Watching American tv in Asia
 

Hey! I will be traveling to Korea for several months for work, but I will have a lot of down time and was hoping to keep up with a few American tv shows while I'm there. From the research I've done, it seems like Hulu, Netflix, and the network websites don't work there. Does anyone have any ideas or tricks to try? I'm posting this on the general Asia forum because it seems likely that this problem is present all throughout Asia, but I will be only in Seoul. Thanks!

You can try accessing those sites through a proxy server based in US. There are many such servers, some free (and usually ineffective or worse, like virus-ridden) and some payable and more reliable with good bandwidth. Google for possible sites.

sling box is your answer. basic model cost about $150 and no monthly fees.

For those who don't know, a sling box gets signal from your TV at home and stream it down the phone line in broadband connection, to be picked up anywhere in the world with your PC.

You can download TV shows, legally and illegally. The legal way is by using itunes from Apple and the show cost around $0.99 per show or something like that. The illegal way is to download Torrents but do so at your risk.

Watching shows on local cable network will not work for a lot of people since shows showing in Asia are usually not from the current season that is showing in the States.

Sling box should be okay in Korea, but most parts of Southeast Asia have very slow or erratic connections. That makes watching anything online a very frustrating experience.

i've used sb in singapore, malaysia, thailand and japan. it works very well. sb has improved the streaming speed considerably since they first came out. be sure you are using the latest sb software.

A slingbox costs around £95 for a basic model without a tuner of its own, so must be connected to your own set-top box for digital, satellite or cable. More expensive version costs around £150 and comes with its own digital terrestrial tuner (called Freeview in UK).
You get better picture quality when your PC or Mac is connected to wired broadband at your destination. You can even get it on your smartphone (like iPhone) with 3G connection and special software, but beware roaming cost.

I use www.a2btv.com and they hook up everything and maintain it in LA.

I agree make sure you have a decent connection as it works great in Japan but before in Thailand, the speed is way too slow...

Itunes works good too...

It is quite possible that your flat, serviced apartment or hotel will get the US Armed Forces TV network, which offers many US TV shows and sporting events. So you may not have to pay for much else. Many Asian cable operators also offer channels like HBO, Cinemax etc. There is also Star World, a large cable network here which offers several current US shows (although sometimes a season behind) as well as their own movie channel.

You could also get friends to copy programs for you and send you them in the mail, or send you Netflix in the mail and you can send them back and forth via a friend’s US address. In return for a nice gift from Korea, this seems like a good trade-off.

You might want to wait until you get to Korea to see what your cable options are.

Alec, you did a good job.I've learnt a lot from you guys...Thanks

my basic sb doesn't need a tuner. my connections is from the tv cable into my sb, then ethernet connection to my router, bingo, i can watch my tv from anyplace that i can get an internet connection. no need to buy the expnesive ones, unless you want to connnect to your cable box, dvr,etc.no monthly fee, nothing to join.