paulry

I'm on 250 gigs and haven't exceeded it yet. Saying that, it could happen this month because my Dad as well as my sons are at home - all hitting the internet connection, watching movies, gaming, etc.

rasen78

We're on unlimited here. Unfortunately, on our go slow connection (around 1.2mb) the chances of ever getting anywhere near what you lot do. But in case they suddenly decide to up our speed (not due till at least 2016) we'll be whacking up the downloads

irishbloo

Those of you with Hulu did you pay extra for it.I thought it was included in the Netflix one but I could be confused.(that is possible)Also have you been able to access Abc family.Thank you.

renth

Hulu plus, yes you need to pay for it, it's separate from Netflix, this is how I pay for my subs: http://www.buyfrompowerseller.com/hu...-subscription/

irishbloo

Cool.Thank you.I'll have a look later.

paulry

Hulu Plus is a good alternative to Netflix but looks like hard work to subscribe to.

Tom Sawyer

I've got Netflix and Hulu Plus. Both are pretty easy to set up (buy yourself an online gift voucher from their respective websites and Google a suitable zip code), but I much prefer Netflix. I find Hulu a lot more time consuming to navigate around as their listings are displayed as one program per page. I use a WDTV, so that maybe different on another device. But to me it is mainly full of the usual landscape of reality TV with a few decent US shows and the BBC section. Netflix on the other hand has the programs grouped together in genres etc., and for Brits probably has a lot more relevant programs if you use the UK Netflix version. The only "problem" I have with Netflix is that the films are bit older, but there are, ahem, other methods for getting films.

I'm waiting to see if the new Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead appears on Hulu Plus, but if it doesn't I'll let my account lapse and maybe give HBO Nordic a try. The only problem I have with this is that I will probably have to get it on my laptop and cast it to Chromecast connected to the TV, but without surround sound.

As an aside, although I use a WDTV, I'm looking into getting a Samsung F6500 Blu Ray for $150 ish as once you set it up via something like UnoTelly, you can get ALL the UK catch up service channels and Netflix. I got the ex-wife & kids one for Christmas. Works really well with no buffering even on a 4mbs connection as it has a dual core chip, and a good selection of channel apps. So if I get one of these and keep my WD but set for US Netflix and Hulu Plus if I keep it, and with my TV I can get ABC / SBS catch ups, I'm pretty well set up for about $13 per month plus an unlimited ADSL2 plan (Exetel) and I do not have to suffer the crap served up by 7 / 9 / 10.

renth

Get a Roku 3. I got one and it's much better for Hulu than the WDTV, smoother, faster. Netflix is better on Roku than WDTV too, but the Samsung sounds good too.

Amazulu

Did some research on that Samsung BD player and for the price is a seriously good IPTV option. Could have got it in JB this lunchtime for $148 (cheapest UK price $185)

I might pick one up tomorrow

After a few months of experimenting:
Netflix is the best streaming service
BBC iplayer and ITV (Ant and Dec? Lock and load) are the worst

renth

Agree, iPlayer - great shows, shit player.

Tom Sawyer

I had a look at the Roku originally, however as you can't change the DNS directly in the unit and I did not want my whole network set to go through a DNS blocking service I went with the WD. It has been OK, but can buffer a fair bit particularly using the BBC iPlayer initially but settles down after 10-15 mins and certainly not everytime I use it. It is very good for playing content from a NAS server as it can handle most file types. A good starting point and either way saved me $130 per month on Foxtel.

I'll probably get the Samsung F6500 in the next few days. 2nds World are doing them for $139 if you have one near you Amazulu. Pretty easy to set up as per instructions here http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2111916 .

Amazulu

Netflix has never buffered on me - ever. Superb content with an excellent service

Even though my internet connection speed is 12 times that required to stream iplayer, it sometimes buffers - on WiFi and Ethernet. Many in the UK have this problem too. I've played around with different browsers and find Firefox to be the best

Netflix are leading the way, hopefully others will follow them

Amazulu

No 2nds World here so I guess JB at $148 will have to do!

Amazulu

So today I set up 2 Roku 3s - one UK and one US. I did it but quite frankly it was a major PITA. I could not set them up via DNS only - they didn't want to know. I had to go the VPN on a router path. This is not easy to do as most, including my Netgears, do not have the ability to support a VPN. Fortunately, I had an old Asus router on which I was able to flash DD-WRT, which does have a VPN facility. Once they were set up (after a lot more non-VPN pain), I have been able to run them successfully via DNS changes only

Netflix runs flawlessly as expected and so has iplayer

All good so far

Phoodilicious

We have just received our new Roku 3 box from the UK (we already have a USA one which works wonderfully). Hubby is running into same issues as you describe with iplayer and UK I channels knowing we are in USA in spite of running a router which has a VPN. All the laptops, iPad, iPhones etc all work fine but the Roku box just seems to know we are not in UK. What DNS settings did you use to fool the system?

We set up the Roku UK box using the VPN and a UK bank account/address and we were able to load iPlayer with the UK apps and the account was in £'s. We were able to watch a program on iPlayer no problem and then the next program came up with a "geolocation" error. Demand 5 and Channel 4 didn't go at all. Please can you share how you got past the DNS issue please? Hubby has tried various settings.

By the way we are physically located in the USA (Australia relocation has been delayed) but like I said we have a VPN service and router.

Thanks for any insight from anyone before my husband throws the Roku box, tv and everything else out the window