get TV abroad

We are going to go in to some details here about how to watch US and UK TV abroad, but if you just want to know 'the answer' and get viewing Hulu outside the US or BBC iPlayer outside the UK then the software you want is called Identity Cloaker, and they have a 10 day trial for 5 Euros.

However you will find details on this siteabout how to setup this program to watch Hulu and iPlayer abroad so its worth reading on! (honest!)

UPDATE December 2009: There is a new version of Identity Cloaker available which allows you to disable Encryption, if you have ANY problems with connection speed when watching TV I highly recomend you try this option. From Dodo ISP in Australia I have seen speeds increase by a factor of 4 by using this new option! I have never seen BBC iPlayer abroad working so well! Same great price as before but now better than ever!

UPDATE July 2010: Just tested this with Sky TV and it works great! So if you want to watch Sky TV Abroad you can.

One of the best ways to watch TV online is to get it directly from the broadcasting company, or one of their partner networks. Most of the big networks including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, SciFi, Comedy Central from the US and BBC, ITV, Ch4, Ch5 and around 20 more from the UK broadcast their shows direct and online with great quality pictures and sound.

If you live in the country the channel is broadcast in then things are pretty easy, just go to their own website and watch (US TV, UK TV). Job Done!

However if you don't live in the UK or US this is not going to work, the TV companies have systems in place to restrict their content to local residents, so in theory is not possible to watch BBC iPlayer outside of the UK.

Dont worry though as thankfully this little problem is very easy to get around, what you need is either a proxy server or VPN (Virtual Private Network) linking you to the broadcast country, or better year both.

These essentially will make it appear your computer is located somewhere else, by routing all your data to a another computer within that country.

Sounds complex? Well it probably is, but you don't need to worry about any of that. There are a number of providers out there, and I have used a few in  past few years, but for well over a year I only use one package, Identity Cloaker. Now this software package was not originally designed to let you watch TV abroad, it was made simply as security package to hide the location of your computer online, for whatever purpose you need. This however is a bit of a bonus, because you can use the software to increase your online security when you are not viewing TV. None of the other packages for watch Hulu or iPlayer abroad can offer this advantage!

Identity Cloaker

Identity Cloaker is a security application designed to be portable, you can install it on a USB stick and carry it with you wherever you go. It requires no actual installation as such, no part of Windows is changed when you put it on your computer, however this comes at the cost of not being able to make it look as pretty as other applications. This tradeoff is well worth it however, as along with a the portability the application will run on limited Windows account (no need to be an admin to run this). This make it one of the easiest to use and more portable ways of watching iPlayer abroad.

Purchasing the program is simple, they accept multiple forms of payment (including Paypal) and you will be up an running in just a few minutes. One great thing is this company does not auto rebill you, when your subs end they will send you an email reminder and that is it.

'Installation' is very easy, you have the choice to put the program on your computer like you would most programs or to install just to a folder. As mentioned above this folder can even be on a USB flash drive allowing you to take the program with you (TV in the office anybody?).

Once installed you need to enter your license key, this key only unlocks the software so even if you installed it to a USB drive and it was stolen people can't use your account.

The program will then download a list of locations you can use, at the time of writting these were Germany, Netherlands, France, UK, Sweden, Canada and the USA.

Simply select your chosen country from the list, press connect and you computer is now 'located' within that country!

(Of course in the actual program the IPs are not greyed out like above!)

To use the connection simply open up Internet Explorer, Firefox is supported too, when prompted enter your Identity Cloaker username and password and go to any site you want to see. It is really as simple as that.

You are now 'virtually' in the country you selected!

So if you are outside the UK and want to watch BBC iPlayer while abroad just select a UK proxy, if you want to download from BBC iPlayer or watch 4oD you will need to setup the connection as a VPN (details of this are at the bottom of the 'Software Setup' page). Hulu also requires that you use the VPN function rather than the proxy option, I have a video of Hulu working from Australia in the US TV section.

Now as they say a picture paints a thousand words so the videos below show you how quick and easy it is to install and use the software, just order from the Identity Cloaker website to start watching in just a few minutes!

The first video shows the program in action, so you can see just how well its works for watching BBC iPlayer abroad:

The second video shows the installation process for the software, if the video link is down you can also view it here.

As you can see the whole process is quick and easy, you will be watching iPlayer or other UK and US TV channels in minutes!

So why not try the 10 day trial and if you enjoy BBC iPlayer and other UK & US TV channel, remember will never auto rebill you!

I have travelled a lot and used this program without problems in USA (New York, Las Vegas, Houston) Caribean (Antigua, Jamaica), Europe (London, Malaga, Moscow), Asia (Bangkok, Chiang Mai),  Australia (Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast) without problems. If you have problems then do contact Identity Cloaker support directly, as this really works from just about anywhere in the world!

Oh lastly the product also boasts a 2 weeks money back guarentee with the software:

You can see it in action again in our video demonstration of BBC iPlayer running in Australia.

Get Identity Cloaker And Enjoy iPlayer Outside the UK

TIPS

• In many cases once you have started your TV stream you can turn off the software hiding you, this is becuase the TV companies only check your location before they start sending you the TV show. This can help you to keep a good fast connection, and also stop you ever reaching your download limits.
• If the TV stream is not smooth try using a lower resolution stream, there is often an option on the site to change the resolution/quality. When viewing on a laptop you will often find you see little or no difference between high and medium quality. When trying to watch BBC iPlayer abroad in a country with poor internet selecting 'User lower bandwidth version' from the bottom of the screen to resolve your issues.
• As mentioned at the top of this page using the new 'Disable Encryption' option in Identity Cloaker can resolve many issues of speed and reliability.

So if you want an option for watching iPlayer outside the UK, Hulu outside the US or any other combination Identity Cloaker is truly the best value option on the market today.

If you have any problem you can contact Identity Cloaker support, they can sort out most problems, or drop me a note and I will try and sort you out.

P.S. As you can see above its not just BBC iPlayer and other TV packages you can use Identity Cloaker for, it will also let you listen to US radio abroad or visit sites that may be restricted in your country!