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Chromecast and Roku Steaming Stick


Lamar

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Hi IVG mates,

 

I am planning buy Google Chromecast or Roku's new streaming stick through my friend in USA to use it in India. I know both these devices are no use in India without Netflix, HBO GO and other apps. But still its tempting for me to buy one at least for streaming YouTube. I watch lots of stuffs in YouTube. I want to know is there any possibility to use these devices to watch Netflix and other channels through proxy or something. Which is the best one among the both?. Anyone here using chromecast here in India? I doubt anyone using Roku streaming stick here so soon. Its just released in USA.

 

Suggestions and help guys :)

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use a dns tunnel like unblock-us etc. Much better than a vpn as you will get full bandwidth of your net connection, no hops or additional delays, and much cheaper.

However, with a chromecast, you'd need to be creative in how to use it. You'd need either root it (difficult to impossible depending on which firmware version it has) or muck with your router (to block google dns ip addresses, as chromecast uses these first instead of your router, and then use unblocker dns for chromecast. All through iptables).

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Sadly, the excellent and free Tunlr closed shop recently :( Top-tier service that.

 

So here are your options :

 

a.) The OpenVPN way :

 

1. Get a cheap router (I recommend TPLINK WR740N ~800 bucks).

 

2. Flash it with Tomato or DD-WRT (recommended).

 

3. Set up OpenVPN on the router.

 

4. Stream Netflix.

 

b.) UnblockUS

 

1. Signup for a free 1 week trail.

 

2. Configure simply by change your DNS servers with the ones they give you.

 

3. Stream Netflix.

 

4. If satisfied, buy and repeat 3.

 

c.) Paid VPN :

 

1. Buy a good VPN service like Hotspot shield or one with good reviews et al.

 

2. Set up the VPN - could be easy as changing DNS or a wee bit more complex - varies from one to another.

 

3. Stream Netflix.

 

d.) Free VPN;

 

1. Grab hold of a free VPN - either a completely free one or a free extended trial or a temporary account for a paid one - you can win a few months of paid VPNs on many forums.

 

2. Setup the VPN after careful selection as some have very low bandwidth traffic limits - case in point, Security KISS is quite good but rather low on traffic serving for freeloaders (300MB per day)

 

3. Stream Netflix.

 

 

I never used a paid VPN (well NOT by paying anyway), so you gotta do your homework there.

 

Ideally OpenVPN is best but again there's usage limit iirc....check it out once.

 

UnblockUS seems to be the best option if you could shell out a few bucks. Basically any free VPN will impose some kind of limits on the user and more often than not tends to suck. No free lunch right!

 

If you do get your box and everything, gimme a shout - I might be able to hook you up with a free Netflix account for a month or two for testing. No promises though.

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I will highly recommend Roku for various reasons -

 

  1. Variety of Channels - 5000+
  2. Private Channels support, in case you don't know...they are some channels not available in Public list but you can add it in Roku account by using Special code i.e Porn Channels, Geo restricted channels in US and many more content that can't enter in Roku due to licensing issue but Roku does allow them to create a private channel either Free or paid.
  3. Chrome is not widely supported and newbie in market so you might not get proper support in future from devs ( I am talking channels )

 

Please note that since you are going for stick, I am assuming that you have a good bandwidth in order to enjoy through WIFI

 

 

Regarding restriction, as already mentioned above...you would need DNS service that will allow you to view more content such as Netflix, Hulu, etc. Also you can go for Plex service which is amazing and you will love it.

 

I can suggest you a Free service but that is for limited time, it could be for 3 months or 1 year which I am not sure

 

http://support.smartdnsproxy.com/customer/portal/articles/1347990-tp-link-router-setup-for-smart-dns-proxy

 

If you need any help with setup, you can always inbox me. I've been using since long time

Sent from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away

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I will highly recommend Roku for various reasons -

 

  1. Variety of Channels - 5000+
  2. Private Channels support, in case you don't know...they are some channels not available in Public list but you can add it in Roku account by using Special code i.e Porn Channels, Geo restricted channels in US and many more content that can't enter in Roku due to licensing issue but Roku does allow them to create a private channel either Free or paid.
  3. Chrome is not widely supported and newbie in market so you might not get proper support in future from devs ( I am talking channels )

 

Please note that since you are going for stick, I am assuming that you have a good bandwidth in order to enjoy through WIFI

 

 

Regarding restriction, as already mentioned above...you would need DNS service that will allow you to view more content such as Netflix, Hulu, etc. Also you can go for Plex service which is amazing and you will love it.

 

I can suggest you a Free service but that is for limited time, it could be for 3 months or 1 year which I am not sure

 

http://support.smartdnsproxy.com/customer/portal/articles/1347990-tp-link-router-setup-for-smart-dns-proxy

 

If you need any help with setup, you can always inbox me. I've been using since long time

 

Sent from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away

Thanks for your reply bro...I have got very good bandwidth so not a issue there...Without proxy, does Roku support YouTube here in India? I hope it does.

Are you using Roku box here in India?

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Thanks for your reply bro...I have got very good bandwidth so not a issue there...Without proxy, does Roku support YouTube here in India? I hope it does.

Are you using Roku box here in India?

 

Yes, Youtube is not restricted in India but you won't able to see Geo restricted Videos same as in PC. I am using Roku 3 in Europe to see some Indian channels. Do not use Proxy, they will eat your speed alot. go with SMART DNS in case you wanna see US channels

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Yes, Youtube is not restricted in India but you won't able to see Geo restricted Videos same as in PC. I am using Roku 3 in Europe to see some Indian channels. Do not use Proxy, they will eat your speed alot. go with SMART DNS in case you wanna see US channels

Initially I will be using only for YouTube channel. May be after few months I may go for other channels depending on my usage. So I can select DNS later. So Roku stick is just $15 more than Chromecast and comes with a remote. I should not have any problem using YouTube initially thats my main concern. What about the lag and the streaming quality?

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How's Amazon Fire TV? I'm thinking getting one of these Synology 8-bay NAS stations strictly as Plex streamer since my current data collection is kinda getting out of hand (10TB and counting). Right now I have 3 HDDs connected to Acer Revo which acts as both Plex player and streamer, but its a ghetto setup with no redundancy and I need something permanent. Already have Amazon Prime and Netflix sub so streaming is not an issue, but need something as powerful as Fire TV so the NAS won't have to do all the heavy lifting.

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If you are setting up a Synology, then why not re-purpose the Revo as the player instead of buying the Fire TV?

 

No I want it for another room. Plus Revo is kinda overkill as a streaming only device, its a proper PC running Win 8 with full keyboard and what not.

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I think Plex was one of the day one apps on Fire TV lol.

 

I was kinda dead set on Roku 3 because of audio out through remote, but now I'm hearing that it doesn't decode AC3 and only does passthrough. I'm not sure if Plex Media Server will transcode audio before streaming, and even if did it adds extra overhead on the NAS. So better safe than sorry.

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Well you make your nas a host/ server running plex.

 

Take your ipad connect to the plex server. Play the media and cast it to your chromecast.

 

It'll automatically detect if all 3 on the same network.

Great...I will try once I got the Chromecast in my hands...Expected to be delivered in couple of days...

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