I travel a lot and when away there are two main Internet sites that cheer me up without fail - BBC IPlayer and Pandora. Unfortunately using the BBC Iplayer abroad and Pandora outside the US are actually quite tricky because they will only work with a UK or US workstation.
Fortunately because I always surf through a secure proxy on the Identity Cloaker network, this doesn't really matter to me as my location is defined by whichever proxy I am surfing through. So I simply choose a UK server for BBC IPlayer.
Identity Cloaker is the most sophisticated security software on the internet, it allows you to surf completely protected via a network of private proxies across the planet. These are fast, secure properly run proxy servers not the free slow ones infested with viruses that people normally try to use !! You might have also seen the dedicated VPN and proxy servers promoted to watch BBC Iplayer or some other online TV stations - they are usually a single server that is set up quickly. Why? Simply because when the BBC legal department threaten them (which they always do), they end up disappearing suddenly.
Anyway when I am in Turkey and want to watch the BBC I just connect via a UK proxy and watch BBC Iplayer, if I want to listen to Pandora outside the US I just select one of the US proxies. It doesn't matter where I am as long as I have a working internet connection, because it's encrypted I can watch from anywhere.
Anyway I have made this rather bad video to illustrate how I access the BBC Iplayer abroad. I'm afraid I don't do the ease of this any justice with my video though, the best thing about the Identity Cloaker to access these programs is the huge choice of proxies and their speed. If you've ever tried using BBC Iplayer through a free proxy you'll realise how painful it can be.
Using BBC Iplayer Abroad
I've never used the video software before so apologies for the amateurish video editing. I just wanted to make sure people were able to see how easy it is to use this security software. There are dedicated services for just watching BBC Iplayer that cost well over twice the price of Identity Cloaker, they offer just a single proxy server to do this - Identity cloaker has proxies all over the planet and dedicated software to control and protect your connection, from an icon in your taskbar.
It takes a minute or so to install and then you just point and click.
*** You can actually watch BBC Iplayer on your TV through most gaming consoles now, the Wii works great with Identity Cloaker straight onto your TV, read my post here Wii Iplayer ***
*** Identity Cloaker now has a facility to turn off encryption, you can use this to speed up video streaming such BBC Iplayer from the UK Proxies ***
It is actually a fundamental point of using a proxy abroad, your IP address defines who you are and what you can see. So if you surf via a UK proxy this is how any web server you visit will see you also exactly the same as a UK Internet surfer. Because Identity Cloaker has fast proxies in lots of other countries you can use it to access similar restricted broadcasts in Sweden, Germany, US and many others. If you like music try Pandora.com for an awesome US only radio station - just select the right countries proxy and you'll be away.
Of course you can use this method by using a free proxy but most are unsuitable for watching videos from BBC Iplayer abroad as they are so slow, but PLEASE remove the proxy before you start doing any other surfing remember free proxies are mostly hacked servers and your details are not safe being passed through them !
So can you use BBC Iplayer anywhere?
Pretty much, as long as you pick one the UK proxies, it manages your connection in the background and encrypts you connection. You can even run it from a USB stick if you remember to take your login details with you, watch it through firewalls and when countries try to censor what you watch.
If you travel a lot it also means you can access lots of other sites which have country restrictions stopping you watching the BBC IPlayer abroad. For instance I can access UK poker and casino sites from the States who would normally block an American IP address, Turkey often block Youtube and social networking sites but Identity Cloaker users just bypass this.
Anyway I'm off to Turkey in a few weeks and I'll be keeping up with all the latest BBC programs watching BBC IPlayer abroad via Identity Cloaker.
In a few minutes you can be watching your favourite BBC Iplayer through a safe, fast and secure proxy
If you like to watch or listen to the BBC and UK TV programs through Iplayer and you spend any amount of time abroad, you'll find it a fantastic investment. The software is simple to work and you just pick a proxy to connect to and off you go, remember free proxies are very slow and many are full of viruses. If you do manage to find a safe, fast free proxy server to watch the BBC Iplayer on, chances are it will be gone in a day or so.
