Hi,
It was said that they will block the device which is outside of USA. Now a lot of people access the Hulu, netflix, etc by vpn or smart dns. At that time, how to watch the netflix for the people who stay outside of USA?
http://o.canada.com/technology/personal-tech/movie-studios-are-pressuring-netflix-to-block-vpn-users
Movie studios are pressuring Netflix to block VPN and DNS users
Accessing U.S. Netflix in Canada might be almost impossible at some point in the near future.
According to Torrentfreak, Simon Bush, the CEO of AHEDA, an Australian industry group that represents big movie and television studios like Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros, Universal, Sony Pictures and many more, are actively lobbying Netflix and other streaming platforms to block and potentially ban users who subscribe to geo-unlocking VPN and DNS services.
In Australia, a region where Netflix isn’t officially available, approximately 200,000 are accessing the platform through VPN services, and because of this the Australian market seems to be AHEDA’s first target. Netflix also has plans to officially launch its streaming online video service at some point in the near future and it’s likely that this will play into the decision to block VPN and DNS users.
In an interview with Cnet, Bush explained AHEDA is in “discussions” with Netflix to block Australians from accessing the platform. If Netflix implements a system to block Australians from accessing U.S. Netflix, it’s likely they’ll also block Canadians from accessing other regions of Netflix as well, rendering DNS services like Unblock-Us useless.
A few months ago Hulu started an IP-blocking system that prevents users from using most major geo-unlocking services to access the platform from regions it hasn’t yet launched in. Users often encounter the following error.
“Based on your IP-address, we noticed that you are trying to access Hulu through an anonymous proxy tool. Hulu is not currently available outside the U.S. If you’re in the U.S. you’ll need to disable your anonymizer to access videos on Hulu.”
A similar system could potentially be implemented to prevent Canadians from accessing Netflix content not part of their region. Users intent on still accessing U.S. Netflix, Hulu and other streaming platforms like Amazon Instant Video, could just switch to a new VPN or DNS service if the practice of blocking VPN access becomes more widespread, but if a platform is serious about blocking users from using geo-unlocking software, it could soon be impossible to watch U.S. Netflix in Canada.
This means even American and Canadian users who are hoping to use the internet anonymously through VPN to protect their own privacy are being blocked from doing so.
Related
I am new to Android & would really like to us my A7 to access both online hosted Streaming Video (movies & TV shows) as well as host my DVDs on my internal network.
I had hoped to use Netflix but research on the web indicates that isn't a go on Android without newer, possibly embedded hardward based, DRM solutions. I did see a post about Amazon and RockPlayer but not really much else to go on.
Can people reply and indicate what are the best Streaming Video sites (& client being used to access those sites) for the A7? If you need to use one for movies & one for TV shows please list multiple...
Can people also reply with more insight on how they are hosting & consuming their own DVD collections? Specifically I would like to know:
What did they use to rip their DVDs?
Where do they host them (off a PC? a NAS?, etc)?
What client do they use on the Android A7 to access them?
What protocol (NFS?,CIFS?,SFTP?,etc) does the A7 use to access their DVDs?
For reference I have multiple options available to me at home inclucing RedHat Enterprise Linux & a few other flavors, Win 7, Win XP, and a central NAS device.
tv shows
for tv shows I like (tv shows stream) from the market
Playon seems to work well for me and it will let you stream Netflix and other sites kinda expensive 5amonth or 80 for a lifetime.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
When I get back from Spring Break I want to try Playon. I don't like the idea of another subscription but it seems really flexible. It might also allow me to watch Hulu through my bluray player (which stopped supporting it) so that is a big plus... Being able to centralize all of that to a central computer and shoot it to my TV, laptop, and Android A7 would be great.
The Netflix.apk is available as beta for Android. I installed on my A7 and can manage my account, queue and search. When I launch a live stream of instant movies it says can not connect to Netflix servers please try again.
My research is that they won't allow netflix to natively run on Android without some Digital Rights Management (DRM) capabilities (currently too open) built into. Some Android device makers may be releasing some newer models that allow for this and the native netflix should work for them but maybe never for us if it is a hardware based implementation...
