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is using dns settings to get usa netflix cheating them


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Old 12-03-2015, 15:06
oilman
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They've recently made 'My List' available across all regions so whatever is in your list shows up if it's available on another region. Also you can now carry on watching an episode of a series from where you left off from one region to another.
It certainly seems to me that they're making things very user friendly for those that are using the 'Travelling' loophole.
The new "my list" option confused me as I had been watching UK netflix, and when I switched to US netflix via a VPN, I saw same list (whereas before I got a US list only). I thought Netflix had stopped VPNs buit that is not the case at the moment.

I am no expert on the law, but I am sure it is not actually illegal as such to watch Netflix USA from any country - the issue is a commercial protection issue. It may be considered a moral issue. It is really no different to people who watch SKY via a satellite in Europe (SKY don't try too hard to stop this revenue stream),

I am surer Netflix will eventually ban vpns and dns as a gesture to their suppliers, but as "nature abhors a vacuum" some bright spark will find a way around the ban and all we we will have is a perennial "cat and mouse chase",

Interestingly, if you watch netflix in Europe, their regions are generally more US orientated (as they have little local content). Content protection in Europe is a contentious issue as we are supposed to be a free market!

It's bullshit to expect any changes of course - just look at EU caving in a few days ago on removing roaming charges for mobile phones - I wonder how many Eurocrats are now getting a "special deal"?

Ultimately I will carry on using Netflix USA until I am told it is illegal, and I have a strong risk of prosecution, or NETFIX make it impossible for me to do so - then I will stop them getting revenue.

It is time the media industry (especially US) woke up to the fact there are 7 billion people worldwide, so opening up the markets world could be a major source of income, Of course piracy will abound, but that is going to happen anyway. But get as much revenue as you can from legitimate souces. I pay £6 a month for Netflix, and £5 for a VPN/DNS (netflix being main reason). I could pay say a 50% premium to netflix (£9) using their own VPN and cancel my VPN - win-win situation for both myself and netflix!

If netflix and a couple of the media distributors (Amazon etc) were really brave and got together, they could break the mould and say the barriers have to come down, and they will not play movies that are region protected, then I think many companies would start to panic! Of course (like EU roaming charges on phones), this probably won't happen, as it will suit top execs in Netflix, Amazon etc. not to do this!
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Old 12-03-2015, 15:19
-GONZO-
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I pay £6 a month for Netflix, and £5 for a VPN/DNS (netflix being main reason). I could pay say a 50% premium to netflix (£9) using their own VPN and cancel my VPN - win-win situation for both myself and netflix!
£5 for VPN/DNS, seems a bit more expensive than most other services. Who are you using?
Or are you confusing $ for £ ?
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Old 12-03-2015, 23:03
Will_Bee
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Is this something that's possible to do on a smart tv?
Very simple to do on smart TV. I have a Samsung 3D.

See my post #14

No need to pay any companies any money or anything crazy like that, just key in a couple of numbers yourself.
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Old 12-03-2015, 23:10
-GONZO-
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Very simple to do on smart TV. I have a Samsung 3D.

See my post #14

No need to pay any companies any money or anything crazy like that, just key in a couple of numbers yourself.
Which numbers are you using?
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Old 13-03-2015, 00:42
oilman
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changing dns settings takes all of 30 seconds not much effort even for the most lazy
Whilst not difficult, it is still a pain to do regularly. I have two router connected on same subnet (dchp off on second). Each router has separate wifi ssid. Second router is setup with smart DNS (for USA) and primary router is setup with DNS of ISP for uk. Simply connect to appropriate router as needed.

Actually had to set it up this way as I can't change DNS on my sky box.
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Old 13-03-2015, 01:32
Matt D
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If you used Unblock-US, you could just switch Netflix regions at will via the Unblock-US website, removing any need to switch DNS settings back and forth.
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Old 13-03-2015, 08:22
Will_Bee
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If you used Unblock-US, you could just switch Netflix regions at will via the Unblock-US website, removing any need to switch DNS settings back and forth.
No way would I give my card details to a site like that.

Its easy to key in American server address to get same result.

As I say, I don't have much interest in other country Netflix anyway, its not a big thing.
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Old 13-03-2015, 09:08
-GONZO-
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No way would I give my card details to a site like that.

Its easy to key in American server address to get same result.

