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| How to: Get Netflix and other US-only services; in Australia | |
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| Topic Started: Nov 16 2011, 05:44:06 PM (2,577 Views) | |
| bizort | Nov 16 2011, 05:44:06 PM Post #1 |
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Anklebiter
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A short tutorial for anyone that has been looking for an easy-ish way to get back to watching streaming video on Netflix, Hulu (although Hulu seems to be smart and doesn't always work), and other sites that are geo-restricted. With Netflix, you'll need to get a Netflix account. To be able to access the Netflix site to sign up, you'll need to either use a VPN or what I use, which is unblock-us.com. With unblock-us you pay ~$5/month USD (I think it's USD) and they give you a DNS address that you plug into your network settings on your computer, PS3, Xbox 360, whatever media devices you want to use. They have a free trial, as well. If you want to use a VPN, I'd recommend HMA, which stands for Hide My Ass, but it's not free either. I'm pretty sure they have a free trial, though. You download a little program that lets you pick a location in the world to connect to and from that point on, until you disconnect, it's as though you are on the internet from the location you are connected to. The downside to VPN is that it can be slower and is probably a bit more expensive but it's an option. I use unblock-us and while it was kind of slow when I was with TPG, it has been MUCH faster with BigPond. Unblock-us should give you instructions on how to plug that DNS address in but if not, you can contact me and I can show you. It's very simple. Now, to sign up for Netflix. To do so, you can just sign up with your regular Australian credit card but use a VALID US address for your billing address. I used my most recent US address to avoid any sort of problems that may arise. Your bank (if they're worth a damn) will probably suspend your account at this point since someone (you) used the wrong address with your credit card. Not to worry. Just call them up, tell them you authorized this purchase and no harm will be done. As long as your DNS address is in use (or you're connected to a US VPN connection), you'll be able to access Netflix! Keep in mind it may be a bit slower since you're going through another avenue to access the data but using BigPond I'm still usually able to view HD video without an issue. Netflix has a streaming-only package that you should make sure you're signing up for. It's $7.99/month USD. Netflix also has a free trial and you should probably get a lot of use out of that first before committing if you're new to the service. You won't get a lot of blockbuster films on there but it's fantastic for TV shows, documentaries, B movies, and classic films. I've left the DNS address in my settings and have been able to still access iView and other Australian video services so that should not be an issue but in case it is, or if it slows your connection down, you can always delete it from your settings. You can always plug it back in later on. It doesn't have to always be in use. If you want to watch Netflix on your Xbox 360, you'll need a US Xbox Live account and an unblock-us account. I'm not 100% sure how to get a US Xbox Live account since I had one from before I moved to Australia but I would guess that if you don't already have one, have a friend in the US make an account and have them give you the details. Do an Xbox gamertag recovery and it should move across to your console without an issue. Plug in the DNS address from unblock-us into your system network settings (primary DNS and secondary DNS), save it, and you should probably restart your Xbox. Netflix should come up in the video section of the dashboard (it will probably already come up before you use the DNS address but the service won't let you view any video until you use it). From here, it should load. It'll take a little longer to load but you shouldn't have any issues beyond that. This also works for Last.fm music on Xbox but I haven't gotten it to work for ESPN. If you know how to get ESPN working, please let me know. I don't have a PS3 but I'd imagine the process is the same. I'm a nerd and work in IT so I should be able to answer some questions if you have any but I apologize if anything is over my head. Good luck 
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| Pothole | Nov 16 2011, 07:44:37 PM Post #2 |
True Blue Mate
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G'day Bizort mate.. ta for doing this up and puttng her on here. I have been wondering about Netflix lately and now I know how to get it Thanks mate, ta Pothole |
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Those Who Lose Dreaming are Lost. Aboriginal Proverb A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour Anon | |
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| CynicalCountess | Nov 16 2011, 11:41:24 PM Post #3 |
True Blue Mate
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I.. um... www.1channel.ch |
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| TerritorianTori | Nov 17 2011, 10:42:53 AM Post #4 |
It couldn't happen here
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I'll definitely have to add this to the Topic Index! Thanks! |
 South Texas to the Northern Territory - since 2004 I'm a huge fan of... Angry Video Game Nerd | The Big Bang Theory | Doctor Who | Pet Shop Boys | Yanks Down Under ~ Americans living in Australia Avatar by Sketch Shop Boys I don't do Facebook, sorry. | |
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| Jennie | Nov 21 2011, 06:43:22 PM Post #5 |
Chinwagger
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Quickflix finally offers streaming but it's $14.99 and they only have about 500 (not new) movies available at the moment. I subscribed to their DVDs by post plan so I could watch Australian TV shows but it is pretty pricey and no mail on Saturdays makes it frustrating. What is the selection like for Netflix streaming? I'm more interested in documentaries, foreign language films, and non-American TV shows so I don't know if it would be worth it for me. |