That being said, the Netflix over playon seems to be working OK for me as I went ahead and set it up before traveling for Spring Break... Both Netfilx & hulu worked fine on my home LAN and was working OK on my hotel WIFI for a few hours but isn't for some reason right now.
I need to replace my home router so that I can take the current router with me as it turns my 3g/4g USB device into a personal portable WiFi (kinda like a geeky MIFI). Currently that router uses both my DSL & USB cellular data card together at home and I didn't have time to do that before I left and if I took it with me my home would have been down and I wouldn't be able to serve playon from home while traveling...
Tv.com also works well on these devices
Sent from my PC36100
So I've been looking for an OnDemand type streaming service for my phone to so I can connect it via HDMI to my TV and skip the cable companies all together. I found this TmobileTV app which looks promising, but that has a monthly fee. I'm not looking for live television, just something with a program guide that can access streams from Comedy Central, ABC, Food Network, etc. These networks broadcast their own content for free on their webpage, or even have apps, but of course you have to navigate to them and install a bunch of apps if you want to use it this way. I've used a Roku before with PlayOn and it somehow aggregates all of the popular web-shows and puts them in a nice channel guide for you so you can pick and play what you want.
Does anyone know of anything like this for android? Remember, I dont care about LIVE tv, I just want a nice convenient way to watch online of streams from various broadcasters.
UPDATE: Looks like Hulu+ is the only answer.
netflix? or that doesn't have tv shows? been awhile since i used netflix
I've been scouting round looking for solutions that mean (as an expat) I can continue to use a DNS or VPN service for most things (UK TV, amazon prime etc.) while still retaining access to Netflix. No joy so far. What I'm wondering is if anybody has a way to set a specific DNS (or VPN if that works) for Netflix services, while using the default on the router for everything else?
A bit optimistic probably, but thought I'd ask ...
urbanespaceman said:
I've been scouting round looking for solutions that mean (as an expat) I can continue to use a DNS or VPN service for most things (UK TV, amazon prime etc.) while still retaining access to Netflix. No joy so far. What I'm wondering is if anybody has a way to set a specific DNS (or VPN if that works) for Netflix services, while using the default on the router for everything else?
A bit optimistic probably, but thought I'd ask ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are certain VPN-Services specialized in providing access to Netflix like ExpressVPN or you use a tool like NordVPN which will choose a VPN-Service for you.
Greetings
Medizinmann
As an expat, I use Unotelly's Dynamo DNS service which allows you to switch regions on the fly. By sideloading the unotelly.apk app to the Amazon fire tv, I can use the fire tv remote to easily switch from U.K content and then quickly switch back to Netflix U.S by going through the unotelly app and picking another region. Takes seconds to do this.
P.s using firestarter ( actually firestopper which is now called appstarter, but that new version isn't as functional) as a U.I overlay making it much easier for quick access to bbc iplayer, itv player, skygo, netflix, etc, and the unotelly app.
This what the unotelly app looks like within the fire tv
callanish said:
As an expat, I use Unotelly's Dynamo DNS service which allows you to switch regions on the fly. By sideloading the unotelly.apk app to the Amazon fire tv, I can use the fire tv remote to easily switch from U.K content and then quickly switch back to Netflix U.S by going through the unotelly app and picking another region. Takes seconds to do this.
P.s using firestarter ( actually firestopper which is now called appstarter, but that new version isn't as functional) as a U.I overlay making it much easier for quick access to bbc iplayer, itv player, skygo, netflix, etc, and the unotelly app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Callanish, for this information about unotelly!
I am aware that Netflix has started blocking all these DNS Services, to use the different Netflix regions Netflix... So I would like to know if you are fully sure that the unotelly service really works??
I am asking because, I already have tried with "Unblock-US" and also with
"Blockless" DNS Services, and unfortunately none of these two are working anymore:
https://www.blockless.com
https://www.unblock-us.com
I already have contacted "Unblock-US" and also "Blockless", to let them know that they service has been blocked and has stopped working...
