desreb Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Well, I'd planned on coming to Oz thinking that we could watch all the UK TV we wanted, thanks to t'internet. It's pretty easy to get a VPN service that makes it look like you're in the UK, and then iPlayer, etc are on tap. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked that way. I've not extensively tested where the problem is, but I think it's TPG's International links back to the UK. Speeds and latency are always slow back to Blighty, as they probably don't buy enough bandwidth. So - trying to use VPN (I bought Overplay at $9.95pcm) isn't any help, as iPlayer always times out before we can start watching video. Having said that, TPG have been great for everything else - good 6-10Mbps pretty much all the time. We actually ended up <ahem> downloading torrents of the latest episodes of UK programs as they appeared online. So... seems choosing your DSL provider is important. I'm coming up to my 6 month term with TPG, so might try iiNet next. If that's better, I'll recommence my subscription to Overplay (or another VPN). D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aceman88888 Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Have you tried 'thebox.bz'. They specialise in UK TV to download. It's by torrent but I've been using it for years and it works worldwide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Thebox or expat shield work for me. We are on a relatively slow network and have no trouble with iplayers especially at non peak times. Expat shield is free too which is an added bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desreb Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Thanks! I'll try them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desreb Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Thanks Quoll - I've just installed Expat Shield, and it works great. Top Gear streaming in SD without stutter (TPG can't handle HD at all) However - I'm currently trying Overplay, and that's working fine as well! Must be the time of day. I'll try them both at peak hour (evening), and see if one does better than the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Thanks Quoll - I've just installed Expat Shield, and it works great. Top Gear streaming in SD without stutter (TPG can't handle HD at all) However - I'm currently trying Overplay, and that's working fine as well! Must be the time of day. I'll try them both at peak hour (evening), and see if one does better than the other. Why don't you just wait for Top Gear when it's on TV here. Honestly can't understand people coming to the other side of the world and then missing something like UK TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desreb Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Good point, well made. I've a 2-part answer to that: 1. I was just using Top Gear as a test example - I'd really want to watch more of the documentaries, etc, although Top Gear is still good. 2. We don't have a TV :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Hi Desreb, I would recommend buying a TV mate. Aussie free to air isn't that bad really and now the digital channels are out there is a lot of British TV on. Really enjoyed watching the coast series recently. Got my wife saying all that time we lived there and we never really went to see any of this. I pointed out (being a bloke) that everything looks really nice from a helicopter but never looks the same when you are on the ground. Look how nice it is watching the Tour de France up in the alps, with all the helicopter shots, different if you're actually there and all you see is a load of people on bikes wiz past going really fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desreb Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Again, not that simple :-). There's no aerial socket in our living room - the owners had Foxtel. I asked myself if I wanted to pay $1000 a year just for Kitchen and Property programs, and my answer was no :-). It hasn't quite stopped us using the tv - far from it. But we've been watching all our old favourites (Alan Partridge, Green Wing, etc) on demand, many more movies, and some stuff new to us (Luther, Apprentice). I have been aware that despite subscribing to SMH and TA RSS newsfeeds to keep up to date, I am out of touch. Jumping into a cab where they've has the radio in, I've been dunked into the current fury over Carbon Tax. It was a treat to watch Silverstone GP in a hotel room the other day as well. So I might get a TV when we next move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted July 12, 2011 Share Posted July 12, 2011 Get yourselves an aerial put up and an outlet or 2 put in. Well worth it I reckon. We don't bother with foxtel either. They have it on Virgin flights and I've had enough of it by the time I get to my destination. A lot of UK people get it for the Premier league but even that is on SBS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desreb Posted July 12, 2011 Author Share Posted July 12, 2011 Again, I would do, but we're in a downstairs unit in a block of 4 :-). We had an indoor thing, but it was useless. We move in 6 weeks, so will likely get a tv then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Alice Donut Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Hi Desreb,I would recommend buying a TV mate. Aussie free to air isn't that bad really and now the digital channels are out there is a lot of British TV on. Really enjoyed watching the coast series recently. Got my wife saying all that time we lived there and we never really went to see any of this. I pointed out (being a bloke) that everything looks really nice from a helicopter but never looks the same when you are on the ground. Look how nice it is watching the Tour de France up in the alps, with all the helicopter shots, different if you're actually there and all you see is a load of people on bikes wiz past going really fast. To be fair, Aussie tv is pish, it's much better watching iplayer and downloading torrents, no adverts either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Yeah Aussie TV isn't a patch on the BBC. Plus the VPN route allows you to get NetFlix and that sort of stuff. I setup my overplay account yesterday and match of the day 2 was fine on the laptop, but the resolution was rubbish on the TV. I think the iiNet router we have is fairly poor though so go wired rather than wireless if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velly Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 i use hide-my-ip and can watch bbc iplayer with no problems. my internet speed is not that fast been using hide my ip for 4 years, only let me down twice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desreb Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 That reminds me, I must try again. We're now on Internode, and speeds are generally better. Although BBC seem to have figured a way of detecting my iPad is out of country, even if I'm on VPN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Well I like watching Pommie shows too but, between ABC and UKTV (on Foxtel) i get enough plus 'Game of Thrones' which is my present #1 watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steen1976 Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 That reminds me, I must try again. We're now on Internode, and speeds are generally better. Although BBC seem to have figured a way of detecting my iPad is out of country, even if I'm on VPN. Just seen your in Coogee too. We have an aerial socket but just cannot pick anything up. Something to do with the valley we are in here as others have told me the same. Was pretty much forced to get foxtel but probably would have anyway for the football. Pretty much the only decent stuff on there is from the UK. On iinet here and speeds good. Stream iplayer no bother with Expat Shield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desreb Posted August 31, 2011 Author Share Posted August 31, 2011 Just signed up to Overplay again and am using iplayer and itv player on the iPad. Tried Shooting Stars in HD. It buffered for 60 seconds, and then started playing - but stuttered. I managed to get the video to pause while it buffered and got a head start - and then got it to play consistently for 3-4 minutes before stopping. So - mixed. At least iplayer didn't detect I was using a VPN. Will try more tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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