

[Ask HN]: Would you pay to easily access Hulu, Pandora, etc. outside the US? - andrewcross
http://localock.splashcurve.com/

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benwerd
I might consider paying to access iPlayer in the US (I live here now but still
have a valid UK license). But I don't think I'd be willing to stick my name on
a list of people willing to break site T&Cs and licensing restrictions. That
doesn't sound smart.

~~~
andrewcross
Makes sense. A lot of us already break the T&C's and licensing restrictions
though. There has to be an easier/simpler way than Tor or Hotspot Shield.

~~~
benwerd
I imagine a lot of the people who do this use TunnelBear.

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pork
Here's a solution: grab the smallest Linode for $20/month, on Windows, set up
Putty to SSH into your box and forward the relevant ports (Google for
instructions), enjoy Netflix, Pandora, etc. anywhere in the world! I've used
this method to watch Netflix in many countries -- it takes about 5 minutes to
pre-buffer, but Instant Watching works fantastically well.

EDIT: Flash used to have a problem where it wouldn't respect your proxy
settings, not sure if they've fixed that.

~~~
throwaway64
You can get much cheaper VPN/proxy services than a $20/mo linode instance.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF ANY OF THE FOLLOWING SERVICES

<http://strongvpn.com/>

<http://hotspotshield.com/>

<http://www.hideipvpn.com/>

<http://switchvpn.com/>

The list goes on...

Do note that these companies specifically market themselves as a method of
bypassing GeoIP blocks, and will rotate IP ranges to bypass any blocks that
are set up. VPS/Server hosts like linode give you one static IP that is easily
blocked.

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bradleyland
I think the answer you're going to get is a foregone conclusion. This is like
asking people if they'd like a free lunch... of course. If you plan to build a
business on this model, you should consider that you'll likely be violating
the Terms of Service for these services and, at a minimum, be blocked. In a
worse case scenario, because you're profiting from the act, you'll be hauled
in to court for damages. If you do manage to build a customer base, there's a
good chance that this could be used to show that the owners of these services
were "damaged" as a result of your actions once they shut you down. They'll
argue that consumers were misled to believe that they were paying you for
access to these services as an act endorsed by the service owners, and that
the customer developed a negative view of these companies once their service
was shut off.

Sorry to be so negative toward your idea, but this is a pretty scabby business
model. Like it or not, the license holders of this media control its method of
distribution.

~~~
billpatrianakos
Agreed. I'm sure people would pay for the convenience factor and there's be a
boatload of money to be had considering the cost of a VPS account even if you
charge something like $5 a month. The catch is that you'd have to run it
underground. You'd be in a class with sites like PirateBay. Once word got out
the powers that be would make it their mission to take you down and for all
you're worth. Good idea though. Keep thinking and maybe you'll come up with an
idea that more on the up and up.

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gilini
I live in Brazil, and yes, not only I would but I do use a service like that:
<http://unblock-us.com/>

No complaints whatsoever so far, I'm three months in. Since the only thing you
have to change is your DNS settings, I can watch Netflix in any gadget that
connects through my router.

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jcate
VPN services such as <http://www.witopia.net/> are perfect for getting around
location blocks. These types of services are commonly used by people in the
online ad business/online video business.

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GFischer
Sorry, I wouldn't.

And people over here (Uruguay) have become used to Cuevana (a dubious
Netflix/Hulu replacement), Taringa (an Argentinean site that among other
things is a link-sharing site), stuff in RapidShare, MegaUpload, various
bittorrent clients and other peer to peer stuff (I can't keep track of them,
I'm probably several generations obsolete).

The worrying thing is, most people don't even think it's illegal or think
they're not the ones infringing. The inprisionment of the people behind
Taringa being a bit of a wake-up call, but everyone thinks it's not going to
happen to them.

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lobster_johnson
Digression: Are Hulu et al still based on web browser streaming? How would you
use something like that with a TV? Do you get 1080p HD quality or is it
YouTube-style quality? (I currently use XBMC on a dedicated Mac Mini as a
media player.)

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bsenftner
You assume I pay to access Hulu, Pandora, etc...

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j_camarena
Sure i will .. Jut no more than 15 or 20 per month.

TO include netflix to the list will be nice.

~~~
billpatrianakos
15 to 20 what? Dollars?!?! Wow. I'd go with $5. Maybe this guy is on to
something! If I were him I would totally hope all my users thought it was
worth that much. Make no mistake, I'm not mocking you at all, I'm just
surprised that it would be worth that much to someone. Maybe I'm cheap though.

~~~
j_camarena
Yes; dollars .. i really hate to don't have access to some services just
because i'm not from USA.

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grabble
No way. Too many options to turn to. It seems like everyone is offering
streaming video now.

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helipad
My VPN costs £5.99 a month and the service is great. Can you get much cheaper
than that?

~~~
andrewcross
Probably not too much, but my guess is VPN is too much work for the average
user.

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ken
I would pay for the opposite, i.e., access to hulu.jp from the US.

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jenhsun
Anyone forget about Hotspot shield?? It's free VPN BTW.

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jcfrei
just for the sake of completion: I usually went for hidemyass.com as a vpn to
get access to any service unavailable with my ip or country.

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zfran
If it's cheaper than a VPN or a VPS, yes.

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jeffdechambeau
Yeah, but how is this not illegal/in violation of the licensing/terms of
service?

~~~
andrewcross
It's not illegal, but I assume it would be in violation of the terms of
service...yet people still do it.