However after more than 2 month, they only replied and said that they are currently working to fix the problems with Netflix, and that we could still use their service to access others sites like "HBO" and "Amazon-Prime"!
I also have found other DNS Service called "Uflix", that recommends to use a*TP-LINK MR3020 or a MR3420V2, to prevent more effectively the blocking that Netflix is implementing...
https://uflix.com.au/setup/urouter/
However, since I have not received a new TP-LINK MR3020 that I bought from Amazon, I can not test if this "Uflix" DNS Service works or not yet!
Since, I don't find in the Google Play Store the Unotely APP that you have mentioned, I would appreciate if you post the link to download the "Unotely" APP to change the Netflix Regions.
Thanks for helping!
In all honesty, from my experience, Netflix outside of your own region has become a hit and a miss. I was only using Netflix U.K from the U.S through unotelly about a week ago as well as ongoing for the last few months and have had no issues whatsoever. I just went to test Netflix U.k again right after you mentioned getting access and it's been blocked again. With my situation, I mostly use Netflix U.S, along with running all the U.K apps and kodi U.K web streams. Netflix currently seems to be in aggressive blocking mode. I'll contact unotelly and find out what the latest is. My DNS proxy address might be the cause since it's no longer on the unotelly list of servers, but still works really well for all U.K content outside of Netflix U.K. I was connected to the BBC iPlayer news channel during the referendum, and it must have been on for 12 hours without a hiccup and in HD, so it’s pretty reliable.
Netflix u.k consistency aside, I can vouch for the stability of unotelly as I've been using it for about 4 years and I've rarely had a problem. If Netflix U.K is a priority, then I don't think there's a VPN or DNS service out there that isn't going to have its temporary blackouts when connecting from a different region. Added to that, there's the hassle of waiting for them to provide a workaround for the block. If Netflix U.S is what you mostly use, and are juggling between that and streaming with all the UK apps and U.K links from kodi, I can't recommend unotelly high enough, but there’s just no guarantee that if you're anywhere outside of the U.K NetfliK U.K will be working 100% of the time even with Unotelly, which from my experience, their customer service is really on the ball with solving issues.
Anyway, I sound like I work for the damn company. Here’s an apk attachment for the unotelly app I had in a backup folder.
P.S My only reservation about going down that router road with uflix is the speed and reliability of their VPN. Erratic streaming speeds could come into play potentially causing buffering, whereas a DNS Proxy is a pass through system giving you the maximum bandwidth of your internet service rather than using a VPN which can hamstring streaming speeds, but it's your call and if it works, then forget I mentioned it.
I have been using Unotelly for years also and is still working well for everything...except Netflix which everyone of those 'DNS unblockers' are having problems with. But did you get a reply from them? There business model is now broken, i.e. Netflix region switching, they don't reply anymore, don't think they will be around much longer unfortunately...
Hill16 said:
I have been using Unotelly for years also and is still working well for everything...except Netflix which everyone of those 'DNS unblockers' are having problems with. But did you get a reply from them? There business model is now broken, i.e. Netflix region switching, they don't reply anymore, don't think they will be around much longer unfortunately...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only reply I got was that they were working on it, as per the notice on their website which was basically "Region Picker Status: USTest 5: Down, Other Regions: Down (We will update our region picker status as soon as we get an update from our engineers)". So, Netflix is the elephant in the room for all Proxy server or VPN providers which, in my opinion, has taken their aggressive blocking to the next level. I just don't foresee us getting any consistency here when viewing other regions without there being a cycle of blocking, waiting for it to be unblocked and expecting the worse for it to be blocked again. From a selfish perspective, I get a lot more use out of my Netflix U.S region than I ever did out of Netflix U.K viewing. It was the odd show here and there I was watching on Netflix U.K and so far, crosses fingers, all the other content coming out of the U.K continues to work without any issues. Like you, I believe that Netflix was a core reason for a lot of these proxy and vpn providers being in business in the first place. For someone like myself, there is a wealth of free content coming out of the U.K that still makes it viable for me to continue to use a proxy, but for others that subscribed to a proxy or vpn for the sole purpose of getting Netflix U.S content or other region content, I can see those customers abandoning companies like Unotelly in droves.