Why not treat yourself here to 10 days of the BBC Iplayer with the Identity Cloaker trial to check it works - for the price of a coffee and sandwich you'll be impressed I'm sure!
The ability to watch media is not advertised on the web site but drop them a line if you want to check, the support staff are very responsive and will check out problems with any channels - BBC is pretty straight forward but ITV, Channel 4 and some US channels need to use the Open VPN settings in the program. Be very careful of companies who do advertise this TV facility openly, they frequently disappear overnight, after legal threats from companies about using BBC Iplayer, Hulu and ITV etc.
Use the Open VPN Mode when Proxy doesn't workI have just added a contact me address at the top of this page, if you are unsure about anything - please drop me a line, I am happy to help with any questions if I can, if you have any comments on their service I'd like to hear them!
There's a 14 day Money back guarantee on the software so you can't lose really -it's a proper professional solution that needs no skills, you select the UK proxy and you'll be watching BBC IPlayer abroad or wherever you are in no time.
43 comments:
Hi,
Do you know if this works ok with ITV stuff ?
Yes it certainly does just tested it to watch an FA Cup match, although it would only work with IE and Firefox for some reason.
It allows access to any UK TV feed from anywhere in the world as long as you select one of the UK proxies.
There are currently 9 available proxies in the UK so the speed is very fast.
Hope that helps.
WHAT'S YOUR ACCESS KEYS,CAN YOU GIVE ME???
Sorry William its one account per user.
If you want to try it first - check out the trial, you'll see how well it works.
A network of proxies all over the world, plenty in UK to stream BBC Iplayer and all the other UK channels.
Excellent support and they don't do the sneaky recurring subscription that many companies do (automatically renewing your subscription when it runs out!!)
You may see the debate on whether it's best to stream Iplayer via a proxy or via a VPN connection - Identity Cloaker offers both options included in the price.
Good luck
You're a star! Thanks for the info.
You're very welcome :)
By the way if anyone wants to watch ITV abroad. There seems to have been an update to the silverlight player used on ITV.com .
At the moment you'll have to switch to using the OpenVPN client to watch ITV through Identity Cloakers proxy servers.
Update - here's a post so you can watch ITV as well - ITV Abroad you need to use the OpenVPN connection to connect via the proxy server for this, just as simple as watching the BBC abroad though.
I now watch more TV when I'm travelling than at home - currently use Identity Cloaker for watching HULU, ABC, BBC IPlayer and ITV when I'm abroad or in the wrong country.
Don't see any mention of accessing Iplayer and other stuff on the Web site ?
Is support ok
Yep I know they deliberately don't advertise it - some of the big media sites like Hulu can block proxy addresses.
Rest assured the best support in the business.
Wow! thanks for the interesting information on what a cloaked proxy can do! I had NO idea!!!
It's surprising isn't it Lauri. Your IP address is used to classify and restrict what you can do online.
Having the ability to change it - opens up lots of possibilities.
Identity Cloaker is now being used in over 75 countries, especially for watching BBC Iplayer - they've had to put more UK servers online :)
By the way - I just noticed that BBC Iplayer only checks when you first connect.
So you can disconnect after you start playing something - which means it might stream much faster.
You can't switch shows without restarting Identity Cloaker though as you'll get blocked again.
Melvin
Hi Melvin,
That's very true - it depends on your connection if it's worth doing though.
It actually be quicker watching BBC Iplayer directly through one of the Identity Cloaker proxies than disconnecting - depends on where you are, try both methods and see.
You can also swap which of the servers you are using, there are a few UK servers check which one is quickest for you.
The service I used to use, everyone tended to use the same server even though they had several available. It worked really well if you chose a different one nobody was using.
