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Thread: TopTV - DSTV alternative

  1. #11
    Email problem daveob's Avatar
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    Hi AndyD

    Have tried Charon to get the US proxy IP address, but not getting any results. It just seems to run for ages ( over 30 minutes of activity in the bottom info bar ), but without anything after that.

    Any other suggestions ?

    Also, is it possible on a std PC to record the program / episode being watched ( like on abc ) for later viewing ? If so, what software ?
    Watching the ships passing by.

  2. #12
    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    Hi Dave,

    As far as I know, Charon is basically a tool that searches for free proxies and tests then. There's a couple of issues with proxies;

    1. Not all proxies are anonymous, you would need to filter the results that Charon returns to show you the anonymous ones. I would imagine there a setting in the preferences somewhere to do this.
    2. Free proxies tend to be limited in bandwidth available and may employ shaping techniques to give preference to HTML and mail traffic so they're not ideal for viewing streaming TV which is bandwidth intensive.
    3. Proxies in general are a cat and mouse game, they utilise a certain ip-range which soon becomes public knowledge and get blacklisted left right and center so they change regularly to try and stay one step ahead.


    I set up streaming TV through a proxy for a while but it was somewhat hit and miss. I believe there's no substitute for a decent VPN but unfortunately you'll have to pay. I run a uk based VPN and a USA one for good measure. The combined cost is around R200/m including a seedbox and I've subscribed to Netfllix with the help of a buddy I have in the US. Netflix costs me another R90.00 on top of the VPN.

    I got to the point with free proxies and free streaming services where the lack of quality and reliability sent me toward a higher cost option.
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  3. #13
    Email problem daveob's Avatar
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    Hi Andy

    Thanks for the info. Am now looking at things like strongvpn.com for the US based VPN.

    You didn't reply to the last part of the question :
    Also, is it possible on a std PC to record the program / episode being watched ( like on abc ) for later viewing ? If so, what software ?

    Any ideas ?
    Watching the ships passing by.

  4. #14
    Diamond Member AndyD's Avatar
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    Sorry Dave, you can capture streaming TV using any half decent media player. I use KMPlayer in conjunction with its ffmpeg encoder to capture and save on my local machine as avi. VLC media player can also do the same as far as I know.
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  5. #15
    Email problem daveob's Avatar
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    Update :

    OK. A friend shared the following idea which I am now about to start :

    get a TV capture card / USB dongle for the PC and connect with RCA cables to the DSTV decoder. Record a month's worth of CeeBeeBies for the kids to watch over the next few months. Got this bit working and will start recording tonight. TV USB dongle was R450

    Next, will be a HDD media Player with External HD - 500gb. Will then start downloading series and movies to the HD and playback via the TV when I am ready to watch. A external drive and QT500 media player is to set me back about R1190.

    Have got a US based IP address via a proxy, so am now able to connect and watch series channels on the US sites.

    So far, so good. If this works out as planned, it's bye-bye to dstv and their endless repeats.
    Watching the ships passing by.

  6. #16
    Diamond Member Justloadit's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by daveob View Post
    So far, so good. If this works out as planned, it's bye-bye to dstv and their endless repeats.
    And the damn repeat adverts, I have timed the big shows where the advert time is equal to the show time, and they call this pay TV!
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