I do think Unotelly is still fighting the fight, but they've got a huge mountain to climb here. I just think they don't know what to tell their customers and don't really know how to provide a consistent unblocking business model with Netflix, so either they are capable of surviving without guaranteeing Netflix or like you mentioned, they'll fold due to customers abandoning them.
Does anyone know a way of doing this? I am in the UK and use SmartDNSProxy to access Japanese Amazon Prime. This works fine.
All4 works fine on the box but iPlayer (and ITVHub and Demand5) both run but then show an error page pointing out that the app is unavailable in Japan. This message forces me to close the app although it is clearly running OK in the background. I assume it's an Amazon check rather than an actual IP issue from the broadcaster - I am, after all, in the UK.
Is there any way to block Amazon doing this (IP? Disable app?) or a setting on Amazon somewhere. Device is not rooted.
Thanks.
Can't you switch regions with your smart dns proxy. With unotelly, I've sideloaded the unotelly.apk app on to my fire tv boxes allowing me to switch regions in order to access the uk's bbc iplayer or the itv app, and then easily switch back to prime video u.s or netflix u.s with a few clicks of the settings when required. Is your smart proxy dns dynamic (switchable) or fixed?
Smartdnsproxy routes traffic whichever way you like depending on service. Amazon Prime (and thus Amazon account) is set to hit Japan so I see the Japanese interface and content. iPlayer will go direct to the UK site. However, there seems to be an extra check Amazon are doing. It knows that iPlayer is unavailable on Amazon Japan and so kills the app with an error message when attempting to run it - it appears to be running happily and half loads the correct content before Amazon kill it. I think I need to disable that check or prevent it or stop the app running that does it etc.
I have a Fire Stick 4k that I use only for Kodi and accessing media on my local network. I do not need internet access at all. I have tried blocking updates with the usual methods but have not had any success. I have modified my wifi connection to Network Prefix Length 0 and both DNS to 0.0.0.0. It seems to be blocking access to the internet. Will this be effective at blocking updates and does anyone see any issues with this method?
Thanks
Srimok said:
I have a Fire Stick 4k that I use only for Kodi and accessing media on my local network. I do not need internet access at all. I have tried blocking updates with the usual methods but have not had any success. I have modified my wifi connection to Network Prefix Length 0 and both DNS to 0.0.0.0. It seems to be blocking access to the internet. Will this be effective at blocking updates and does anyone see any issues with this method?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use NoRoot Firewall by Grey Shirts from APKPure or Aptoide TV to block the OTA updates from internet.
You want to completely block the OTA updates. You can delete otacerts.zip in /system/etc/security folder.
NOTE: You cannot modify the entire /system folder unless your Fire TV stick 4K is rooted.