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| bizort | Nov 21 2011, 07:45:29 PM Post #6 |
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Anklebiter
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LOTS of documentaries and foreign language films. There are a good amount of non-American TV shows at the moment like Peep Show and Luther that are on there. Feel free to give me a small list of some stuff you're looking for and I'll tell you if it's there. Alternatively, there are some sites dedicated to Netflix's streaming side like instantwatcher.com and netflixstreaming.blogspot.com. I'm pretty sure instantwatcher will show you what's available at the moment, along with what is about to expire and what will be available soon. Every month or two weeks (I forget which) Netflix removes some content and puts new stuff up. As I stated before, the streaming side of Netflix seems to focus more on TV shows and documentaries than films nowadays. There will be a lot of films but hardly any blockbusters that the masses would ultimately want to watch since they'd be expensive to acquire the rights to. They have a deal with the Starz network right now that allows them to have a decent amount of mainstream films but when that deal expires, most of that will be gone. Some of the more popular TV shows available to watch on Netflix (all seasons) are 30 Rock, The Office (US and UK versions), Arrested Development, American Dad, South Park, Mad Men, The Walking Dead, The Wonder Years, and Parks and Recreation (which is hilarious and I highly recommend) Edited by bizort, Nov 21 2011, 07:49:27 PM.
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| Shazza | Nov 22 2011, 05:56:34 AM Post #7 |
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Chinwagger
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I just cancelled my Netflix subscription here in the US. I was paying $7.99 per month for streaming and $9.99 for blu-ray mailed to my house - I think its a good deal if you utilize it but we were averaging a DVD a month because we are so busy and I cant remember the last time I watched something over the internet (I could even watch on my iPhone with the Netflix app which was pretty cool). I agree that the streaming selection was pretty good - apart from newer release movies - I tended to watch a lot of British tv series and off the wall stuff that never got shown on tv here. I think part of the reason it wasnt working for me is that the other half has different taste in tv and movies so I mostly watched when he was busy doing other stuff - and that wasnt often. If you go to the Netflix website you can browse their selection without being a member. |
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| Jennie | Nov 23 2011, 10:20:38 PM Post #8 |
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Chinwagger
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I can't even browse the selection from here. Every time I click on "I have a US mailing address" then Browse Selection, it takes me back out to the main Sorry, Netflix is not available... page and I get stuck in a loop. Hotspot Shield (the free version) doesn't work with my crappy connection where I'm living now (pre-paid / student accommodation) so I won't be able to even try it until I move next year. All the DVDs in my Quickflix queue right now are Australian TV shows, history and nature documentaries, and French/Italian/German films. Are any Aussie shows available through Netflix? (Already finished Rescue and Sea Patrol.) I'm not too interested in American shows - though I imagine unblock-us.com works for Hulu too? I'd like to stream the latest episodes of PRex or Community or Fringe but with my connection, I'm afraid everything would be too slow. Are the free trials slower than the pay versions? |
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| Sol2Oz | Nov 25 2011, 06:09:11 AM Post #9 |
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True Blue Mate
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My apologies for going off a bit from the topic, but is it true that internet activity is metered in Oz? Is there a way around this? Also, how do you guys watch Netflix without paying so much for internet? I had a friend in Oz who used to tell me that her internet is metered, so I'm just wondering about this... |
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| Bindie | Nov 25 2011, 08:15:42 AM Post #10 |
True Blue Mate
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Internet is capped in Australia, but I think some ISPs do offer uncapped plans - at high cost. It's not all bad though as some sites are unlimited like Steam and ABC IView. I'm sure others can weigh in. This is only my experience. I play MMORPGs, but do not d/l a lot of movies. |
 The future is no place/to place your better days, DMB Canberra, ACT since 2004 | |
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| bizort | Nov 27 2011, 09:38:57 PM Post #11 |
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Anklebiter
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There's no way around unmetered internet. TPG has unlimited internet use for $99/mo I think, which isn't that bad. I had a lot of speed issues with them, though, and I lived right down the street from an exchange. Down the street as in, like, one block away. In my experiences with using Hulu, it usually works but sometimes it does catch onto what I'm doing. Out of all of these type of sites, Hulu seems to be the smartest in recognizing what I'm trying to do and curtailing it. Again, it usually works but if you can get around using Hulu then do it because that site is almost always too slow anyway. I constantly had speed issues even when I was in the US and on a very good connection. Netflix is pretty good with accomodating to speeds. Where I live, I can only use ADSL 1 and I can still stream HD from them as long as I don't have anything else downloading. In response to this: Are the free trials slower than the pay versions? I'm not sure what you're asking. The free version of Hotspot Shield is awful and I never got it to function on a level where I could do anything noteworthy. Like I said before, unlock-us has a free trial and HMA VPN service does, too. |
