Watching TV from US on Internet

[craigt3365]

I use to have problems with torrents and viruses, but that was years ago. I only use a few sites, check the comments first, and use 2 scanners to scan the file after it's finished. Plus, it's moved directly to an external hard drive and only played on a media player. Never on my PC.

I think eztv is pretty good with regards to torrents. When you search for a specific torrent, lots of sites say they have it. You click the link and you get some weird stuff happening. So I just stick to my preferred sites. I miss Demoniod! It's been reincarnated, but not a lot of content yet.

Nice post John!!

[Cuban]

Copyright infringement also applies to viewing programme content outside the GEOGRAPHICAL region for which the rights have been agreed/paid.

So any law abiding person should not partake in this thread, the rouse that one can mention torrent sites by name and link to them but not direct;y to torrents carrying programme content seems a thin line itself.

But again torrents work fine for the millions around the world that can apply common sense to the interface between screen and that clicky index finger that likes to click everything that appears on the screen.

Having just watched the latest The Walking Dead on-line I appear to still be devoid of infection (oh the irony) and spam, but then I do have some IT skills.

For those that don't either learn or simply avoid the remotest risk of infection - and stay out of these threads, they are too dangerous for you.

[craigt3365]

I use a sling box. I set it up at my brothers house and it's connected to his satellite. I then access the box with my computer and get all the channels he gets.

There are different sling boxes depending on what you want to do. It's a one time fee to buy the sling box.

I tried this and got a poor quality picture. Lots of skips also. My brother also tried it between his two homes. He didn't like it either and returned it.

I figured it was my poor internet connection here, but he has a fast on back in Arizona. Great idea though!

I also like the idea of the ToT iptv. But again, for me, it won't work. Dodgy internet connection!

[devon]

OP:

Install XBMC hub on pc. Do a search and read up on it.

[TimTang]

Anyone know if NBC Sports works. I want to see the Grey Cup (Canadian Football Championship game) on Nov 24 (Nov 25 here) but I can't check it right now as I am in a remote location with slower than dial-up speeds until the 21st.

Any advice would be very much appreciated as I have to make a decision to change some flights if I can't get this solved.

OH My God! A Rough Rider Fan!

[Cuban]

NBC works for me.

[mgjackson69]

I use two different methodologies, depends upon what I want to watch:

1) I subscribe to a US-based VPN service due to some business requirements that I have. Via the VPN I can access Netflix.

2) I have a Slingbox set up at my house in Texas, which lets me access everything that we subscribe to on Time-Warner cable.

There are plenty of alternatives out there as well, these are the two that I am familiar with

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

As I recall, some months back, I tried a trial of one of the paid levels of USTVNow that, unlike their free plan and its web-based Flash player, actually uses a Slingbox software model for sending its U.S. TV network content. Except, it was strictly software based for the end user, installing Sling player type software on your PC, and then that's connecting to and playing from USTVNow's network.

So in that scenario, the end user isn't having to purchase or maintain any hardware (Slingboxes) either on the U.S. or remote/Thailand end. But you are paying the company's $30 or $40 a month service fee for the duration for providing access to their package of 20+ cable channels in addition to the over-the-air U.S. broadcasters.

However, my impression of that USTVNow paid service was that it's less resiliant to Thailand's frequent international bandwidth restrictions (slow speeds in primetime) compared to some of the other major streaming providers (Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.)

Admittedly, I'm a streamer, not a downloader, when it comes to video content. Perhaps it helps to be an American with a U.S. residence in navigating the geo-restrictions that come into play in this world. But with access to a wealth of riches like alternating between paid Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video, free Hulu, USTVNow's free service, NFL Game Rewind and most recently $8 a month Aereo, I have more available to watch than I have time to watch it.

[slipperylobster]

I suppose all those movies for sale on DVD in the Tech malls all over Thailand are totally legal. I can just remember all those criminals that forked over cash for a pirated movie while sitting outside the bar, sipping a beer. Yes Sir, True, Original Copies.... thats what they tell ya. Oh, and all those DVD's for rent at the hotels are original...eh? Give me a break.... I cannot remember any single person I met in Asia that ordered a legal movie. We are fortunate that many people on ThaiVisa are so honest. Got to laugh.

