The Roku sensible TV platform is an accessible technique to watch your favourite streaming content material in a centralized location – both built-in to TVs, or by including reasonably priced dongles or set-top bins to older televisions. One large benefit of the Roku platform is that it is all the time getting free software program updates to maintain it present — just like the cool new function that turns your TV right into a kind of digital artwork museum by displaying well-known work as a screensaver. Nevertheless, Roku is much less adept in the case of fixing one widespread frustration of the streaming age: The shortcoming to entry in style reveals, films and sporting occasions due to geographic restrictions.
Utilizing a VPN is a standard technique to deal with this concern, however not like Fireplace TV, Apple TV and different rivals, Roku methods don’t have native VPN help. However that’s not the tip of the story: You possibly can nonetheless use a VPN to entry a wider vary of programming by way of a Roku — you simply want to make use of a workaround. We’ll present you the way.
The advantages of utilizing a VPN
With regards to streaming, a VPN has one important profit: altering your IP handle — the distinctive quantity that identifies the final location of the gadget and community you are utilizing to entry the net. A VPN tunnels your connection by way of its servers to obfuscate your IP, making it appear to be you’re watching from elsewhere. Consequently, a service like Netflix will see your location as, say, the UK versus the US. You’ll then have entry to a special set of programming. For instance, the TV present Pals is on the market on Max within the US, nevertheless it’s solely obtainable on Netflix within the UK.
VPNs have a number of different advantages associated to privateness and safety. VPN servers have military-grade AES 256-bit encryption, which means they’re safer than connecting to the Web usually. So, because you’re shopping the Web by tunneling by way of the VPN, your Web service supplier can’t see all your shopping locations (and promote your viewing habits to information brokers).
The best method to make use of a VPN on Roku
Though Roku doesn’t natively help VPNs, there are just a few workarounds. You possibly can, as an illustration, arrange a VPN on your own home’s router. That means that you can shield the entire community and each gadget that connects to it, retaining everybody in your family nameless on-line. However it will probably additionally trigger confusion while you wish to entry native companies — and it requires a really high-level of technical data, and solely works with sure routers.
As an alternative, we advocate a far simpler technique: connecting a VPN to your Roku by way of AirPlay or screencast. To do that, subscribe to a VPN and set up it in your smartphone or laptop computer. Then, stream content material on that gadget and AirPlay or screencast it to your Roku TV. The icon to do that ought to appear like a TV with Wi-Fi rays.
We want this technique as a result of it’s easier general. You possibly can entry any geo-blocked content material in your smartphone or laptop computer first after which solid it in your sensible TV.
You can also make positive your Roku mannequin is AirPlay-compatible by checking this useful resource on Roku’s web site. If it isn’t, you possibly can all the time simply instantly patch your cellphone or laptop computer to the TV utilizing an HDMI cable or an applicable dongle.
Selecting the perfect VPN
Whilst you’ll be utilizing a cellphone or laptop computer as the last word supply in your VPN-routed streams, that truly provides you a wider checklist of companies from which to decide on. Though every VPN has the identical fundamental functionalities, their worth and additional options differ. Earlier than deciding which one is true in your wants and the gadgets you’ve, take a while to have a look at what every one presents and see what different customers should say. Begin by testing our checklist of finest VPNs — and completely happy streaming.
