My husband and I are going to Portugal for 2 weeks and are staying in an apartment. There is internet there but the TV will be in Portuguese. We want to know if we will be able to download movies off youtube there? Also will we have access to TV shows from Canada and the US on the various websites like CTV and CBS? We thought it might be nice in the evening to watch a movie or a TV show we usually watch at home. Thank you so much for your help. Jennifer
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Regarding downloading: okay if you have wifi, very expensive if you use 1cellular connection. Regarding english-language shows: it would take a place with a satellite connection to one of the two Astra systems - - expensive enough that a rental apartment probably would not have it.
Posted by
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
I have been unable to access US Tv shows while in Europe on the internet. I could not get them in Guatemala either. I was trying with ABC.com etc. It came up with a notice saying the shows were not available outside the US.
My grandson and I were tired and decided to watch TV in Turkey, and had a great time turning off the volume and making up out own dialog based on what was happening on the screen (just in case you are really bored:))
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
Generally, videos on TV network websites (and some on YouTube) are not broadcast outside a particular geographic area. You can bypass this limitation by downloading a program like Hot Spot Shield, which "hides" your geographic location. For sites such as Yahoo, which have foreign versions, it will also give you your regular English version. I used it successfully while in Spain last May to watch Amazing Race and Survivor, both of which were geographically limited.
Posted by
OP
London, Ontario, canada
11 posts
Thank you everyone. That really helps. Jennifer
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
I have Hot Spot Shield. Which settings to I use to get American TV servies in Europe?
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
I didn't have to set it any certain way. I was actually in Spain when I downloaded it. Then you just turn it on, then open your browser. Then anything you can normally view at home should be accessible to you wherever you are. It also gave me the English version of Blogger and Yahoo, when I had been getting the Spanish version of both. I watched both Amazing Race and Survivor on CBS.com, just like I do at home if I miss a televised episode.
Posted by
Stuttgart, Germany
3050 posts
I'm assuming hotspot shield is a VPN service, that basically it's an IP Proxy. There are many IP proxy services, some paid, some free (though the pay ones are usually a lot faster and easier to use). How it works is that the IP Proxy chooses a new IP address for you. To watch American TV, you have to have an IP address in the U.S. So it does that for you and you get to watch what we are entitled as Americans to watch - glorious television! (Although if you can't get the proxy to work, some sites, like Comedy Central, allow their shows to be viewed on their website anywhere in Europe)