Help me with Netflix ?

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

18 hours ago, Jake said:

Thank you everyone, especially Gentleman Jack for informing us about VPN, modems, routers, downloading vs streaming.  Regarding the modem/router, I thought all along that these days, that both functions are housed in one package?  I guess one needs to be careful when buying your own device(s) that it is compatible with the ISP service.  And if you bought your own, does the ISP still come out and  charge you for problems in devices not in their inventory?  

Does your ISP impose a data cap?  For example here in Las Vegas, we initially had COX internet service with a whopping 1 terabyte data cap with $10 more for an extra 50 gigs, if you go over the 1 terabyte limit (that's one thousand gigabytes).  I figured that was more than enough with multiple devices in my household.  But we exceeded the upper limit with only a few more days before it resets back to zero.  I soon found out that YouTube has an "autoplay" and will continue to stream unless you disable it.  I don't know about NetFlix or other services.  You may want to check out their settings.  

Happy binge watching.......
 

 

As for the modem/router combination, you're right, a lot of ISPs do provide a combo box with both functions in the same box.

As for buying one's own device(s), in my case I own both my cable modem and my wireless routers - I'm a cheap charlie and don't want to pay a monthly fee to rent a box, so it works out much cheaper in the long run if one owns one's devices.

Beyond that, one of my major job responsibilities for a lot of years has been managing an IT department, so I've seen what happens if one does not have redundancy (backups of data, hardware, technical skills, etc.) in one's computing environment and the decline in support skills from service providers such as ISPs - it leads to sleepless nights and I sure don't want that when I come home.

As for a tech coming out to troubleshoot problems, if one is capable of plugging things in, turning things on and off, watching lights blink and reading descriptions (there are people uncomfortable with these things), there isn't anything for a tech to do at one's home regarding the modem - the work related to making a new modem 'work' is done on the ISP's system. As well, in today's world, almost everything short of pushing a power button can (and is) done remotely.

If one wishes to own their own cable modem and wireless routers, there isn't much to worry about regarding compatibility of cable modems and cable companies - in the U.S., there aren't many cable companies and big box stores such as Walmart and Best Buy know that, so they stock cable modems that will almost certainly work with one's local cable company. The biggest mistake one is likely to make when buying a cable modem is to buy one that can handle a faster speed than one gets from their ISP or one with advanced features that one may not use, such as those aimed at gamers.

If one wishes to replace their cable modem, all that is required is to call the local cable company and ask them for them for compatibility information - there isn't much to know and it's more of a 'double-check' than anything else.

Once one buys the modem, it's just a matter of plugging it in to the electrical outlet (to make sure it's powering up) and calling the cable company - the cable company will ask for some information printed on the modem (model number, serial number, MAC address, etc.) in order to configure their system to allow the new modem access and to handle billing. At that point it's done and one has internet (and programming) access.

As for setting up the wireless router, most name-brand consumer routers come with a configuration CD or a link to software that one downloads to one's computer that will automatically configure the router to work with one's ISP (things like IP addresses, type of connections, etc.) and setting up the router's basic security (network name, password, etc.) As long as one follows the step-by-step 'quickstart' instructions (with pictures), there should be no problem installing a wireless router.

More advanced functions of a wireless router, such as a VPN, guest access, MAC addressing (to keep unauthorized devices off the network) require getting into the 'guts' of the router, but name-brand routers include step-by-step instructions and there's always help on the internet.

Getting back to redundancy, if one owns one's own equipment, it's a good idea to buy an extra wireless router - they do fail occasionally and if one is choosy about the router (as one should be), it's good to have a spare since the big-box stores tend to sell lower-priced and less capable routers.

As for the cable moem, if one is in the U.S., it's likely there's a Walmart or BestBuy close by, so no real need to keep an extra on hand.

That's quite a coincidence that you mention Cox Cable and going over data limits - yesterday one of my staff, who's married with two teenage boys, was talking about the exact same situation, except her family went over by 150 GB and it cost her an extra USD 30 on her most recent bill.

Where I live in the U.S. Great Lakes region we also have Cox Cable with the 1 TB data cap, although I did notice on my last bill that it went up by USD 4 per month; I only have internet, no programming. The last couple of times Cox raised the bill they either increased my download speed or increased my data cap, neither of which, in my case, makes me happy. I live alone and rarely break 200 GB on data usage and 50 Mb/s down is fast enough to stream ultra-high def (UHD) movies on Vudu, so I'd rather keep the 4 bucks a month.

One of the things my staff member was trying to figure out, which highlighted a shortcoming of ISP-provided modem/router combo boxes, was that she couldn't figure out  device (re: who) data usage. The Cox tech was able to show all devices that had internet access through the wireless router, but that specific router was unable to show data usage by device ID (MAC address).

She also did not have wireless MAC addressing (devices allowed to use her wireless/internet connection) turned on, so she really couldn't say if devices not owned by her family were using her internet connection.

One of the advantages of owning one's wireless router is that there are some routers that will keep track of data usage by device, so one can quickly pinpoint who is using too much data or isolate a device that may have some sort of problem, such as a problem with software updates or perhaps a virus that is continuously 'phoning home' and burning data. 

As for 'autoplay' functions, Netflix has a 'binge watch' setting for TV series, which will play episode after episode even if one is not watching - that can be turned off in one's account settings but, AFAIK, it's needs to be done through a web browser.

Also, it's not a bad idea to set a 'sleep timer' on one's smart TV - it will turn the TV off after a certain amount of time and that will help manage data usage,since most devices, such as a Roku box, 'talk' to a smart TV and will also 'sleep' if it's 'sees' that the TV is off.