As I say, I don't have much interest in other country Netflix anyway, its not a big thing.
What do you mean a site like that? Unblock-Us are a genuine business that provide a very good service and a lot more secure than just finding randoms.
Anyhow there's no need to give anyone any card details as you pay by PayPal.
You might think it's better just to use random numbers found online, but you have no idea who they belong to.
Even some sites that provide info for such things give warnings about random numbers
Free DNS codes stop working every few days, leaving you to change them over and over again.
Recently, hackers have been distributing free DNS codes throughout the web to be used in order to steal your sensitive information. (Credit card numbers, etc)
We have no way of checking if the DNS codes posted here are safe or not. The same goes for any other website that posts DNS codes. It’s use at your own risk.
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Old 13-03-2015, 09:39
Will_Bee
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What do you mean a site like that? Unblock-Us are a genuine business that provide a very good service and a lot more secure than just finding randoms.
Anyhow there's no need to give anyone any card details as you pay by PayPal.
You might think it's better just to use random numbers found online, but you have no idea who they belong to.
Even some sites that provide info for such things give warnings about random numbers
You seem a bit overly defensive of this unblock company, what you do actually know about them?

They are a private company, and they are not clear on what information they store or capture. They could easily be collecting this data and selling it, or even capturing it for later use.

Every website you browse will involve you connecting to their DNS to request an IP and even though they should reply with the correct IP, it does mean they effectivily know every website you ever visit.

You give this provider about the same trust as you give your local ISP,both have nearly full control over your traffic and can manipulate what they want, dont place blnd faith in a web bases business just because they have a nice looking front end site,If they are entitled to this level of trust you must decide for yourself.
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Old 13-03-2015, 09:54
darkjedimaster
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No way would I give my card details to a site like that.

Its easy to key in American server address to get same result.

As I say, I don't have much interest in other country Netflix anyway, its not a big thing.
Shows like "Married With Children", are not available on the UK or USA Netflix, but are available via the Netherlands Netflix. Thanks to the likes of Unblock Us, I can just change to the Netherlands region without the need of going back into settings and altering DNS numbers everytime, I just use the region selector and it's done.
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Old 13-03-2015, 10:03
-GONZO-
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You seem a bit overly defensive of this unblock company, what you do actually know about them?
Not overly defensive at all and have no loyayties to them personally, I just like the service I receive (not just for Netflix) over others I have used in the past for both usage and support.
I do however know someone that works for them who also deals with the NetProtect service too.
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Old 13-03-2015, 10:30
Will_Bee
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Shows like "Married With Children", are not available on the UK or USA Netflix, but are available via the Netherlands Netflix. Thanks to the likes of Unblock Us, I can just change to the Netherlands region without the need of going back into settings and altering DNS numbers everytime, I just use the region selector and it's done.
This is not the kind of thing I would pay for access to, but each to their own.

Like I said I just tried the US Netflix once by changing the DNS on my smart TV and was not overly impressed, I just watched a couple of family guy and that was it.

People using these unblock sites to change router settings and then using computers and tablets and phones through that router, are putting a lot of trust in these web based companies.

Here is the full terms of unblock US https://www.unblock-us.com/terms-of-use
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Old 13-03-2015, 12:15
Philip Wales
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^^I personally don't the only thing set up for un block us is Fire TV.
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Old 13-03-2015, 13:29
Matt D
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I would much rather trust the DNS servers of a well established company such as Unblock-US than use any old random and anonymous DNS servers found via a bit of Googling - There'd be a much higher risk of e.g. DNS hijacking if using those compared to using Unblock-US's.

And as -GONZO- said, they take PayPal so there's no need to give them your card details.

What is it you dislike about Unblock US's Terms of use, Will_Bee?
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Old 13-03-2015, 13:31
gother
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No way would I give my card details to a site like that.

Its easy to key in American server address to get same result.

