. This opens up a world of possiblities like purchasing a Smart T.V from the U.S. No need to configure each device, anything physically connected to the router or connected to the SSID wi-fi will be on the VPN.
I have each router broadcasting an SSID so depending on which one you connect to will determine whether or not you're on the VPN.
 
#139 ·
Nice tip. Also a great use for a spare or cheaper router. I often see WRT54GLs on sale cheap (and has a spare that was replaced) so this would be a great application for one of those.
 
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