[Commander Tamson]

What I don't like about most of these sites is the crap video quality and the sometimes constant buffering. Torrents are the much better option

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[bradenroger]

Are any of you able to get these "imported" broadcasts coming through on your SMART TVs? If so, how is the reception?

Thanks.

[HaleySabai]

Project Free TV - Every American made drama-series is available....Breaking Bad et.... + loads of movies.

[Cuban]

I suppose all those movies for sale on DVD in the Tech malls all over Thailand are totally legal. I can just remember all those criminals that forked over cash for a pirated movie while sitting outside the bar....

In Central (KK) a few months ago my wife bought a boxed movie from a "shop" there, just before we left I looked at her choice of titles and slightly berated her for buying a Blu-Ray disk, we don't have a Blu-ray player. Back to the counter (with intent to swap for DVD/VCD)....

"...oh it's OK" said the assistant "...that just means it was copied from a Blu-Ray disk originally!"

...so no problems.

I was told recently that 25% of all data flowing across he internet is bittorrent traffic.

[Chicog]

I was told recently that 25% of all data flowing across he internet is bittorrent traffic.

And the other 90% is porn.

[Digitalbanana]

I was told recently that 25% of all data flowing across he internet is bittorrent traffic.

And the other 90% is porn.

Of which 15% cannot add up.

[Cuban]

...I think the figures do add up when you allow for file compression and the inability to measure an exact figure of a system that is forever increasing at all points.

[slipperylobster]

I just found this site....legal and free. It sort of brings many sources together. Has many TV shows, Movies, News and Sports

http://www.frequency.com/guide/tv/popular

and...you're welcom

[slipperylobster]

And I suggest you to read the thread again. Craig and myself talked about blockage of eztv.it (a torrent site he suggested). Hola Unblocker has nothing to do with a VPN. They are two different things. They might serve the same purpose, but work differently.

I suggest next time you try to make a clever post, you visit Wikipedia first and wipe the sh*t out of your eyes.

First of all, Hola Unblocker has "everything" to do with dealing with a blockage of eztv.

Second, Hola Unblocker has much in common with a VPN....You just have too much on your mind to handle reality, or your rude comments lead me to believe you are some kind of self-proclaimed expert on Hola and VPN, and refuse to read material to the contrary.

such as...

'The Hola Unblocker is a free, configurable VPN service, similar to many such services that exist on the Internet."

see this.....http://hola.org/faq.html#ub_whatis

Ok...so now that the sh...t is in your eyes....deal with it. Sorry I had to point this out in this manner, but you were so rude about it.

None so blind as those who will not see!

[Cuban]

I just found this site....legal and free. It sort of brings many sources together. Has many TV shows, Movies, News and Sports

http://www.frequency.com/guide/tv/popular

and...you're welcom

Clip site with geo restrictions - FAIL !

Try again

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I, and a lot of other online video enthusiasts, have never thought much of Hulu Plus.... I don't mind paying for a subscription streaming service, and usually am paying for one or more... But with Hulu Plus, you're paying a monthly fee AND still getting lots of commercials too.

I know the video selection is supposed to be larger and broader on Hulu Plus compared to free Hulu... But I just can't see paying for the current overall experience on Hulu Plus.

A month or two ago, I went to watch a show on regular (free) Hulu. And after being used to Netflix, Amazon, et al., Hulu was almost unbearable. There were long commercial breaks at the beginning and every few minutes throughout a 30-minute program.

Although, I noticed this item recently in Variety on the future of Hulu/Hulu Plus:

Hulu at some point expects to introduce a subscription video plan without any advertising — and compete more aggressively with Netflix.

But today, the Internet TV service doesn’t want to leave money on the table. Hulu generates $7.99 monthly per subscriber for the pay service and brings in about that much — in the “mid to high” $7 range — in advertising per Hulu Plus user, according to Andy Forssell, Hulu’s acting CEO and senior VP of content.