As I say, I don't have much interest in other country Netflix anyway, its not a big thing.
You can use paypal which is what most do probably.
As for the site it is perfectly safe and a genuine business.
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Old 13-03-2015, 19:54
THE ROTCOD
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What do you mean a site like that? Unblock-Us are a genuine business that provide a very good service and a lot more secure than just finding randoms.
Anyhow there's no need to give anyone any card details as you pay by PayPal.
You might think it's better just to use random numbers found online, but you have no idea who they belong to.
Even some sites that provide info for such things give warnings about random numbers
my free codes have been working for 10 months and at 16 mb 185 51 194 194
185 51 195 195
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Old 13-03-2015, 20:48
-GONZO-
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my free codes have been working for 10 months and at 16 mb 185 51 194 194
185 51 195 195
Temping to give it a go, but I don't think I could go back to just using the US & UK regions, missing out on so much more with all the other netflix regions otherwise.
Then on top of that I'd not have access to all the other regional streaming aps on AppleTV.
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Old 14-03-2015, 00:02
Matt D
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my free codes have been working for 10 months and at 16 mb 185 51 194 194
185 51 195 195
And you have no issues with trusting some random DNS settings you found via a search or forum or whatever?
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Old 14-03-2015, 00:15
Will_Bee
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And you have no issues with trusting some random DNS settings you found via a search or forum or whatever?
I think it is safer using any old numbers if you are just changing the DNS on a smart telly, the only internet that gets used on my telly is Netflix, YouTube, weather, and BBC iPlayer, 4od.

This is safer than people changing router DNS, and then entrusting their internet life to a we based company, that could be anyone. I bet some people even do banking and web purchases while using these companies DNS.

So I hope ROTCOD has just changed his TV DNS for the last 10 months and not his modem/router.
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Old 14-03-2015, 03:35
Matt D
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I'd agree with that.

At least with a smart TV, you're unlikely to be doing anything sensitive other its internet connection.
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Old 14-03-2015, 06:32
Bingo_
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It's no more cheating than charging UK Netflix subscribers more for less content. I mean it's not as though their pricing structure takes content into consideration. They don't pitch Netflix UK at a price that takes into consideration that this or that series/movie is missing.

If a game released in the US had twice as many levels as the one they released in the UK but the UK one worked out more expensive, how guilty would you feel about buying the US version to enjoy all the levels of the game?

I'd guess the answer would be - not at all.
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Old 14-03-2015, 14:12
Victim Of Fate
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It's not cheating them, it's cheating the people who made the programmes and the people who own the UK rights.

Consider this example:

I've made a TV show and it airs on television. Netflix offer me £100k an episode to have it on Netflix in the US. I tell them that for an extra £50k an episode, they can have it on Netflix in the UK as well. Netflix decline the opportunity. So I sell the UK rights to, say, Amazon. Amazon pay that money because they want people to buy Amazon Instant in the UK. Instead, what happens is that people access US Netflix. So Amazon decide to pay less money. Meanwhile, Netflix is getting extra subscribers from the UK, but they aren't paying the programme makers any more money because they aren't getting any extra rights.

So who loses out? Not Netflix, because they're getting more money and not paying any more for the programme. Not the consumer, because they're just paying the same amount of money for Netflix US. The only people losing out are me (because Amazon are paying less than the content is worth) and Amazon (because they've still paid for something but people aren't buying their service).
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Old 14-03-2015, 14:24
Bingo_
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But even in your example the producers of the show aren't missing out as anything they fail to get from Amazon UK they do get from Netflix US.

But if course it doesn't work like that anyway. Amazon/Netflix don't pay per week. They'll pay a lump sum at the start of the contract for X number of years and anything they make or lose during that period is their own business. The producer of the content gets the same amount whether hundreds of millions view it or nobody bothers to watch it at all.
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Old 14-03-2015, 14:59
Victim Of Fate
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But even in your example the producers of the show aren't missing out as anything they fail to get from Amazon UK they do get from Netflix US.

But if course it doesn't work like that anyway. Amazon/Netflix don't pay per week. They'll pay a lump sum at the start of the contract for X number of years and anything they make or lose during that period is their own business. The producer of the content gets the same amount whether hundreds of millions view it or nobody bothers to watch it at all.


I know that. The point is that if nobody watches on the right service in the UK, then that service will pay less money in the future (say for the second season). Meanwhile, Netflix isn't going to pay more for the US rights in the future, because why would they?

And certainly, Amazon are being cheated, having paid all that money while nobody chooses to take up their service.
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Old 14-03-2015, 17:23
Bingo_
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I know that. The point is that if nobody watches on the right service in the UK, then that service will pay less money in the future (say for the second season). Meanwhile, Netflix isn't going to pay more for the US rights in the future, because why would they?

And certainly, Amazon are being cheated, having paid all that money while nobody chooses to take up their service.
That's like arguing that buying a packet of crisps from Tesco and taking it into the Odean is "cheating" the Odeon and Walkers out of money as:

1) nobody is buying crisps from the Odeon
2) if nobody buys crisps from there then they'll stop ordering them

You'd have to be quite morally rigid to feel guilty about things like this or to think you're "cheating" anyone.
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