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Original poster

Hooray, I can get BBC abroad on iplayer!

38 replies

earthcapricorn · 03/04/2008 19:09

Just wanted to share the good news that it is possible to get BBC abroad without spending hours at the computer looking for elusive 'proxies'. I finally stumbled on the very nice people at International Alliance Privacy Services and they have fixed it for me so I can watch BBC iplayer from my home in Sweden. It costs less than £2 per week and we have access to all the children's favourite programmes at last. Just in time for the return of Doctor Who too!

OP posts:
hollyhobbie · 03/04/2008 19:20

good news! will check it out.

Earlybird · 03/04/2008 19:26

How does it work exactly? And where are International Alliance based/how can they be contacted? Is it legal?

Love the idea, as I am currently blocked by BBC too, as am no longer in UK....

Original poster
earthcapricorn · 03/04/2008 20:17

As far as I know it is a legal loophole. They have a server in the UK and you login via that. I'm not very good with all the technical stuff and I had tried to follow instructions from a forum thread to find free UK proxies but it was incredibly time consuming, not to mention a bit dubious.

Earlybird, I'm not entirely sure where they are based but they can be found by googling International Alliance Privacy Services. They do a free trial and are very helpful.

The kids have accepted relocation much better now!

OP posts:
Original poster
earthcapricorn · 03/04/2008 20:21

The company that sorts it out can be found here.

I'm off to watch Mitchell and Webb now with OH...

OP posts:
Earlybird · 03/04/2008 21:43

Thanks for info. Will check it out.

iastaff · 04/04/2008 01:48

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by Mumsnet.

alipiggie · 04/04/2008 02:05

Don't mean to be sceptical but was this thread just a means for Interntaional Alliance to get more money. Since IASTAFF comes on and says Thanks Angela

UnderRated · 04/04/2008 02:10

Hmmm, I thought that too, Ali. And there is a section for business ads too.

alipiggie · 04/04/2008 02:13

Glad it's not just me - I've reported it to MNHQ btw!!

Earlybird · 04/04/2008 02:25

You know - I had that thought too, and did a search on earthcapricorn before I replied initially to see if she is a new poster. She has posted a couple of times on one or two other threads in the last week. Obviously no way of knowing if she's recently joined, a longtime lurker , a namechanger or a business ad disguised as a discussion....

alipiggie · 04/04/2008 02:28

lol Earlybird I did the same. It was mainly the fact that IASTAFF called her by her rl name obviously.

UnderRated · 04/04/2008 02:37

We're a suspicious bunch!

It was iastaff's post that made me . I think it was a little but cheeky.

But I do want to watch the BBC. I'm surprisingly annoyed that, having always paid my license fee, I am not allowed to watch it over here. They should have a special way of letting Brits watch even if we live overseas

alipiggie · 04/04/2008 02:39

In HOlland I could . But heck, let's not go there lol.

UnderRated · 04/04/2008 02:39

a little bit

hellish · 04/04/2008 02:50

we just sorted this last night, you need to get a uK vpn address. We paid $15 for one month, (or $60 6 months).
Now can watch BBC iplayer, itv and haven't tried Sky yet.
BTW very suspicious Angela

Original poster
earthcapricorn · 04/04/2008 07:37

Oh dear, I feel like I'm in the dock now . I am a real British mum, living in Sweden. The tip I left here was genuine and I have no interest in the company itself other than I have been very impressed with how well the service worked and how helpful they have been. I was as surprised as anyone else when they popped up here to thank me, I don't know how they found the post!

The reason I wanted to leave the tip is because I am very glad to have BBC for me and my family after trawling the internet for ways to fix it, only to come across technical threads on getting free UK proxies which take ages to find and are, as I said, pretty dubious. I wanted to share the information so that other mums don't waste their precious time. There are far more important and enjoyable things to be doing when you are a mum like posting on Mumsnet - which I am also glad I have discovered recently. Isn't the internet a marvelous thing...

(Reading back, I can see why you might have been suspicious but there was no point leaving my original post without telling you where to find the service )

OP posts:
ernest · 04/04/2008 07:56

Or you could get freeview from Sky and a satellite dish, then you've got all the usual UK TV for a 1 off cost (decoder & dish, plus about £20 for card) and no on going costs. If you're abroad for years, £100 a year for just BBC would amount to quite a lot. As it is, we already had all the equipment, so only had to pay a one off £20 for the card. Just crossing fingeres it'll all work in Germany when we move in 3 weeks, but am sure it will. Boys will be devastated. We've waited so long for new serioes of dcotor who, think there'll be riots if we can't actaully see past the 1st couple of episodes

Original poster
earthcapricorn · 04/04/2008 08:23

LOL I know what you mean about Dr Who, moving children abroad is difficult enough but the fact that we would still keep up with the latest invasion of earth was the deal clincher with DS.

The only problem with the Sky setup is that you need a big dish and if the weather is bad you lose the signal. We tried this when we first moved to Seden last year and missed a lot of Christmas telly (though luckily the clouds cleared in time for the Dr Who Christmas special!)

BTW, I think you can access ITV and Channel 4 online programmes with the remote server I'm using, I just haven't tried them yet. I will find out and post back here.

I am not a telly addict, but it is a good way for the children to keep up with their own language and culture - that's my excuse anyway

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Original poster
earthcapricorn · 05/04/2008 08:04

So all of the Miss Marples here have gone on to other cases...

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ernest · 05/04/2008 09:02

one final point - watching something as a family huddled around a computer monitor isn't exactly the same ambience as sitting in the comfort fo your front room, in front of a big screen with decent sound. We don't have a big dish, it's just a normal size, you can't see it anyway, unless you go outseide and strain your neck, and yes, in bad weather we can loose the signal, but this isn't very often ime, and we're right on the signla border too. These problems would be even less away from the border. I still wouldn't be tempted to swapp sky for comp.

debinaustria · 05/04/2008 09:28

You can also download tv programmes from the various torrent sites in the UK. Dh does this, then saves them on a USB key which our dvd player accepts. So we get to watch the old Dr who on tv on BBC Prime on a Saturday night and from this weekend we'll be watching the new Dr Who on a Sunday once it's been downloaded.

HI Ernest!!

Rosa · 05/04/2008 09:35

well I for one will be giving this a go.
THANK YOU for the info .
We can't do the sky thing as our dish is pointed in the wrong direction apparently and we cannot put another one up !

Original poster
earthcapricorn · 05/04/2008 09:40

We don't all huddle round a computer to watch the BBC iplayer! We are lucky to have a projector and plug the comp in to that but you can also plug it into TV with a monitor cable - that's easy.

OP posts:
Original poster
earthcapricorn · 05/04/2008 16:00

Update on Dr Who, for all those mums stationed abroad - it starts today!! (I thought it was later this month)

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SirJimmySeville · 31/05/2008 04:36

I've just got a Slingbox, which means i can watch my home TV on the other side of the Atlantic, which is pretty amazing. It does require you having a TV set/Sky or tame co-operative relative in the UK, but it works really well, I can even Sky+ things so I can watch them at the right time of day.