Can you tell me if you can use identity cloaker to use the the new service of BBC i-player on the Humax Foxsat HDR abroad? This service makes it possible to watch BBC i-player on your TV but because I live abroad I need a way around my ip address. I instaaled the trial version on my computer and I can watch i-player on my computer. My Humax is connected wireless to the internet with a plug. It received its own ip-address. Will this address be 'cloaked' when I have installed the programme on my computer?
Hi Bees,
I'm afraid that's not going to work, your Humax Foxsat HDR won't be cloaked as it is presumably using the IP address it gets from your router. This will then get blocked from the BBC Iplayer site.
How practical this is depends on the network configuration screens on your Humax Foxsat. If it allows the input of a proxy server (plus a username and password) you'd be able to use the IP address any of the Identity Cloaker UK proxies, but from what I can discover it simply doesn't allow this.
You basically need to do what I tested with the Wii here - Wii Iplayer abroad - which works fine because you can input the setting directly onto the hardware - i.e. the Wii.
There are ways to route your Humax through a PC running Identity Cloaker but it would be a bit convoluted and I suspect would end up being a bit slow.
Sorry about that !
Welshgadgets
Thanks for that Welshgadgets, I had already expected this but as I'm not an expert I wasn't sure. I have just got the wii working, I had problems at first because I forgot to change the country into united kingdom. It works fine now.
Will this work with a Mac? It seems too good to be true.
And equally important, can someone who has very little understanding of technology work this?
Thanks
Hi Bigraddy,
Yes it does work :)
The release version for the Mac is apparently due to be released in a few weeks. There is an early version but it's a bit fiddly to install.
But you can still easily use the Identity Cloaker servers via a Mac to watch BBC Iplayer at the moment.
Drop me a line using the Contact Us link above right on this page and I'll step you through it.
You just need to change a couple of settings in your browser and you can watch the BBC through Identity Cloaker.
It's not too hard - honest, just talked a couple of people through the settings yesterday.
Welshgadgets
When is Identity cloaker going to available on the MAC. I keep hearing its soon.
I know Surfboy, they keep telling me it's soon as well :)
But I have tried the first Identity Cloaker Mac beta now - it has a few little issues but is looking good. It's nearly there.
If you want to try it drop me a line.
I am going to Czech Republic for an operation in June I am going to be stuck in a hotel room for about 4 days,will the 10 day trial work?
Is it easy to use/install?
Thanks Katie.
Responded to your question in the other thread Katie, but yes it will definitely work.
The Mac version is looking good but still a few small issues to be sorted - incidentally surfboy above dropped me a line as he was watching the BBC news in JFK airport using the mac version :)
I just signed up for this and all it would download is a windows version. Where do I go to get the Mac version. Could someone please help me the F1 race starts in a few hours.
Hi Inceptum,
The Mac is still in beta, but contact Identity Cloaker and they'll send you a copy I'm sure. I can send you it you also if you leave an email address here on my blog (I won't post it) - or use the contact us button above and send me a message.
Hi all,
I watched this thinking it'd be too good to be true as well, and was pretty sceptical.
I downloaded the trial paid the 4 pounds and tried it out for 10 days. Its fantastic. I just renewed with a three month subscription.
I've found a Canadian IP that works with ESPN360 (which is fantastic for sports fans), i've also been able to access live streaming NRL coverage from within Australia where I live. I recommend buying the trial 10 day pass and giving it a go.
Thank you very much Welshgadgets for showing me how to use this WORKING Solution for streaming TV. The least I can do is give you some positive feedback sir.
Thanks for the kind comments Duff85, glad you're enjoying it.
I will have a look at ESPN360 myself as it has a lot of good sports events on UK TV as well.
Apparently a new UK server is being set up this week based in Newcastle for the BBC Iplayer traffic, plus new French and German proxies.
Betfair has just been banned in France, do you think it will work for this too?
Betfair has just been banned in France, do you think it will work for that too?
Hi Gary,
Yes pretty sure it will, as long as it doesn't check credit card details or something like that.