Hulu Plus carries fewer ads than the content on Hulu.com (usually two 30-second spots per half-hour, versus three on the free site), but the ad revenue it gets from paying customers “allows us to buy more content,” said Forssell, speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference in New York.

http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/why-hulu-doesnt-have-an-ad-free-service-like-netflix-yet-1200668184/

PS - I think the CEOs claim above about having 3 30-second ads per half hour on regular Hulu is BS... Based on the last time I watched a couple months ago, free Hulu may have had 3 commercial breaks per half hour, but each break seemed to have as many as 3 different 30 second ads per break.

Edited November 13, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[sniffdog]

I share your opinion. I've tried both Netflix and Huluplus during the last week. Unbelievable that if you're paying 8 bucks per month, you still have to sit through numerous ads. I counted on a 43 minute tv show at least 5 dots on the progress bar.

Also, series I checked out on Huluplus seem to be incomplete, like 'The Blacklist'. It has only episode 4-7. For most series not a real problem, but complete is much nicer. Also a lot of stuff on Huluplus can be seen for free on Crackle.com.

The only advantage of Huluplus was that it seems to provide faster streaming with a VPN.

Edited November 14, 2013 by sniffdog

[joncl]

For TV series is very hard to bet the "Couch potato" and "sabnzbd" combo, which automates everything, and your series just arrive ready to be viewed in your favorite media player. These two programs work well on the Mac, Win, Linux and Android.

[avander]

Buy a Roku 3.

Don't, on the other hand, buy an Apple TV.

Hi Chicog,

How do you get around geo-blocking using you Roku 3?

I am still unpacking after moving from Australia and don't have any of my HT gear set up yet.

Part of this is a WDTV unit and expect I may need to use a similar method to get around geo-blocked sites?

Cheers

[avander]

Buy a Roku 3.

Don't, on the other hand, buy an Apple TV.

Hi Chicog,

How do you get around geo-blocking using your Roku?

I am still unpacking after moving from Australia and don't have any of my HT gear set up yet.

Part of this is a WDTV unit and expect I may need to use a similar method to the Roku to get around geo-blocked sites?

Cheers

Edited November 20, 2013 by avander

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I share your opinion. I've tried both Netflix and Huluplus during the last week. Unbelievable that if you're paying 8 bucks per month, you still have to sit through numerous ads. I counted on a 43 minute tv show at least 5 dots on the progress bar.

Also, series I checked out on Huluplus seem to be incomplete, like 'The Blacklist'. It has only episode 4-7. For most series not a real problem, but complete is much nicer. Also a lot of stuff on Huluplus can be seen for free on Crackle.com.

The only advantage of Huluplus was that it seems to provide faster streaming with a VPN.

The news article I posted/quoted above made reference to the regular Hulu normally carrying three, 30 second commercials per half hour of programming, which would total a minute and a half. Presumably the publication got that info from Hulu.

Well, that struck me and others here as pretty WRONG, and I'd been meaning to check it out. So last night, I saw down and watched a bunch of half hour programs via regular Hulu, and did a commercial count for all of the shows I watched. And the commercial slots were exactly the same.

Here's how it went:

--30 second spot prior to any content.

--90 seconds of spots (four ads) just after the opening sequence.

--90 seconds of spots (four ads) about one third of the way thru the show.

--90 seconds of spots (four ads) about two thirds of the way thru the show.

So for all the half hour shows I watched, that totals to FOUR commercial segments and total commercial time of 5 minutes per half hour segment.

That's a far cry from:

Hulu Plus carries fewer ads than the content on Hulu.com (usually two 30-second spots per half-hour, versus three on the free site),

Not to mention, that most of the commercials were simply repeated over and over again from break to break within the same show, and also from show to next show, as I was watching succeeding episodes of a series. So by the time I had finished watching 4 half-hour episodes, I must have seen the same exact commercial for Panera bread shops at least 10 times over. And the same with most of the other commercials as well.