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

15 hours ago, Gratefuled said:

Thanks to Gentleman Jack and others who have helped with this concern of mine. 

It looks like I'm stuck here. Nothing worth watching on tv anymore. CNN has commercial breaks every 10 minutes and they are the same ones over and over. 

I'm not fond of basketball. So, that leaves PGA, LPGA and tennis. I still have my music and Expat community here. 

It's a good thing that I have a loving wife to play with. 

I 'cut the cable' (DirecTV back around 2008) because you're right, 'TV' (broadcast and cable) have had 'nothing to watch' for a long time.

I'm an American football fan, so I'm lucky that the NFL and college are, for the most part, still on broadcast TV, so I've attached an antenna to my smart TV and can get 'free' TV to watch games.

I'm also a fan of real football (soccer) and am fortunate that I can watch English Premier league games on Saturday afternoon and Mexican league games at other times over broadcast TV.

One thing I would suggest is getting is a Roku box to attach to your TV since there are a huge amount of 'channels' (apps) available on those devices, most for free.

While smart TVs have a few very popular apps built in (Netflix, Hulu, Vudu, etc.), they have nowhere near the selection of a Roku box.

In my Roku box, I watch Al-Jazeera for news (I like balance with no screaming and shouting and 'clickbait' in my news), NBC (classic TV like Miami Vice), Roku Channel (movies and classic TV), CW (Supernatural), Tubi TV (Fat Pizza, Swift and Shift Couriers, and Housos) along with Netflix, Vudu, and YouTube.

It's my view that for the most, unless one is a sports fan and HAS to have their local MLB and NBA in real-time, pretty much anything worth watching on cable (and a lot that isn't, in my opinion) is available for streaming through the internet and/or apps on devices such as Roku boxes, Amazon Firesticks, etc. 

If one wants to watch MLB, NBA, and NHL, there are subscriptions available on Roku and other devices that allow one to watch out-of-market games live and one's home market games immediately upon completion. Not a bad option if one is a fan of the game more so than just a fan of the local team.

 

 

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

12 hours ago, Gratefuled said:

I've heard of Pirate Bay and RARBG but I don't know how to download the Utorrent. 

I'll try

Not sure about links on this forums, so just Google 'bittorrent' and the site (for BitTorrent) will come up first on Google.

The download will be the usual Windows executable that you'll click to run and install

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

10 hours ago, roddavis said:

Not all VPN's are created equal. I have found that some VPN's have leakage which means on the internet, some sophisticated programs can still see your true IP in the Philippines, thus can still block some of the programs like Netflix. Google the VPN I use called expressvpn. They definitely block any leakage of your IP  and present the server ip in the state/country you are connected thru. They have diagnostics for leakage detection.

That leakage is likely related to (now fixed) bugs in old browser versions or possibly one of the WIndows OS services on one's machine

It's always a good idea to routinely check that one's browser is up-to-date since some browsers don't automatically update when a new version is available.

And it goes without saying that one should always update to the latest computer OS, especially if one is running Windows - No more Win XP folks!

Time to move to Windows 10 since Windows 7 extended support (security patches) is ending January 2020 - If one is running Windows 10, you'll have extended support until 2025

Or better yet, get a Chromebook and be done with all the Windows BS

[Roadhawg]

On 1/8/2019 at 5:00 PM, OnMyWay said:

Netflix is available here in the Philippines, legally.  We had it for a while but just as I did in the U.S., I got bored with the content.  The content is not the same as the U.S., but almost.  I think I used Paypal to pay for mine and then I could pay Paypal a few ways.

If you want the full U.S. content, you would need to sign up in the U.S. and then use a VPN to mask your location.  That is the only reason you would need VPN for Netflix.

I'm still in the US and get my Netflix, Amazon through ROKU. Will I need to put my ROKU through a VPN to continue to get the US versions>

[Gratefuled]

12 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

You dont have sky cable TV? 

No

[Gratefuled]

6 hours ago, Gentleman.Jack.Darby said:

Not sure about links on this forums, so just Google 'bittorrent' and the site (for BitTorrent) will come up first on Google.

The download will be the usual Windows executable that you'll click to run and install

Been there done that, yesterday. Thanks to AZ Kid and you for all the helpful information. 

I do enjoy Al Jazzera. It is my favorite here. I especially like the Arab version of the Crusades and no commercials. 

 

[Gentleman.Jack.Darby]

46 minutes ago, Roadhawg said:

I'm still in the US and get my Netflix, Amazon through ROKU. Will I need to put my ROKU through a VPN to continue to get the US versions>

You will be able to connect to the U.S. servers of Netflix and Amazon without a VPN.

However, as far as streaming content in your Netflix and Amazon lists, you probably won't be able to watch everything because it's likely that at least some of the items on your lists won't be authorized by the copyright holders for viewing outside the U.S.

[TimL]

Kodi is also a good option for downloading and watching movies/tv shows and is easy to install on Android boxes as is a VPN. A word of caution on the ones from Lazada though, I bought one 2 months ago and it lasted all of 5 weeks before it wouldn’t power on anymore. China garbage I guess. 

Might be better to get one at a local store so that you can take it back if it breaks rather then to have to pay to ship back to Lazada. Not really sure how warranty stuff works over here and the price wasn’t significant enough for me to even waste my energy dealing with it.

i just installed Kodi on my 27” iMac and am watching from there instead. 

Edited January 11, 2019 by TimL