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TV away from home

Posted on 13 Jan 2009 at 12:16

The downside of using a TV tuner abroad, however, is that you're stuck with whatever TV is available in your destination, which isn't much use if you're in New York but don't want to miss the new series of Top Gear. The solution is to use a catch-up service, such as iPlayer, 4oD or Sky Anytime instead. Here you come across another hurdle: these services are blocked to people from outside the UK. Luckily, there are workarounds. One is to connect using a proxy address located within the UK. Note down the IP address you're using at your location, using a website such as http://whatismyip.com. Find a site that provides UK proxy addresses (Google lists several providers), sign up and get a port. You can set up your proxy address using Tools | Options | Advanced Settings in Firefox or Tools | Internet Options | Connections | LAN Settings in Internet Explorer.

This works, but there are always risks in using a proxy server. Because all your data is going through someone else's system, you should avoid doing anything risky or sensitive while connected, or you may end up exposing private data and passwords, or find yourself on the receiving end of a hefty chunk of spam. Watch what you want to watch, then uncheck the "Use a proxy server" checkbox in IE, or check Direct Connection to Internet in Firefox. Proxy servers can also be hit and miss. If used regularly, the catch-up service may ban the proxy IP, putting you back at square one.

A safer and more reliable option is to pay for a VPN connection to a UK server - again, a Google search will deliver a range of appropriate companies. You connect through the VPN to the UK and, as far as iPlayer or 4oD are concerned, you're using the service from within the UK. Or use a more consumer-friendly remote service such as GoToMyPC. This enables you to use your own home system as, effectively, a proxy server. You log in to the PC at home, use its IP address, and you'll be watching Auntie Beeb in no time.

Similar techniques can be used to watch US-only content from the ABC or Hulu websites in the UK. Please note, however, that this is legally iffy - although far less dubious and risky than downloading the same programmes from a P2P site.

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Author: Stuart Andrews