Srimok said:
I have a Fire Stick 4k that I use only for Kodi and accessing media on my local network. I do not need internet access at all. I have tried blocking updates with the usual methods but have not had any success. I have modified my wifi connection to Network Prefix Length 0 and both DNS to 0.0.0.0. It seems to be blocking access to the internet. Will this be effective at blocking updates and does anyone see any issues with this method?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This guy has blocked the updates with NO ROOT:
https://youtu.be/D0wFs3aGlPM
Intenti0n said:
This guy has blocked the updates with NO ROOT:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know this is an old thread, but wanted to mention I couldn't get his method to work until I connected to the Firestick from my PC. Running the commands from adb on the Firestick didn't work. And otacerts.zip is read-only :
Enable ADB debugging / Apps from unknown sources on the Firestick
Install Remote ADB Shell on the Firestick
Run adb connect <firestick ip>:5555 from your PC (via start > run > cmd)
adb shell from your PC
cd /system/etc/security
pm disable-user --user 0 com.amazon.device.software.ota.override
pm disable-user --user 0 com.amazon.device.software.ota
I'm also now running a custom launcher. Steps at
Srimok said:
I have a Fire Stick 4k that I use only for Kodi and accessing media on my local network. I do not need internet access at all. I have tried blocking updates with the usual methods but have not had any success. I have modified my wifi connection to Network Prefix Length 0 and both DNS to 0.0.0.0. It seems to be blocking access to the internet. Will this be effective at blocking updates and does anyone see any issues with this method?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm intrigued, never seen anyone use a firestick in this manner (not connected to internet)
Regards
The recent FireOS update to the Fire Stick 4K has not been received with positive reviews from the majority of users. The main reason, it seems, involves the substantial changes to the home screen UI. While I don't have info regarding a user's ability to block these types of updates, the Fire Stick development community has brainstormed and the gods have spoken: there are some custom home screen launchers that give the Fire Stick 4K (or any other Fire Stick model) a greatly improved UI versus the newly-updated stock launcher. The best two, in my meager opinion, are Wolf Launcher and Leanback Launcher. Both of these launchers ate available on the official Troypoint app. Also included are several modified Kodi builds, including Xanax and Troypoint Kodi v19.0, which can be installed although other Kodi apps may already be installed. Several IPTV resources are available, as well as a few of the better quality movie and series apps like CinemaHDv2. (Other than verifying the safety and quality of the two launchers I referenced, I cannot confirm the legality of some of the other apps included on Troypoint. I encourage members to do some research in this regard in order to make an informed decision as to whether or not to install these IPTV and media scraper apps. The official Troypoint app is, and will always remain, fully free of charge. To install it on your Amazon FireTV Stick,, Amazon Fire Cube, or Amazon FireTV Stick 4K, use the Downloader app (available from Amazon App Store) and enter this URL for a direct download link to the latest Troypoint APK file: troypoint.com/tpapp Once installed, open the app, grant the permission request prompts, and tap the "Rapid App Installer" menu at the top of the Troypoint main screen. There you will see a full list, with direct download links, of all the included apps. A version of YouTube Vanced for FireTV devices is also included, called Smart YouTube TV. Like Vanced, the FireTV build also blocks all ads and supports background play. On a closing note, any members considering an IPTV service (whether free or paid) or media link aggregator (scraper) apps like TeaTV, CinemaHDv2 or Popcorn Time, a good VPN is essential. As it now stands in the US, some of these apps and services are considered illegal under federal law, as well as laws proscribed in various states (prohibitions are generally categorized under the criminal penalties set forth for copyright violations) Until recently, these types of apps and services were given a blind eye by the majority of law enforcement and prosecuting attorneys throughout the country. Law enforcement in Polk County, Florida, recently arrested four individuals involved in the making and selling of "Jailbroken Firesticks" at a flea market type establishment. To make a showing of strict enforcement, the Polk County Sheriff's Office used a group of undercover deputies to make a number of "Jailbroken Firestick" purchases from the suspects. An undercover sting organized to arrest these hell-bent and dangerous outlaws. As we all know here at XDA, there is no such thing as a jailbroken Firestick. In order to jailbreak a device, it must first be locked by code-based security implementations, typically on the kernel or bootloader level. Because FireOS is not secured in a manner as to prevent the installation of third-party apps (sideloading), there is nothing to jailbreak. The user simply enables the native option to allow apps from unknown sources. Now it's "jailbroken." This is simply a term which sounds very technical and innovative to the inherently naive John Q Consumer (and Suzie Q Consumer). Little do most of those individuals realize, they can buy a FireTV device for normal price and sideload every app package they'll need in under 20 minutes, and that includes initial setup time.
Srimok said:
I have a Fire Stick 4k that I use only for Kodi and accessing media on my local network. I do not need internet access at all. I have tried blocking updates with the usual methods but have not had any success. I have modified my wifi connection to Network Prefix Length 0 and both DNS to 0.0.0.0. It seems to be blocking access to the internet. Will this be effective at blocking updates and does anyone see any issues with this method?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/attachments/fireos-update-blocker_1-2-apk.5184325/
Download this and block the updates, after that uninstall the app, no need to look at the app ever again. It will block the system level updates for you.