Netflix and Roku 3 combination

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Bl1zz4rd

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Hi all.

I am considering increasing the speed of my ADSL line and setting up a streaming service soon and, while not requiring a setup guide just yet, wanted to get some suggestions.

In my mind, the best combination would be a Netflix account, running on a 2015 model year Roku 3 (which can be bought in SA).

1. With Netflix not renewing its Epix contract and Hulu taking it up as a result, does anyone think that Hulu Plus is now a better option?

2. Are there any other media devices that are as good as the Roku 3 that can be bought in SA? I'd rather use a cable than something like Chromecast.

3. Would UnoTelly's UnoDNS be the best means to access the streaming services? What would the benefit be in paying more for UnoTelly's UnoVPN? After reading a review of UnoDNS, I read one of Unblock-Us, which rated it higher than UnoTelly. It'd be great to get some insight in terms of which is better.

4. What line speed would y'all recommend I get to be able to stream full HD content flawlessly?

Thanks in advance.
 
I like both huluplus and Netflix. But if I have to choose one I would choose huluplus for more recent episodes but they have no movies which is why the combination of the two works so well.
 
buyeye said:
I like both huluplus and Netflix. But if I have to choose one I would choose huluplus for more recent episodes but they have no movies which is why the combination of the two works so well.
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Thanks to the new Epix deal, they will now.
 
Bl1zz4rd said:
Thanks to the new Epix deal, they will now.
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The Epix deal only impacts Netflix US/Canada - since we in SA have to use Unotelly et al I doubt we'll see any difference wrt content availability.

You don't need UnoTelly's UnoVPN for anything Netflix/Roku related.
 
bwana said:
You can switch between 20+ countries. That's kinda the whole point of unotelly ;)
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True. Although the US Netflix does have the most content. UnoTelly's Dynamo, letting you switch regions via their smartphone app, is awesome.

It seemed rather odd to me that they'd cancel a $1bn contract just for their US service and still host all the Epix movies in other regions, and yet they did. I wonder if they'll cancel the Epix contracts for other regions as well.
 
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I ended up getting a Netflix account, which is working great on my PCs via Unotelly UnoDNS.

I also bought the 2015 model Roku 3, which is a fantastic device.

I have, however, encountered a problem when combining the two. I have tried using the two SA DNSs in my router, as well as one SA one and one US one. I have also tried setting up static routes and blocking Google DNS through my firewall settings in my Netgear DGN2200 router.

Despite this, whenever I go into the Netflix channel on my Roku, it says either "not yet available in your region", or gives an error code. This means I haven't bypassed the Google DNS region block thing that apparently started last year.

Does anyone know how I can set this all up properly on my router so that Netflix works on my Roku? :)
 
Don't have the solution, sounds to me like you have done it the same way as mine which is luckily working. If Netflix works on PC via Unotelly, does that not imply that there isn't a problem with your router? Also not a problem with your Netflix account so all that leaves is something on the Roku? You have tried resetting Roku to factory default and reinstalling Netflix? Is Hulu working?
 
Bl1zz4rd said:
I ended up getting a Netflix account, which is working great on my PCs via Unotelly UnoDNS.

I also bought the 2015 model Roku 3, which is a fantastic device.

I have, however, encountered a problem when combining the two. I have tried using the two SA DNSs in my router, as well as one SA one and one US one. I have also tried setting up static routes and blocking Google DNS through my firewall settings in my Netgear DGN2200 router.

Despite this, whenever I go into the Netflix channel on my Roku, it says either "not yet available in your region", or gives an error code. This means I haven't bypassed the Google DNS region block thing that apparently started last year.

Does anyone know how I can set this all up properly on my router so that Netflix works on my Roku? :)
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I read all about the google and public dns lookups, but after blocking them, netflix did work (this was a while ago), it caused other issues.. like my nzbs started lagging and then failing at times, so clearly i did something wrong.... i'm by no means an expert... so i reverted back to unblocking these dns servers. I now use netflix on my smart tv. And its working just fine. It would be nice to use the Roku for that too.... but i lost interest in struggling.

Hope you have better luck than i did.
 
Joeboy69 said:
Don't have the solution, sounds to me like you have done it the same way as mine which is luckily working. If Netflix works on PC via Unotelly, does that not imply that there isn't a problem with your router? Also not a problem with your Netflix account so all that leaves is something on the Roku? You have tried resetting Roku to factory default and reinstalling Netflix? Is Hulu working?
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True and true. I did try resetting and reinstalling, to no avail. I don't have a Hulu account, so I didn't test that.

According to this Roku setup page, "Netflix now does forced public DNS lookups on [Roku devices]", so it is indeed a Roku-specific problem.

Fortunately I got it working. The DNS blocking instructions state that you have to only insert a WAN address. After I gave my Roku a static IP and inserted that into the LAN section (in combination with the recommended WAN address), everything started working. I tried numerous other things at the same time, but they were what I'd tried before, so I assume specifying the LAN IP is what fixed it.

Thank you for your suggestions. It's great to have everything working.
 
I didn't use static routes, I merely blocked the following outgoing traffic on my router. Probably overboard, but it has worked for the last 1 1/2 years. Here is what I block for anybody else that is interested.

router.jpg
 
Mike Smit said:
Seems like way too much work

I used the routing rather. Only 2 entries.
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Yeah, its an OCD problem i think I have. I have the same issue when coding, I tend to try make things perfect and always thinking about what requirements may be asked fo in the future, which irritates the business :p
 
Hi Bl1zz4rd, hope you can help. I am in exactly the same position you were. only with less knowledge at my disposal. I am running a Billion n7300x router.
I have set up Unotelly and run through the Dynamo set up to select the US for Roku.
I know that it is working as I can see and watch netflix on my PC.

I have set up static routes for the following addresses.
8.8.8.8/32
8.8.4.4/32

But I am guessing that i need to set up a static IP. but I am not sure how to do that as there seems to be nowhere to set this on the Roku. Is this a DHCP setting of some kind that sits outside my sparse area of knowledge.

**Edit**
I managed to set up the static IP for my roku. But it has not made much of a difference. any other advice?
**/edit**

Any help or guidance would be gratefully accepted.
Thanks
Ish
 
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