Netflix and Roku

globalwoman wrote:

Ah, thank you noble Roku Jedi Master!  I will look into some of the suggestions you make as well as some others here. They did send instructions to set up (I think it's already configured), but I just didn't understand what I was to do with the two routers!

Your welcome, Feel free to pm me if you require emergency onsite Roku tech assistance. I am like a doctor. I am always on call.   I even have references.

Howardofocal wrote:

Thanks,  I will try them.  My problem is this:  my wife wants to watch foodnetwork.com videos.  I tried norton hotspot privacy vpn which installs on each device.  I could see the videos on my win8 laptop but not her ipad.  I then tried a site called smart dns proxy which involved a router change but the I could't see the videos on either device.  So I will try your recommendation to see what happens.

Thanks for the very quick reply

I should mention that the Proxy Services seem to promote what websites they support with their service.  If they don´t specifically program their service to access a particular website, you may not be able access certain content on that website. In the case of Foodnetwork, I have no idea.

I would think if you had the VPN hotspot active on your wife´s IPAD you should have been able to access those videos, so that surprises me.

Howardofocal wrote:

I spent an hour with norton tech support.  We could never figure why it worked on my laptop but not the ipad.  I can't see how that could be a network issue.

I do have another question.  My setup is this

I have an ETAPA modem/router/wireless gizmo.  I turned off the ETAPA wireless and plugged my Asus router into a lan port so I could use my wireless definitions for all the devices I brought with me.

So, that means there are two different places where alternate dns server addresses can be specified.  I've tried all combinations but whenever I check to see what my ip address is using various websites I always see the Etapa address, it is as nothing is being proxied.

Any ideas?

If you want to use that ASUS router plug the cable from the ETPA router lan port into the internet port of the ASUS router instead of a lan port.  You will be creating a separate network that way and any DNS settings you get assigned from the DHCP server of the ASUS router will be respected.  You can then re-enable the wireless settings on the ETAPA since that doesn´t impact the DNS assignment. Then re-connect to the ASUS router either with a cable or wirelessly and you should be using the DNS Proxy at that point.

If you don´t want to use the ASUS router, then configure the ETAPA router. Go into "Interface Setup", "Lan" and then below in the section "DNS" enter the primary and secondy DNS servers and reconnect to the Wifi.

Howardofocal wrote:

I mistyped.  I do have it plugged together as you say.  I have tried all combinations of dns server addresses on both the etapa and the asus devices but when I check to see what ip is being recognized (Using whatsmyip.org) I always see etapa ip addresses. It is as if nothing is being proxied.

The only thing I haven't tried is to remove the asus router and fire up the etapa wireless and see if it will work using just the one device.

Interesting though, when testing the norton solution which is installed on the laptop and ipad not the router I do see proxied ip addresses, but the food videos still won't work on the ipad.  They did work back in the states.  This is very puzzling.

You don´t get a different IP address with a Proxy Service.  The DNS service intercepts your proxy requests and resends them using a different IP address.  The only way you know if the DNS service is operation is by making tests. For instance, if somebody is a Netflix user I will have them access Netflix and try and access the show "Damages". If it is not available but the show Vikings is, I know they are still accessing the Latin America catalog of Netflix.

IF you are not a Netflix subscriber, then usually I can tell simply by accessing Hulu and seeing if they squawk about you being outside of a geographical area.

Howardofocal wrote:

This is getting wierd.

1) i browsed to crackle.com and got the Ecuadorian site
2) I modified the dns addresses in my asus router to point to a vpn I am testing
3) i rebooted the asus router
4) i rebooted my ipad
5) i browsed to crackel.com and got the US site as you suggested
6) booted up my laptop
7) browsed to crackle.com and got the  Ecuadorian site?   WTF. Both the ipad and laptop are using same wireless network

"I modified the dns addresses in my asus router to point to a vpn I am testing"

I assume you mean to point to a "DNS Proxy " I am testing-

Check to see what DNS address you are being assigned on the laptop. It should correspond to the DNS Proxy service addresses you configured on the router.  You can do this by going into network connections in control panel, right mouse clicking on the applicable connection, and checking its status.

