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How to Use a BBC Iplayer Proxy Abroad

May 8, 2013 TV
6 comments

You may have noticed that many of the big web sites have decided that they are not too keen on this big, free, sharing model of the internet.  Not so long ago you could log in to a machine anywhere in the world and surf around with impunity – but not any longer.

The businesses involved have decided they prefer a sort of restrictive model that also makes them lots of cash. So now people get filtered based on their location  - for example forget watching BBC Iplayer abroad in the US or Japan for free, it’s not going to happen (well not without some sneakiness of course). Yep and the loveable BBC have decided against the public spirited World Service model of sending out their content for free, instead they restrict it just to people in the UK. This is especially annoying for the people like me who already pay the license fee but can’t watch the BBC when they’re out of the country.

But don’t worry here’s a way which will allow you to access anything you like including the BBC, Hulu irrespective of your location.  It doesn’t matter where you’re based, you can choose.  The solution works in most scenarios so for an example – here’s how to use a proxy to access BBC Iplayer outside the UK.

BBC Iplayer Proxy Workaround.

Firing up BBC Iplayer outside the UK you’ll pretty soon try and watch something and be greeted with the following message.

How to Watch BBC IPlayer by Proxy

Ha Ha No IPlayer for You

It looks like some technical wizardry of the highest order, but fortunately for us it’s not.  When we connect to BBC Iplayer, the site records your IP address and looks up which country it’s registered in – if it’s a UK address the show will start playing otherwise you get the above platitude.

Now for these illustrations I’m going to use my subscription to Identity Cloaker, you can theoretically use free UK proxies for this though. Unfortunately finding any free proxies capable of streaming video is a full time occupation but if you try it – good luck !!

Choosing a UK Proxy for IPlayer

Choose a UK Proxy for IPlayer

I just open Identity Cloaker and scroll down to select one of the UK proxies and that’s it.  From this point even though I’m connecting through the Wifi at an overpriced Spanish hotel in Barcelona – it doesn’t matter.  The BBC will think I’m in the UK as it looks at the IP address of the proxy server and not mine.

So using a BBC Iplayer proxy works incredibly well, here’s what I see now.

BBC Iplayer in Spain

Latest Dr Who from BBC Iplayer

Here’s a video of the process …that I hope explains it.

Instead of the warning when watching BBC Player using a proxy I get the play button and can watch whatever I want.  In fact the IP check is at start of the show so if I need to I can just disconnect from the proxy using Identity Cloaker software and stream it directly through my Spanish connection.

Is it enough to cheer me up after just having my wallet stolen in a Barcelona bar?   Well probably not but being a fanatical Dr Who fan it might just save me from an evening spent drowning my sorrows drinking overpriced San Miguel from the Minibar.

(Note to all visiting Barcelona  - if some nice couple seem overly concerned about marks you have on the back of your jacket and offer to help you.  Then punch them/call police – you are having your wallet stolen – yes I did fall for it!) 

Just for the record – you can use a free proxy for this, the reason a legendary skinflint like me doesn’t is simple.  It generally takes several hours of searching to find a fast enough UK proxy to stream from the BBC Iplayer site.  That actually wouldn’t be too bad if you only had to do it once but the  next day it will almost certainly have disappeared.  For a one off it might be worth it though.

Here’s the link for Identity Cloaker – I can recommend the 10 day trial if you’re just away on a trip or holiday, or just to see if it works.  There are loads of other services who offer something similar though, but this is simply the one I found to be fastest and best value.

If you want to watch using an Ipad – try this post about watching BBC Iplayer on the Ipad Abroad.

Updated – 07/05/2013

How to Watch BBC Iplayer on Your Ipad From Outside the UK

February 26, 2013 Apple iOS / ninja / TV
22 comments

If you want to watch BBC Iplayer on a PC/Laptop – Try this post first – How to Use a Proxy to access Iplayer

My brand new shiny IPad has been in my possession for a few months now, but to be honest I’m still not sure how it works. My lack of knowledge is mainly due to the fact that I don’t get to use it that much as all my family just loves it.   It’s nearly always in use for web browsing, games, apps and that sort of thing.

