Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

How do you get a UK TV licence if you don't have a UK address?

You currently don't need a TV licence to access iplayer - you just have to tell them that you do. This could change in the future but realistically, I can't see the UK TV tax lasting much longer in the digital 21st century. Johnson has said as much too

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

Britbox launching in Australia this year:
https://www.news.com.au/entertainmen...93bf518845b9dd

Might be useful to some. Personally, I'm going to carry on with the DNS route

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...ef01e35a4e.png
I use Transponder TV.
You can record what you want to watch and view it later. Downside you can schedule ahead but can't watch anything retrospectively.

https://transponder.tv/

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

TunnelBear is free to try, and although the free version doesn't give you that much data at least you can give it a go before committing.

Overplay DNS has been around for absolute ages so they probably know what they're doing plus others here have mentioned them.

Getflix should also work fine as the only Netflix was causing them trouble (only the US version supported nowadays).

Whatever you guys choose, be careful of "lifetime deals" from some of these companies. A lot of the time it's all a load of bull as you only get support for some services this way and only truly paying customers (as in those who must still pay again in the future to continue using the service) get absolutely everything.

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

I've been using unblock-us (dot com) for years - $50 per year for DNS spoofing, redirection, whatever you want to call it, it's worked very well for BBC iPlayer (with the occasional hiccup) until this week.

"BBC iPlayer isn't available outside the UK" is the message that means something has gone wrong. I tried all the usual fixes that have worked in the past but this time none of them did so I emailed unblock, and they said "the game's up"

"BBC has blocked again our servers. It is a tremendous challenge to support UK contents as they are pushing away DNS/VPN services like ours.

Our tech team hasn't given up yet and is still working on this. They are looking for a better solution.

We will get back to you as soon as we have an update from them."

So, I'm looking for recommendations on a new DNS service.

Thanks

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

Could getting tough on VPN/DNS users be a sign that BritBox is coming to Australia soon?

As for other providers you are probably best off with trying the ones that offer a free trial before paying for a subscription.

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

Before I even go there, it would be nice to get a round up from people using the various DNS services to find out which ones the BBC is starting to block. If I sign up for something, and it doesn't work, how do I know if it's because it's not set up correctly - most of them are not plug and play - or because the Beeb is actively blocking it?

I'll start

unblock-us tech support just told me (8/8/20) the BBC is blocking their DNS service

Thanks!

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

Following recommendations on here, I signed up to SmartDNS about a year ago. It has occasional blips, but in general I can watch all the Uk catchups and live streams.

My brother (in UL) also has a Raspberry Pi in his loft with a TV tuner and TV Headend software loaded, giving me a similar service to transponder.tv. I'm watching Click on BBC News right now :) That's a rather more complicated setup though, but if you have a tech-savvy friend back home...

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

Smart DNS Proxy. We were watching BBC iplayer last night. The BBC do occasionally manage to block it but SDNSP usually get around it in within 24hrs. I paid about USD35 for 2 years on my last renewal. All the other UK channels are always rock solid

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

It will be interesting to see what Britbox offers seeing as there are now so many (too many!) streaming options available

The BBC's funding model via a TV tax in the digital era is broken. If the UK government had any sense, they could make the BBC into some kind of Netflixesque system and sell it to the world - it would be certainly cheaper to the UK consumer compared to the current TV tax that they are forced to pay

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

Unblock-us normally do the same. Never had to wait more than 30 hours.

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

Some sort of DNS spoofer is probably the way forward as the connection is direct, unlike with a VPN which actually does channel traffic physically.

If there's a way to test my old (aka "lifetime") Getflix account then I can try that, but unfortunately I don't have any device where I could install the iplayer app and just spoof the DNS.

In the meantime I've tried Tunnelbear VPN but it doesn't work (iplayer knows I'm not in the UK).

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

It does seem a little crazy the Beep doesn't make itself more available to the global market via a paid subscription. Its brand is known globally and the content is good, they could make some good money from that.

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

As I understand it the BBC proposed selling a subscription service outside the UK but the government impeded it.

Re: VPN for BBC iplayer
 

After many years of mixed results with various VPNs and Smart DNS services, I bought the missus a subscription to Britbox. You can't sign up if you're not in America, so you just buy a gift voucher on the site and use it yourself - easy. Now she has access to her soaps with no stress - works perfectly all the time. Can also recommend the UKTVLand subreddit - they post all sorts of good stuff in there, including whole box-sets. The Not a Panelshow subreddit is good too.