Expat Shield ?

[ExSp33db1rd]

Sorry, can I have a lead to the programme that lets me view the BBC overeas again pls. Something akin to Expat Shield - but not expat shield - I used it OK but failed to note it !!

Nb. just tried Expat shield but can't due "compatibility errors" that "microsoft can find no answer to" !! ( or words to that effect)

Thanks.

[mixture]

We don't discuss copyright circumvention here. :=

[ericlday]

Check your PM.

[Basil]

We don't discuss copyright circumvention here.
Oh yes we do! ;)

ExSp33db1rd, Check PM re 'Another place'
Always glad to help a 'Baron' - Bas (Flatearther) ;)

[Saab Dastard]

Mixture is right that I am against copyright infringement.

My view on this is that if you pay your UK TV licence then you are entitled to view BBC content. If you don't then you aren't.

SD

[SpringHeeledJack]

My view on this is that if you pay your UK TV licence then you are entitled to view BBC content. If you don't then you aren't.

I agree, but what is the position on those living abroad who wish to watch anything other than BBC World, as in all the other terrestrial channels BBC 1,2,3,4 etc ? In these cases, homesick expats just want to have a connection (boom boom) to their homeland, rather than any nefarious intent.


SHJ

[mad_jock]

The TV thing isn't really to do with your home country its more to do with licensing in your current one.

To be honest the minor issue of watching uk telly without a license pales into insignificance compared to getting caught getting round the local rules to do with using Skype and bypassing the censor.

[llondel]

Some BBC stuff is restricted to the UK because of limits placed on the BBC by the programme owner who is hoping to sell the same thing to other broadcasters. Obviously if you can watch it for free from the BBC it means it's less attractive to overseas broadcasters.

Some stuff will work with iPlayer, the radio stuff certainly does because I'm listening to it now. It's not actually that hard to bypass the restrictions if you have access to the right stuff and a bit of technical know-how.

Subject to the commercial restrictions, the BBC could probably make some money by offering a subscription service with a modified iPlayer for people outside their area but whether it would be worth the effort is another matter.

[ExSp33db1rd]

Thanks all, I didn't explain precisely to save time, but I was actually trying to watch New Zealand TV News ( that I had missed at the broadcast time) in New Zealand, and got the message " unable in your location" !! so wondered if I had some blocking programme of my own making, and would like to try the equivalent of Expat shield, as I know I read of one system like that here recently, tried it, and picked up the iBBC stuff. I reckon if I can see BBC stuff from UK in NZ, then that same system will probably let me watch NZ stuff in NZ. n'est ce pas ?

Will check PM's.

[Loose rivets]

My view on this is that if you pay your UK TV licence then you are entitled to view BBC content. If you don't then you aren't.


Fair enough . . . or it would be if it were not for a steeply sloping playing field.

I pay for a UK license, and even if I could reclaim some of it when I head west, I never seem to get around to it. So, I'm a payer. I'm also a very sad case that seems to need Jeremy Clarkson to cheer me up. Oh, and Jeremy Paxman to stimulate me brain on Uni Challenge. That's about it really. Not a lot to ask.

Then there's the issue of the Beeeeeb selling our stuff to PBS and the like. I helped pay for a lot of that drama, and PBS pump it out to the Americans free of charge.

So, I don't have a moral issue with it. But that doesn't help with the issue of Anchor not letting me see it* on my laptop, while I can still use ExPS on my PC. Just can't figure that out.

*now, who gives that company the right to charge for circumventing the rules? No one, I betcha.

Disgruntled from Frinton.

[llondel]

It's a fairly crude and not always reliable method they use to determine where you are, it's also why if you're not in the UK you get stuck with the international version of the BBC website with adverts, and why you can't access the National Lottery site from outside the UK.

My previous employer ended up with an IP address allocation that was registered as being assigned to another country, based on the supplier, so various UK-based things wouldn't work properly.

[OverRun]

The IP address blocking is a problem I have had as well at times. The Proxify toolabr for Firefox is a way of "showing" your IP address to be that of a different country.

I have found it very handy when buying some things overseas, because the prices can be dramatically lower than in Australia. The USA can give some classics; one example is where the price of GPS map updates for my USA-purchased GPS and its USA maps is much higher in Australia than in the USA. Not sure how they justify that - USA machine, USA maps, for use in the USA. Or is it that they see me an an Australian and therefore a muppet and price gouge.

Out of curiosity, I just Proxify'd myself to be in New Zealand and watched the above-mentioned NZ news video. Not sure if that is due to Proxify though because I don't know if NZ news had blocked Australia.

[mad_jock]

Or is it that they see me an an Australian and therefore a muppet

Well to be fair they aren't the only ones to have this point of view.

[AtomKraft]

Trying to watch the BBC over here in India.
I'm a UK licenses payer, for what it's worth.

Anyways, I downloaded tunnel bear, and managed to get it to work, but the free trial has run out.

Could anyone recommend a VPN that's free and works properly.
I've paid my share into the beeb over the years and don't much fancy paying twice!

MTIA...as they say these days. ;)

[mad_jock]

Atom to be honest its worth paying for a decent service.

$50 a year buys you multi servers to link to in a range of countries. High speed so no problems streaming a DNS server which works a treat.

Even when I am in the UK I keep my subscription up just so I can watch rugby in AUS, NZ and SA.

[AtomKraft]

Thanks Mad.

Maybe the easiest is just to pay the £2/ month that tunnel bear charge?

I'm a bit leery of giving these folk a standing order though, for security reasons.

Another kind ppruner suggested another provider, but they too charge.

Is there really no free VPN? It seems not! :uhoh:

[mad_jock]

Well you can do it yourself if your tech savie enough but to be honest by the time you have a computer somewhere with the vpn server on it and then pay for the connection etc you might as well just pay for a service.

I am a tight Scotsman and I don't begrudge what I pay for mine.

[AGPwallah]

I have just started to use vpnbook. Seems to be working fine from here in the Dom Rep. You have the option to select UK, US or EU as your proxy site. I used to use hotspotshield but the free version now defaults to US.

AGP

[ExSp33db1rd]

Thanks guys, as a result of the chit-chat I've sorted my problem out, at least.

It seems that MediaHint was Enabled on my Firefox ( unknown to me !) which allowed me BBC content but not local NZ stuff - that was disallowed, but by Disabling MediaHint I've recovered local stuff and lost BBC stuff.

So I can just Enable/Disable for the service I want.

Simple when you know how ! The power of PPRuNe.

[airship]

Anyone masking their real IP addresses should not be surprised if they (don't see or hear) the Predator drone circling overhead these days...?! ;)

[llondel]

That depends on what you consider to be 'masking'. My computer thinks it's got an IP address in the 10.x.y.z range at the moment, but the rest of the world sees something else because of the NAT router. If I happen to use a VPN to my machine back home, I'll appear to the world with a different IP address and the BBC website (and others) will talk nicely.