Cutting the cord

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Ragz

Is this for very game after you bought gamepass with a Brazil IP, or just to access the blacked out games?

After you bought gamepass with a Brazil IP for a discounted rate, can you still watch non-blacked out live games with a Canadian (non-vpn) IP?

It's for every game + Redzone. The only games that are blacked out are nationally televised night games that air on TSN and Sportsnet. And yes you can watch them from a Canadian IP even if you've purchased it from another country's IP.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Damn it, Netflix. Now I can't even use a DNS set to Canada to watch content? What the hell is wrong with you.

Annoying indeed. Even though Unblock-Us doesn't work for Netflix anymore, I've kept it set up on my router for BBC and other things like that. Everything was perfect with my Netflix region set to Canada until the other day.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Annoying indeed. Even though Unblock-Us doesn't work for Netflix anymore, I've kept it set up on my router for BBC and other things like that. Everything was perfect with my Netflix region set to Canada until the other day.

Yeah. It is pretty irritating. Netflix was effectively blocking DNS servers from region switching, so this latest move is just a big move to piss off users.

Wonder if there is a way to load Kodi onto an Apple TV 3rd gen. Right about now and cancel Netflix.

[EldrickOnIce]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Wonder if there is a way to load Kodi onto an Apple TV 3rd gen. Right about now and cancel Netflix.

Nope. 2nd and 4th gen are possible, no 3rd Gen and I doubt will ever be.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Yeah. It is pretty irritating. Netflix was effectively blocking DNS servers from region switching, so this latest move is just a big move to piss off users.

Wonder if there is a way to load Kodi onto an Apple TV 3rd gen. Right about now and cancel Netflix.

Just for kicks, I put the Unblock-Us DNS servers back onto my router tonight. Surprisingly, Netflix Canada works again, and I can use BBC conveniently.

Is it working again for you?

[flamefan74]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Just for kicks, I put the Unblock-Us DNS servers back onto my router tonight. Surprisingly, Netflix Canada works again, and I can use BBC conveniently.

Is it working again for you?

Lucky you. Been trying for 2 days and nothing is working. Guess it's time to cancel Netflix as I watch more Hulu and HBO anyways.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Just for kicks, I put the Unblock-Us DNS servers back onto my router tonight. Surprisingly, Netflix Canada works again, and I can use BBC conveniently.

Is it working again for you?

I haven't tried again. What are you using to watch Netflix? I have an Apple TV. Before it would only error out if I had a different region set before trying to watch a show. Then it started directly me to Netflix's proxy FAQ page. Will try again later. Not too keen on changing router settings constantly just to watch Netflix though if this becomes a permanent thing with them.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I haven't tried again. What are you using to watch Netflix? I have an Apple TV. Before it would only error out if I had a different region set before trying to watch a show. Then it started directly me to Netflix's proxy FAQ page. Will try again later. Not too keen on changing router settings constantly just to watch Netflix though if this becomes a permanent thing with them.

I'll have to do some more fiddling later - seems to be giving mixed results. Previously, it worked fine as long as the region was set to Canada, regardless of device.

The other day when I posted, Netflix worked again for me on the Apple TV (unblock-us DNS, region set to Canada). After flamesfan74 posted, I tried on my phone and sure enough, it wouldn't work unless I switched the DNS back to A non-unblock-us one. Apple TV still worked though.

I haven't had a chance to test again, but tonight I'll try some more though.

One possible workaround is to use the unblock-us smart VPN (free and included with unblock-us), which lets you use Unblock-us on a device without having to change the DNS, so you could watch BBC on the iPad without changing the DNS. The big downside is that for AirPlay, both the device and the Apple TV need to be "unblocked". Unless you use mirroring, but that's often a pain because the quality isn't as good, you have to prevent the iPad from falling asleep, you can't use any other apps while airplaying, etc.

[Wormius]

Hmm. So what is the content like on BBC and Hulu?

Also, is there a CBC app for AppleTv? It seems strange that for Canada we get ABC and CBS apps, but no CBC one.

What is mirroring? How does that differ from AirPlay?

[flamefan74]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Hmm. So what is the content like on BBC and Hulu?

Also, is there a CBC app for AppleTv? It seems strange that for Canada we get ABC and CBS apps, but no CBC one.

What is mirroring? How does that differ from AirPlay?

Not sure about BBC as I don't have that. But Hulu has quite a few series that are on tv. It's owned by Fox, NBC, ABC. So has a lot of their content as well as some from CBS, Comedy Central, History, etc as well as their own. Shows appear the next day after showing on main network.

Haven't found a CBC app yet. Would be nice though.

Mirroring is same as airplay, but you see whatever is on the screen of your device on the tv. Whereas regular airplay only shows the program you want to airplay. For example, if I mirror Spotify to my tv, whatever is on my device screen shows up on the tv. But regular airplay only plays music on my tv and the screen saver kicks in.

[Jimmy Stang]

The biggest difference between AirPlay and AirPlay mirroring is that when mirroring, the content is going from the internet to the iPad and then to the Apple TV. With "regular" AirPlay, the iPad initiates the stream, but the bulk of the data is actually flowing between the internet and the Apple TV directly, leaving the iPad out of it for the most part. More efficient, better quality, better on battery, etc.