But if you have a betfair account let's check - drop me a line using the Contact Us button - top right of the page and we'll test it works using one of the UK proxies.
Just a note about Betfair, I was in Paris yesterday and checked this out.
I signed up on their Free £25 bet link
Free £25 bet
Well it's kinda free, if you lose they give you your money back I think - anyway signed up after hearing something on BBC Iplayer and bet £25 on England to win after falling behind (11-1)
Anyway signed up fine using a Identity Cloaker UK proxy and a UK debit card and address.
Hope that helps,
WG
PS
Thanks Gary if I win :)
BBCi and ITV player work fine but you can't watch channel 4 live since this is done via tvcatchup.co.uk and when you try and sign up to them it knows you are outside the UK. I have only tried 3 different UK proxies and none worked. Maybe someone can investigate as to whether some of the proxies have already been blocked.
Hi,
I'm afraid TVCatchup won't work through any proxies at least the fast commercial ones. They've blocked access to any IP address from a UK datacentre. Looking for a solution but not found one yet. You'd need a server hosted outside one of the main datacentres.
This is the only channel I've found that has done this all the others like BBC Iplayer etc can be watched either via a UK proxy or using the VPN mode in Identity Cloaker.
spoilsports aren't they! I suppose this must affect people who are genuinely in the UK?
No it doesn't affect people in the UK unless they normally use a proxy to surf through.
They've just blocked the server IP addresses from the UK datacentres. Probably a solution but not found a simple one yet ;)
How is the connection from Australia to watch mainly UK shows and maybe US? I note there is a monthly usage of 30GB, how does that equare in terms of how many hours?
Hi Barbara,
To be honest I've never tried it from Australia, but I have a friend who uses it regularly from Perth and he says all the UK stuff works fine (he doesn't watch the US sites but there's no reason there should be a problem - more US servers coming soon)
The download cap is there just to stop people downloading 24/7 - as long as you don't download the HD versions you'll easily get over 200 hours viewing per month probably much more.
Hope that helps - best to try out the trial first if you want to test it.
wg
I have paid for the demo 10 day version, the ITV iPlayer site works well but I cannot watch NBC when I switch to the US server, I have been trying to watch "Who do you think you are?" but it just sits there and does nothing, any tips or tricks I should know about?
Hi Barbara,
Yes some sites don't work in proxy mode so you have to use the VPN function in Identity Cloaker.
http://www.anonymous-proxies.org/2009/05/proxies-and-watching-hulu-from-canada.html
On that page there's a video demonstrating how to use the VPN it 3/4 of the way down.
Actually this VPN feature will be built into the new version of Identity Cloaker which should be released in a few weeks - it will be sent out to all customers (it's being tested at the moment)
WG
Hi again WG
Well I have tried every VPN setting there is and it still doesn't let me watch NBC. I admit to not being techie but I can follow instructions, I followed your link to the letter but the webpage comes up, with Done down at the bottom but no actual video to be seen. If at all possible if you have the time do you think you could go and try and watch Who Do You Think You Are? My daughter is desperate to watch the Sarah Jessica Parker episode LOL!! If you can't be bothered then that is OK too, do you think it is because Australia is so far from the US or is that a dumb question ha ha!!
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
I'm sorry I may have confused you here as I've not watched NBC for a long time.
I've just checked and got my friend in Oz to check as well and NBC works fine in the normal proxy mode so you don't need the VPN.
The problem is more likely to be NBC Flash player which lots of people have problems with. I found on some of my computers I had to remove then reinstall Flash to get it to work.
Try removing it then reinstalling - here http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/
or try another browser if that doesn't work?
As long as you select a US proxy from Identity Cloaker it should be fine but getting the flash player working may be harder !
Send me an email using Contact Us button above if you want some help and I'll try :)
WG
Just a quick comment to let people know I have resubscribed for 3 months as I had no problems with IC at all. Only speed issues are with BBCi Player during world cup matches but that's more about the BBC than IC. Very satisfied!
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