At the end of a long day of work, it’s great to sit down and unwind by watching your favorite shows. Unfortunately, it isn’t always the easiest thing to do when you’re away on a business trip. You might not have access to your regular TV channels, or worse… You might be blocked from using certain websites in a different country, or state, depending on the laws. Fortunately, we have a few tips and tricks to help you solve this dilemma and enjoy your favorite shows at the end of the day.
1. Stream Using a VPN
A VPN is a Virtual Private Network. This is a service that helps you keep your online connection private by establishing a secure, encrypted connection between the internet and your device. This then creates a private passage for your data to pass through while you are online, especially when using public networks. It works by masking your IP address and replacing it with another temporarily. This is how the magic happens. A VPN can make it appear as if your computer is in a different location. This also allows you access to content in other parts of the globe. For example, if you are on a business trip to the UK and want access to your home country’s Netflix, using a VPN and placing it in your home country can give you access. And it isn’t just for Netflix. It’ll be a breeze finding the best VPN for Popcorn Time and other streaming platform sites just like it. It is the best tool to have access to when travelling.
2. Use a DVR
Old technologies are often repurposed and revived in a newer format. DVR is a perfect example of this. If you are unfamiliar with the term DVR means Digital Video Recorder. With this, you can turn your device, or a spare one, into a dedicated recorder that you can use to schedule your recordings of certain shows and watch them at your own leisure. It’s really cheap, too. There are no monthly subscription fees, you just have to download the right media center applications. There is a variety for you to choose from, so it really comes down to personal preference. A few crowd favourites include Windows Media Centre, MythTV, and SageTV.
3. Torrent It
Sometimes the things you want aren’t readily available online, or they are, but the quality is terrible. When you use torrents you have access to a very large array of movies and series at a very high quality. As is the case with anything, there are a variety of different torrent extraction services available. We highly recommend uTorrent and BitTorrent. Both enable you to access the latest movies and shows as soon as they are available and of excellent quality.
4. Download Through a Streaming Service
If torrenting seems a little bit too intimidating for you, there are other ways of saving content offline. When you pay for premium streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc, you are typically able to download and save videos for offline viewing within the app – This is also a feature present on YouTube Premium. What this means is that before you head out on your business trip, you can create a playlist of offline videos to watch when you don’t have access to the internet, or just in case you can’t access them where you are. Youtube has plenty of restrictions that don’t allow certain channels to be accessible in certain countries, so be sure to download what you want before you head out.
5. Purchase Through iTunes
If all else fails, there’s always old reliable, iTunes. iTunes is an Apple service, but you can download it on any device, including Windows and Android devices. If you can’t find or access the show you want, you’ll probably be able to find it on iTunes. Once you purchase it, you will be able to access it from anywhere in the world as long as you have a compatible device.
As you can see, there is a variety of things that you can do in order to keep up or catch up with your shows. It all depends on your level of comfort with tech, as well as whether you are wanting to access your shows for free or pay for them. It also depends on where you are. We highly recommend that you invest in a VPN, too. It is just one more thing that protects you online. We hope that you’ve found this list informative and that you get to sit back, relax and watch those shows.