All in all, for regular Hulu, it's a killer that makes you want to pull out your hair and go running.

Edited December 15, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Having a surprisingly good experience in terms of streaming speeds lately with HMA VPN to the U.S.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633208-hulu-netflix-and-bbc-iplayer-without-a-vpn-solved/?p=7310064

[brubakertx]

What's the best and free way to watch American Football(not soccer)?

I like to watch the playoff games.

How can watch pervious games from the night before?

[longball53098]

What's the best and free way to watch American Football(not soccer)?

I like to watch the playoff games.

How can watch pervious games from the night before?

If you have a good internet connection I recommend the NFL Gamepass, flawless picture and any game at any time but this is a subscription service and I think you are looking for free?

[genobkk]

USTVNOW.COM is the best, and you do NOT need a VPN. Very good selection for free but a much larger selection for additional payment.

Lefty

USTVNow is a nice service, made better by it being free for showing the live broadcasts of just the over-the-air networks (ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, NBC, PBS) and not requiring any proxy or VPN.

However, there are limitations. Lately, they've restricted the free, over-the-air station streaming to just low-quality, small size video windows. And of course, the prime time shows in the U.S. show in the early morning hours here, and the free plan includes no DVR service. So it's not the most convenient arrangement, unless one does their main TV watching here between say 7 and 11 am.

Also, last year for example, I tried to watch the Super Bowl via USTVNow... and even though I went to the website very early, I never could get a connection to their site that day, which obviously was either overloaded or limited for free users (as opposed to the paid plan customers).

The drawback with the Hola extension is it gives you access, when it's working, to the streamed content stored on the various networks websites...whatever shows they've posted for people in the U.S. to watch online. But it doesn't give you access to the live broadcasts of the major US TV networks, since they don't stream those generally speaking.

Right now, I'm watching the live broadcasts of the various over-the-air U.S. networks and getting a 20-hour revolving cloud DVR service as well for $8 a month plus tax via the new Aereo service, and I'm liking it very much. I did the free trial and was so impressed I'm now a paying subscriber. The limitation is you have to have a credit card billing address and IP location in one of the various cities they currently serve: New York, Boston, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Salt Lake City, or Denver, with another 20 or so other cities slated to be added within the coming year.

You can either watch any of the non-cable networks live (ABC, CBS, Fox NBC, PBS, Bloomberg, and a variety of others) as they're broadcasting, or set Aereo's cloud DVR via their website to record whatever shows you want and then watch later at your leisure. Just select/subscribe to the show once, and then Aereo records it automatically and saves as many or few episodes as you like in your cloud DVR. Once you've watched a recorded show, you can either keep it in your DVR storage or delete it to free up space for future episodes. They also have an option to expand their cloud DVR storage to 60 hours total content for an additional $4 per month, meaning $12 total plus tax.

I still am a free plan subscriber to USTVNow... But I've never been able to get into the habit of watching primetime TV in the early morning hours. And not having any DVR capability in their free service makes it impossible to catch up on things I may have wanted to watch but missed. You can of course subscribe to one of their paid plans that also includes access to a bunch of the cable networks and DVR access. But those plans run $30 a month for adding access to the cable channels and I believe $40 a month for the cable channels plus a cloud DVR capability (though they have a $10 off offer on both plans for the first 3 months). For those prices, I'll stick with Aereo.

Aeero didn't come up for me. Didn't load.

USTVnow is the worst one. I even tried paying for it a few years back, buffering and very very bad quality. It is was NOT my internet connection. I can watch Netflix in full HD e en the free stuff on XBMC is of better quality then USTVnow. Download XBMC or or install on android box, set up Project Free tv, Phonix, and 1channel. HD movies and good quality next day SD content on US TV shows and free.

[AJBangkok]

I have to agree XBMC is by far the best for what I want. It has pretty much every season of every major tv show and new episodes are available the Same day they play in the states or the uk. I also have over 7,000 live tv stations from around the world ( to Many, I'm trying to find a way to get rid of most of them) and pretty much every major movie that's been out of the theatres for 6 months or more.