I disagree. I believe that laws override contracts. Although HBO's terms say "US only", NZ law allows geographical restrictions to be bypassed (Copyright Act, section 226). As I understand it, I'm doing nothing wrong.
I am, however, not a lawyer!
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HBO Now crackdown on non-US users?
- Thread starter foghat
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I disagree. I believe that laws override contracts. Although HBO's terms say "US only", NZ law allows geographical restrictions to be bypassed (Copyright Act, section 226). As I understand it, I'm doing nothing wrong.
I am, however, not a lawyer!
Lets hope so. But I only can browse the HBO NOW app if I'm using the unblock-us VPN service, so I have no choice in the end.
But its worrying reading up on articles saying HBO NOW is cracking down on geo dodgers using services like unblock-us etc :O Will see what happens on the 21st. Still no email form HBO.
But saying all that. Isn't HBO going to cancel services to Australia on the 21st anyway for safety reasons? So people who haven't got an email are targets anyway?
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i got the email..
using Dns4Me, US iTunes Acc, genuine US address (of friend) etc.
i applied the DNS to all my devices.
i guess it wasn't enough.
the only thing i felt was a bit risky that i did.. was update all my apps from the App Store on my iPhone and iPad.. it asked me to log into my UK iTunes account, so did (but not in the settings, only from the store prompt) i checked my settings after and it still said i was logged into my US iTunes Account in the settings so i assumed i was fine and accessed HBO Now as usual.
now I'm not sure what to do.. ironically there is Sky in this household.. but i hate watching shows on PAL broadcast with mousified voices.
using Dns4Me, US iTunes Acc, genuine US address (of friend) etc.
i applied the DNS to all my devices.
i guess it wasn't enough.
the only thing i felt was a bit risky that i did.. was update all my apps from the App Store on my iPhone and iPad.. it asked me to log into my UK iTunes account, so did (but not in the settings, only from the store prompt) i checked my settings after and it still said i was logged into my US iTunes Account in the settings so i assumed i was fine and accessed HBO Now as usual.
now I'm not sure what to do.. ironically there is Sky in this household.. but i hate watching shows on PAL broadcast with mousified voices.
Well I'm not a lawyer either, but if only you could dismiss contract quite so easily. Laws only override contracts when the two are in conflict. They aren't in conflict in this case - your contract prohibits bypassing, and your copyright act makes no judgement on it, because as you say section 226 excludes it from the legislation.
You may be paying HBO some money, but you're not fulfilling the other terms of the contract. So it can easily be argued you have no right to the service you have been getting. You are correct though in that it's not a specific act of copyright infringement so maybe pirate wasn't the right word.
According to my us iTunes account I live in the white house
and their info number is my us phone number
This is why there's a difference between Netflix and HBO. Netflix are an international distributor. They are quite happy for their users to bypass local distributors overseas because those are competitors to their own local Netflix presence. It's actually quite sneaky using the greedy conniving consumers to do their dirty work, while Netflix fulfil their bare minimum obligations to rights holders.
HBO on the other hand has no presence in these overseas territories so it relies on local distributors/broadcasters for 1. lots money and 2. local expertise in marketing etc. HBO doesn't want to undermine the overseas middlemen because they don't yet have anything in place to replace them. Directly marketing to Europeans from a central US HQ isn't the best strategy for
I haven't gotten this email, does it mean I'm safe ?
Same here. What service are you using? Also, is it VPN or DNS?
There is no way that anyone here could answer that with any certainty, meaning it would just be a guess and not even an educated one.
I haven't gotten this email, does it mean I'm safe ?
I thought I did not receive it either until I checked my email junk folder. Sure enough it was filtered into there. Might want to check there.
my thoughts now are;
if VPN users are safe, and VPN is the solution.. then what is the hardware choices? i'm a complete newb with anything to do with internet, ip's, servers, etc.
i have the 5th gen airport extreme (the last one before the tower shape version)
does a VPN work with that? if not, what about the latest models?
if VPN users are safe, and VPN is the solution.. then what is the hardware choices? i'm a complete newb with anything to do with internet, ip's, servers, etc.
i have the 5th gen airport extreme (the last one before the tower shape version)
does a VPN work with that? if not, what about the latest models?
HBO is also a major content producer and distributor - Netflix is just a distributor. They are owned by Time Warner. Its no surprise they are picky with their content distribution.
Not sure about setting VPN up in the router but you could definetely set up VPN on your iOS device and airplay from it to your ATV.
I very much doubt VPN is safer than DNS though. They should be able to detect that just as easily.
okay, that could work. ideally i prefer my ethernet equipped Apple TV to handle the quality/connection, but i got a good service on iPad from what could tell. i'll test it tonight after GoT airs. I'll try airplay the episode from iPad to apple tv and see how it performs. but i'll avoid the risk poor performance during the live airing.
thanks for the advice - i wonder though, how simple or easy is it to set up a VPN on an iOS Device? i looked at TorGuard, those prices seem affordable enough. but i heard $5 extra for Private IP.
I use ipvanish. They have an ios app so it is very easy to use.
If you airplay to your atv, doesn't this cause the ATV to take over the stream? In which case you are in the same boat, I think, as just playing it directly on the ATV.
Good point.
VPN on iPhone, tried using SmartDNS on Apple TV but never got it to work so gave up and used Airplay instead from the phone.
I checked everywhere, no email from HBO besides the iTunes billing one saying when my account will expire (normal date).
I've used unblock for years. It's excellent. I use it for HBO Now and Netflix.
Unblock-US is just a "smartdns". I got PureVPN because I have both options of VPN usage (data security protection) and also SmartDNS, a 2 in 1 you can say.
It all depends on your needs, I did use a trial for unblock-us a year ago and it worked fine for Netflix at least.
I really don't have much to (opinion-wise) to say on this matter about HBO, but all I ask is to please be kind and don't just use someone's U.S. address without their permission. That person will end up getting mailings from HBO and they'll have no idea why. I'm unsure about any legalities involved but it's definitely dishonest. You have to think about how you would feel if someone was using your address without your knowledge.
Do you think my chances are higher by getting caught if I browse my US itunes account using my normal ip address/usual internet instead of a different VPN (only using unblock-us for Apple TV)? Because my HBO NOW trial finishes the 8th of may and once thats done I need to buy a US giftcard and enter the code into US itunes account. I still have not got an email. Any thoughts?
I doubt HBO will be sending out mailings - given their reason for collecting the address in the first place. That said, of course I wouldn't use an individual's address. I actually have a relative's address I would use. If I didn't have an address to use, I would have more than likely just made one up.
Regardless, for the time being I have just created another hbo now account and linked it to my US Itunes account. This time I am not using the hbo account in anyway unless I am behind my router (smart dns). So far so good, but has only been 2 days thus far. Will see if things hold up. If they don't, I'll likely just stop trying and be done with the service.
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Can't say with 100% certainty, but I think it is irrelevant how you browse when using your itunes account.
The trick is, I think, to make sure you never use the hbo now apps or website unless you are using a US vpn or smart dns service.