However after writing this post about watching the BBC Iplayer outside the UK on a PC above, I kept getting emails about whether you could also use Identity Cloaker on the iPad as well.

Anyway so I thought I’d better check it out  and surprisingly, it’s actually pretty simple to do.  The reason is that the vast majority of their security servers are VPN enabled. That means  all you have to do is set a simple VPN connection on your IPad to a specific server and then you can enable it when required.   The functionality is built into the iPad so nothing too difficult is required – let’s show an example for accessing the BBC Iplayer channels abroad.

So How Can You Watch BBC Iplayer Abroad? Even From the US on Your IPad?

Right, so most of us have discovered that if you happen to be outsde the UK, then the BBC Iplayer won’t work properly.  When you connect to the IPlayer site it checks your IP address to see where you are located.  If it discovers that you are connecting from outside the United Kingdom then you won’t be able to watch anything ! To be fair, BBC Iplayer is not the only media site to do this.   Hulu blocks all non-US access – the same goes for ABC, NBC and Pandora too. The great little media player from the French broadcaster M6Replay is also limited to access within France (if you know someone learning French get them to check it out – it’s great practice watching the Simpsons in French!)

The solution on the PC is very simple, you just use something like Identity Cloaker to conceal your true IP address and present one from the correct country.  The solution is actually similar on the IPad (you can use the same technique on the Mac/Iphone/Ipod as well) – you just need to connect to a server based in the UK (or which ever country you need).

For this all you need to do is to set up a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to the country in question, for the BBC it’s obviously the UK.

Here’s how you set up the VPN on the iPad it takes about a minute if  you have the information to hand.

On your iPad -

  1. Select Settings
  2. Select General
  3. Select Networks
  4. Select VPN

This should bring you to this screen -

Ipad VPN Connection Screen

You can see in this screen I’ve already set up a US VPN which I use for Hulu and Pandora.  Here you just need to select Add VPN Configuration and you should reach this screen.

It looks complicated but honestly it’s not.

You just need to leave it set to L2TP at the top and then put the following details in.  You’ll need to get the details from Identity Cloaker for section 2 and 6 which you can find in their members area.  If you’re using a different VPN provider it’s likely you’ll have to do the same (although a couple publish the information I think)

  1. Description – Give it a name like UK VPN, US VPN then you can select quickly which country you need
  2. Server – Get the enabled VPN server names from the members area.
  3. Account Name – Your IDC Username
  4. RSA SecurID – Ignore this
  5. Password – Your IDC password.
  6. Secret – Get the VPN Secret Name from the members area.
That’s the tricky bit over with, next click Save from the top right hand corner.  The next step is to enable your VPN connection.
Connecting to the UK VPN
To do this you simply select whichever VPN configuration that you need, so if you’re in the US and want to watch the BBC then create and enable a UK VPN.  In this screen just select enable and it will turn on your VPN – this will route your connection through the UK VPN servers.
The status will change to connected and in the top left hand side of your Ipad it will show that the VPN is connected like this.
UK VPN Connected
When this VPN is connected, all your traffic is encrypted and routed through whichever server you are connected to.  It’s best to disconnect after watching unless you want all your browsing routed through the UK.
If you haven’t got Identity Cloaker yet – I can definitely recommend it, it’s probably best to try the 10 day trial first to see how you get on with it.  They have a very professional set up and the servers can cope with streaming video without any issues .  They have many UK and US servers plus ones in France, Germany, Poland, Ireland, Sweden, Australia to name but a few – all included in the subscription.
This method  should also work with other VPN providers who have set their servers up properly though – just ask them.
07/04/13 – Updated section on VPN – as someone pointed out it was a bit rubbish.