BBC has a lot of great content. I like the documentaries, concerts, etc. To get the BBC, you'll need to have a UK iTunes account. You can set one up for free and without providing a payment method, and then you just use that account to download the BBC iPlayer app from the UK iTunes store. As long as you're using Unblock-Us or similar, you'll be able to watch the content. Some other good UK ones are ITV and Channel 4 (or 4oD or 4 on Demand as it sometimes called).

[Jimmy Stang]

And regarding the issues earlier with Netflix not working while using Unblock-Us DNS, even with the region set to Canada... strangely, Netflix won't work on my iPhone, iPad or laptop and gives the proxy error. But it did work on my Apple TV - until I rebooted the device. It lasted a day or two and was working, but it must have cached the DNS or something. I rebooted the Apple TV and now it won't work on there either.

That's a major pain. It will be quite a hassle to switch DNS servers on my router when I want to watch some UK stuff, and then back again for Netflix.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

And regarding the issues earlier with Netflix not working while using Unblock-Us DNS, even with the region set to Canada... strangely, Netflix won't work on my iPhone, iPad or laptop and gives the proxy error. But it did work on my Apple TV - until I rebooted the device. It lasted a day or two and was working, but it must have cached the DNS or something. I rebooted the Apple TV and now it won't work on there either.

That's a major pain. It will be quite a hassle to switch DNS servers on my router when I want to watch some UK stuff, and then back again for Netflix.

Did you email unblock-us about it? I had a similar issue (I think... even though I had unblock-us set to Canada, I was still getting proxy errors on all devices). I emailed Unblock-us, they made an adjustment to my account, it still didn't work, I emailed them again, they made another adjustment, and it worked beautifully.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Did you email unblock-us about it? I had a similar issue (I think... even though I had unblock-us set to Canada, I was still getting proxy errors on all devices). I emailed Unblock-us, they made an adjustment to my account, it still didn't work, I emailed them again, they made another adjustment, and it worked beautifully.

I'll admit to being a bit sceptical that they'd be able to do anything. But I sent an email last night, and they replied and said that they've done a tweak to my account. A quick check on my phone while in bed and I was able to watch Netflix Canada and BBC again without switching DNS servers in between. Thanks for that. Fairly obvious solution, but I just assumed that their hands were tied. I guess not!

I'll check my Apple TV and PS3 tonight when I have some time, but so far so good.

[Wormius]

I emailed support as well. Looks like everything is up and running again with the new DNS settings.

On a semi-related note, anybody know how to set up their VPN in Ubuntu? It is supposedly connecting, but nothing is changed when I run a check on 'whatismyip'.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I emailed support as well. Looks like everything is up and running again with the new DNS settings.

On a semi-related note, anybody know how to set up their VPN in Ubuntu? It is supposedly connecting, but nothing is changed when I run a check on 'whatismyip'.

It doesn't change your IP, that's what a VPN does. It just proxies your request to come from a different IP before going to the host site.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I emailed support as well. Looks like everything is up and running again with the new DNS settings.

On a semi-related note, anybody know how to set up their VPN in Ubuntu? It is supposedly connecting, but nothing is changed when I run a check on 'whatismyip'.

Originally Posted by kermitology

It doesn't change your IP, that's what a VPN does. It just proxies your request to come from a different IP before going to the host site.

Kermitology is right - your IP won't actually change. The best way to check to see if the DNS settings are working correctly is to go to the Unblock-Us site, and it will check to see if your DNS is set up correctly. (Unless you're referring to a different VPN service, but I think that you might be referring to Unblock-Us still).

Glad to hear that things are working again for you. So far so good for me it seems, even though I haven't had a lot of time this week to play around.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Kermitology is right - your IP won't actually change. The best way to check to see if the DNS settings are working correctly is to go to the Unblock-Us site, and it will check to see if your DNS is set up correctly. (Unless you're referring to a different VPN service, but I think that you might be referring to Unblock-Us still).

Glad to hear that things are working again for you. So far so good for me it seems, even though I haven't had a lot of time this week to play around.

Yep. In this case I was referring to the Unblockus' VPN service. I was interested in trying it out in Linux on my PC and this is where I was trying to verify if it was actually working as it is should. I presume if I have a VPN setup properly, then it should change the IP address that is retuned when I check.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Yep. In this case I was referring to the Unblockus' VPN service. I was interested in trying it out in Linux on my PC and this is where I was trying to verify if it was actually working as it is should. I presume if I have a VPN setup properly, then it should change the IP address that is retuned when I check.

Gotcha. In this case, the Unblock-Us VPN still won't change your IP because you're not sending all of your traffic over it - it just does the DNS stuff but lets your traffic go through unimpeded on your existing network. That's why Unblock-Us VPN is good for DNS trickery, but not for privacy. But you're right - a traditional VPN that tunnels all of your traffic would change your IP to that of the network on the other end.

The way that I test if the Unblock-Us VPN works is to go to something like BBC iPlayer (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer) and play a video. It works in web browsers, including on your mobile device, so it is quick and easy. The menus work regardless of your "location", but the videos will only play if you're in the UK, physically or in DNS spirit.

[Wormius]

Welp. That fix worked for a few days before Netflix started whining about the proxy again.