I am a torrenter and want to stop

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AnfieldBoy

43 posts

Geek

#138230 26-Dec-2013 10:40

Good morning geek zone network, I trust we are all sated after a glorious Christmas.

So my conundrum is I want to access tv content semi legitimately, contemplating a Apple TV, unblock us and Netflix.

.....but how does one go about accessing HBO content without resorting to torrents? I hate Sky so that is not a option.

Is HBO go available as a standalone service or does it require a HBO subscription?

My internet is VDSL and relatively decent within NZ third world standards.

So HBO and Showtime content, how is everyone accessing it?

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#957478 26-Dec-2013 11:12

NZ does not have 3rd world internet.

ascroft

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#957480 26-Dec-2013 11:20

Have a read of this thread:

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=106&topicid=133672

common sense is not very common

surfisup1000

5288 posts

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#957483 26-Dec-2013 11:40

johnr: NZ does not have 3rd world internet.

There certainly are many places where you could consider internet to be below standard.

cyril7

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#957484 26-Dec-2013 11:42

NZ does not have 3rd world internet.

Cyril

AnfieldBoy

43 posts

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#957504 26-Dec-2013 11:54

Nice trolling there evidently you are deluded about the quality of the internet within NZ.

Maybe third world is too harsh, second world maybe.

sbiddle

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#957521 26-Dec-2013 12:16

AnfieldBoy: Nice trolling there evidently you are deluded about the quality of the internet within NZ.

Maybe third world is too harsh, second world maybe.

I'm surprised you consider a country with 10Mbps ADSL2+ to 84% of premises and VDSL2 to over 50% of premises a 2nd or 3rd world country. Most other countries with similar VDSL2 deployments think they have some of the best internet in the world.

If we're 2nd or 3rd world then Australia would have to have 10th world internet since they don't even have VDSL2 at all or FTTN.

AnfieldBoy

43 posts

Geek

#957534 26-Dec-2013 12:26

The internal infrastructure is good, the problem comes from the limited international bandwidth.

Having only 2 cables in and out of a country is pitiful and IMHO third world.

Totally off topic from my initial post.

Have a nice day all, I am out of this petulant place.

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cyril7

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#957537 26-Dec-2013 12:34

Just because its only one real provider does not make it the issue, SCC is only a small % loaded, wholesale pricing has plummeted, the only time you should notice an issue with international related issues is in what you pay for X,Y,Z data cap from you ISP, other than that SCC and international transit is not the problem, any other issues are result from us living down the bottom of a dead end ally thats 70-100mS further than someone in the US, not much you can do to fix that than move.

Cyril

chevrolux

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#957550 26-Dec-2013 13:56

So anyway, before we go off topic lol.....

Don't put all your eggs in one basket when it comes to streaming services. I personally use Netflix the most but also get on to Vudu regulary.
Netflix is great when you just want to watch any old random movie. Their suggestions are quite spot on after you have watched a few movies. Also Netflix is dead cheap which is great.
If you see a new movie and really want to watch it then Vudu is the one for that. It has the latest new releases before the others. It is quite expensive though.

I still download TV series as I haven't really looked for a service that gives it to you the same day as that states. I am sure there is one but torrenting works fine for me.

In terms of devices I have a NAS with the downloaded content on it (FreeNAS running on ESXi host) and then have a separate Ubunutu VM for web/mail and other services - Plex is one of them. Plex organises all the content and makes it available via DLNA for the rest of the network.
Then on the main TV is a Roku which plays Netflix and Vudu as well as the Plex content. Apple TV would do the same I guess I just refuse to buy in to Apple ecosystem.

PoHq

466 posts

Ultimate Geek

#957637 26-Dec-2013 17:01

Nice to see thread back on topic. Although I have to say NZ has some world class internet. People who think otherwise probably need to leave the country to see this.

Anyway, as previously stated spread your legally obtained media over a few services, Currently I use Netflix, spotify, and Unblock US which gives me the UK on demand services. All this for a very reasonable price. I'm considering Hulu Plus also to reduce the torrenting further. As far as HBO goes you'll need to get Sky or subscribe to HBO GO online and watch online or watch via Airplay to Apple TV or something similar.

It's practically all there just scattered across multiple services and devices. It's just a shame we have to do it all cloak and dagger behind Unblock US.

Admittedly there is some outlay required, subscriptions and hardware etc but if you truly want to pay for and legally obtain your media it's possible.

profrink

257 posts

Ultimate Geek

#957640 26-Dec-2013 17:35

Leave the country and you will soon see NZ connectivity is no where as bad as people like to say it is.

Anyway, if you go the Apple TV route - the HBO Go app should do the trick.

Batman

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#957647 26-Dec-2013 17:46

2 cables for 4 million people and 10 cables for 30 million ... hmm ...

sbiddle

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#957657 26-Dec-2013 18:39

Connectivity is both way off topic, but also very relative to this thread.

The fact NZ has one cable is a moot point (except for redundancy). Over 40% of international traffic now leaving NZ is heading to Australia because Australia is now a global CDN hub. SXC is nowhere near capacity, and the pricing paid on SXC is identical to what people in Australia pay (where they have multiple cables), and is dropping every year.

As more and more traffic ends up on CDNs, transit to Australia is arguably more important than transit to the US. This is why Vodafone and Telecom are building another cable to Australia.

There have been people say we can't have streaming video services in NZ because of SXC. This is complete and utter rubbish. For a streaming service like Netflix to operate in NZ it needs a local CDN, or at the bare minimum a CDN in Australia.

chevrolux

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#957684 26-Dec-2013 20:51

FFS people!!! Don't feed the trolls!

Netflix + Vudu + Spotify + Unblock-US + Unotelly + Creative NAT rules = legally obtained media of all kinds.

Geo-limits are really not an issue if you put a bit of time in to it. Unotelly is really good for those sites in obscure countries as they have servers for all over the world.

AnfieldBoy

43 posts

Geek

#957686 26-Dec-2013 20:53

Thank you for some intelligent replys.

To my understanding there are two main barriers to entry for a NZ netflix. The first is the cost to serve, moving data on the sxn is prohibitively high for netflix, also prising the content away from the sky monopoly will be challenging. Only the other week netflix announced that they will not be opening in Aus due to the lockdown on content at foxtel.

Moving large amounts of data on the sxn is achingly expensive, I know I have tried. That is why I made the third world statement.

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