Howardofocal wrote:

This seems to be the issue I've been running into.  Hulu's days down here may be limited.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2457170,00.asp

Howardofocal wrote:

Howardofocal wrote:

This seems to be the issue I've been running into.  Hulu's days down here may be limited.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2457170,00.asp

Cant speak for the VPNs, but the dns proxy services adapted to the efforts made by Hulu a couple monhs ago to prevent overseas viewing within 24 hours,

Some software or devices may force to use a specific DNS itself. For example Chromecast with every application and Roku media players for Netflix Application use Google DNS. In order to bypass Google DNS, you need to SET Static IP Routing on your router.

So when your router receives a DNS request for Google DNS (ie: 8.8.8.8), your router redirects it to Getflix (ie: 23.21.43.50). This happens inside your router lightening fast.

This is the only way not to get effected/blocked by Google DNS on Chromecast and Roku devices.

For this, you may visit this page and follow the step needed : http://support.smartdnsproxy.com/custom … uter-modem

Here are the generic instructions from that link above that resolved it for me:

Generic Instructions

If your router is not listed above, here are some generic instructions. Look for a section on your router to add static routes, there should be room for a network address, subnet mask and gateway. You need to setup the static routes like this:

Network Address: 8.8.8.8
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.255
Gateway: (use the IP address of your router - this is the IP that's in the browser URL)

Network Address: 8.8.4.4
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.255
Gateway: (use the IP address of your router)

Network Address: 208.67.222.222
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.255
Gateway: (use the IP address of your router)

Network Address: 209.244.0.3
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.255
Gateway: (use the IP address of your router)

Notes:

The "gateway" should be the internal IP address of your router, it will usually start with "192.168." or "10." - make sure you use the internal address, not the public or external address.
If there is room for a "metric", use the number 2.
If there is room for an "interface", select either "LAN" or "BRIDGE".
So that's 4 entries in total. What this does is force your router to route requests to public DNS servers to itself, which will never get routed, so they will never work, and your device will fall back to using the DNS servers you have configured.

I own the Roku stick, but think I would buy the Amazon Fire Stick if price is the same or less. With Kodi installed on the Amazon Fire, you can watch the free version of USTVnow (8 channels) while with the Roku you can watch the free version for the trial period of a month. There are other things like the international vesion of NBA league pass can't be watched on the Roku, but with the fire I can get it through Kodi.

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Scott,
I am also in Cuenca, and never had an issue with receiving the full services of Netflix. Hmmmm? Another conundrum. I watch the series with no problem. I also recently got a VPN, but was watching Breaking Bad before I set up the VPN. Go figger.

LOL. You can't fight against Breaking Bad right?

junemtaylor wrote:

Hello!  My husband and I are moving to Cuenca in January and I just bought a Roku 2 in hopes of accessing a Netflix account down there.  I am technology challenged and am wondering if Roku 2 is adequate for this?

Yes, a Roku 2 will work fine.

Nards Barley wrote:

Here is a comment I left on a tech blogaddressing the issue of whether I would buy an Amazon Fire stick or a Roku stick assuming cost was about the same.

I own the Roku stick, but think I would buy the Amazon Fire Stick if price is the same or less. With Kodi installed on the Amazon Fire, you can watch the free version of USTVnow (8 channels) while with the Roku you can watch the free version for the trial period of a month. There are other things like the international vesion of NBA league pass can't be watched on the Roku, but with the fire I can get it through Kodi.

Good call Nards about Kodi. Recently got both the amazon fire stick, and roku streaming stick. While I think the roku stick is overall better than the fire stick, have found myself primarily now only using kodi, as that has pretty much everything you need.