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Q: Does AppleTV work here?
Hey I'm looking for some sort of elegant solution to stream my itunes library and whatever videos I can mirror on my home office computer to my big TV in the living room.
I know Apple TV would do the trick in theory but I stopped by a sunion last night and they told me they aren't stocked in China. I'm sure I can source an apple tv anyway but the question is whether it is somehow blocked (not really sure how if it's just streaming over wifi) or if I just hook one up it will work anyway.
I'm not married to the idea of it being an apple either, if theres another decent solution out there i'm happy to hear any suggestions I just know the apple will work and have native english menus so it was my first thought.
9 years 4 weeks ago in Web & Technology - China
And yes I will shamelessly comment my own post to get it on the big board.
Some of the apps on the apple tv box won't work without a VPN. Not because they are blocked, but because services like netflix do not stream outside of the US. I have an apple tv box and have no issue watching content from the apple store, however it is a bit pricey. I set up a VPN router and can now also watch netflix and all others. Also it works well to airdrop streaming service from your Ipad or Iphone.
Another option which has no relegated my apple box to the second TV is available in China is SATV
www.satv.icoc.cc
A far better option for less money and you get like 60 sports channels 4 HBOs for and hundreds of channels wirelessly. It also supports airplay and will allow you to mirror your devices.
expatlife26:
Ok, thank you very much CharlieB for your input.
Just wanna recap a bit if you don't mind,
itunes store: works
display/audio mirroring: works
netflix, et al: doesn't work unless your ROUTER is vpn'd
Am I missing any key points?
CharlieB:
No that is it. With a VPN router everything works, without it airplay, mirroring, and the ITunes works but some other service apps do not.
expatlife26:
Thanks again...what's your take on netflix overall speed with VPN?
I'm not really on a budget for this kind of thing, are there VPN services which can reliably stream HD quality video?
I have three VPNs at the moment, two from strongvpn and one from 12vpn. each between $50-70/yr...all them will *sometimes* be able to stream at 720 and other times stutter at even low res.
Is there any one that you feel reliably can stream HD? I don't mind paying for it I just don't want to pay a ton extra for something that works 40% of the time instead of 20%.
streaming HD over the internet? 
In China? The quality is too poor for my eyes. I have a home 3TB NAS that streams to my TV or mini htpc over WIFI. There are a lot of decent, cheap head units you can use that will run media software for playback.
expatlife26:
what do you mean about the quality? You mean difficult to get a high enough speed connection on a VPN? I can believe that if that's what you're saying!
I'm not looking to do anything from local servers or with local technology beyond just the videos you can find on baidu for free.
Preferably I'd want a connector to the TV from a real brand like sony or samsung or something if not the apple. I'm not messing around with anything that doesn't have a native english interface. Probably going to end up going with the apple.
xinyuren:
yes, I was referring to the low bandwidth here. I like to watch movies and the latest American TV shows. If you just want to use youtube and other free content using a VPN, Apple TV will be fine. It will just be unreliable because of the VPN. Make sure you use a VPN with many server connections so you can switch up when the Great Firewall catches on to you. I usually have to change IP's about once a week.