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| s_philli | Dec 1 2011, 06:02:15 PM Post #12 |
Yacker
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Very cool thanks for sharing. I was a little sad when I logged on and it told me I couldn't use my Netflix account. |
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| Jennie | Dec 3 2011, 10:10:36 PM Post #13 |
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Chinwagger
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"There's no way around unmetered internet. TPG has unlimited internet use for $99/mo I think, which isn't that bad." Unlimited ADSL2+ through TPG is $59.99 a month. I'm not sure I understand your first sentence since TPG's unlimited plan is unmetered. Am I missing something? I could never get the free version of Hotspot to work with my connection either, so that's why I was wondering if the pay versions would be as painfully slow too. I don't want to pay for something that is not going to work. Are the pay versions actually faster or are they pretty much the same service as the free ones but without ads? |
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| bizort | Dec 3 2011, 10:53:04 PM Post #14 |
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Anklebiter
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I never bothered paying for Hotspot since the free version was so slow. If there is a difference between a free version and a trial version then maybe free would be slower but it wouldn't be advantageous for the company to let you try a product and slow it down on purpose since you wouldn't want to buy it if it's slow. I meant there's no way to get around unmetered internet if you're on a capped plan. Obviously if you're on an unlimited plan then you're not metered. The answer was in response to someone who was (I assuming) asking if there was a way to mask your internet usage so your ISP would only see, say, 200 mb of use when you really used 200 gb. As far as I know, you can't get around that and I doubt you ever will be able to. |
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| Monkeyboy621 | Dec 4 2011, 06:33:11 AM Post #15 |
Yacker
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Would googles free public DNS work as well? 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4 |
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my website australianyank.com Photos of my travels to Oz | |
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| bizort | Dec 10 2011, 11:49:37 AM Post #16 |
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Anklebiter
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I never even thought of that. Let me know if it works |
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| Monkeyboy621 | Dec 27 2011, 09:49:46 AM Post #17 |
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Yacker
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Nope  The IP still resolves in Australia |
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my website australianyank.com Photos of my travels to Oz | |
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| Lyzardo | Jan 4 2012, 01:25:03 PM Post #18 |
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Anklebiter
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Hey bizort, My family and I are making the move from Minnesota to SA in July. I'd like to have a plan for using the xbox, AppleTV, Ooma, etc. while in Oz. My question: what is the difference in real-world terms between a VPN like HMA or StongVPN, or something like unblock-us? I've read up a little, but can't quite figure out what I will need to go with. Thanks! Edited by Lyzardo, Jan 7 2012, 02:02:22 AM.
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| bizort | Jan 6 2012, 02:27:35 PM Post #19 |
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Anklebiter
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You won't be able to use VPN for your devices to access Netflix without going through some complicated measures that will drastically slow down the speed of your internet connection. The VPN method should only be used for viewing on your computer. For devices, like xbox (I am not familiar with AppleTV or whatever Ooma is) definitely go with unblock-us. edit: With Xbox Live's new dashboard update, it's even easier to use Netflix on there if you already have a US-based Xbove Live gamertag. Just log in with your US account, go to the apps tab, download the Netflix app, and then switch back to your regular gamertag (if you have two like I do. If not, even easier for you). You no longer have to switch between two tags to get Netflix to show up; the Netflix app will be there under every gamertag on your Xbox now Edited by bizort, Jan 6 2012, 02:30:19 PM.
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| Lyzardo | Jan 7 2012, 02:08:47 AM Post #20 |
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Anklebiter
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Thanks, bizort. I've got an Apple-centric set up, with an AirPort Extreme router. It looks as though unblock-us has instructions for changing settings in this so all connected devices can access US-based services, am I right? We'll primarily be using the Xbox as our main streaming device. (with a little Apple TV and Roku, on occasion.) BTW - Ooma is a VOIP provider. I'm planning on bringing our Ooma box with so relatives can reach us by making local (651 area code) calls. |
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