Category: Television

For those of you who’ve been using some sort of VPN or proxy service to access the US version of Netflix you’ve probably realized that’s no longer working. Since Netflix has started cracking down on VPN and proxy users a lot of the services stopped working with Netflix. I was personally using StrongDNS and later moved to OverPlay but both now stopped working with Netflix. But after a bit of research and trial and error, I did find one provider which worked with Netflix, Smart DNS Proxy.

They have a page up with the necessary steps you need to take to get Netflix to work with their service. I’ve been using it for a week now and even though it’s slightly buggy it’s been working for me. Basically by buggy I mean sometimes when I want to play a video it gives me an error that I can’t because I’m using a proxy. But after pressing play a few times the warning disappears and the video starts playing. Just an update, the service is working perfectly and it’s now a lot easier to set up. And yes it works with HBO, Hulu and Amazon Video as well.

Smart DNS Proxy costs the same as the other providers which is $4.99 a month but a few days after I signed up to the free trial I got an email offering me a discounted rate and I ended up paying basically $20 for a year which is pretty cheap. So if you’re looking for a DNS service that works with Netflix USA, these are the guys I’m using right now. [Link]

Last week Netflix announced it was going to start blocking users who are accessing their content via services like VPN, DNS and proxies. Now that Netflix is available all over the world they’re trying to geo-lock the users in the countries they’re based in. But, for those of you who’ve tried accessing Netflix Kuwait you might have noticed it’s missing content the US version has (like House of Cards).

I’m personally still accessing Netflix using my US based DNS because I don’t like being limited with what to watch. I was a bit concerned that once Netflix starts blocking these services I’d be stuck with local Netflix content but from what I’ve been reading online, it doesn’t look like thats going to happen. According to various news articles I read it seems what Netflix wants to do isn’t technically possible or at least not foolproof so we’re safe for now. Check out this article with more details on this [Here]

Earlier today Netflix launched their service globally in over 130 countries including Kuwait. This means you no longer need a VPN or DNS service to be able to access Netflix. I’m not sure how much the TV and Film catalog in Kuwait will vary from the US one but I’m assuming they will be pretty similar. For a list of all the countries Netflix is available in click [Here] or click [Here] to sign up.

This will definitely have a huge impact on OSN and other providers like Telly. Maybe OSN will finally realize their prices are just too high.

Netflix has confirmed they will be launching in the Middle East soon. In an email to IGN ME, Netflix’s Joris Evers said, “We plan to complete our global expansion by the end of 2016. Of course the Middle East is part of that, hence our hiring.” [Source]

Around 10 days back a local redditor noticed that Netflix had changed their usual error message while trying to access Netflix from his Roku device. The usual error message “Sorry, Netflix hasn’t come to this part of the world yet” was replaced with “Good news! Netflix will be coming soon to this part of the world. Stay tuned.” Now it’s actually confirmed which is pretty interesting news.

I wonder if the regional library of films and shows will be similar to that of the US. But I think I’m even more curious to see how this will affect OSN as well as the other regional streaming services like Telly.

This is hilarious, the voice acting is just so over the top. [YouTube]

via the blog DrQ80

Has anyone here dropped OSN (or any other cable provider) for Netflix and Hulu? I’m currently subscribed to OSN just for the History and Discovery channels but for the first time ever I’m actually considering canceling my subscription. I’ve started spending more time with Netflix and Hulu so don’t see a reason anymore to keep my OSN subscription.

Right now I’m paying around KD12 a month for my OSN subscription which is $40 a month (the Pinoy Plus Extra package). Netflix costs like $8 a month, Hulu is another $8. If you want to be all fancy you can add the Showtime Network to Hulu for another $9. If you want to splurge, you can add HBO GO which is $15. All combined come out to $40. I get a ton of more shows than I do with my OSN subscription and I can watch them whenever I want, from wherever I want.

For those of you wondering how to get Netflix, Hulu and the rest working in Kuwait it’s easy. Previously I’ve recommended using a VPN but unless you had a very fast connection and a decent VPN service, there would be a lot of slowdown. Now I’d recommend using a smart DNS service. It’s cheaper than VPN, faster and it’s really easy to setup. I tried three different DNS services but ended up going with SmartDNSproxy.com.

Have you dropped your dish provider?

Update: I just called OSN and cancelled my subscription.
Update2: I’ve dropped StrongVPN and instead started using SmartDNS so updated the post to reflect that.

Last week me and some friends rented out the cinema room at Cinemagics and watched episode 9 of Game of Thrones. It’s a small VIP theater with 12 reclining leather seats, a large 5×2.5m screen and a dolby digital surround system. It was pretty fun since we all had dinner at my place first and then walked over to Cinemagics which is just down the street from me. I wasn’t planning on posting about the room until after the finale tomorrow since I was going to book the room again. But, I decided to travel for a couple of days so I won’t be here anymore for the final episode.

The room is very cozy and the seats really comfortable. They provide you with water and popcorn and they also will stay open late for you since last week we ended up heading there are 10:30 at night and leaving around midnight. The only thing I would recommend is if you’re 10 people NOT to try and take the lift up to Cinemagics together. We got stuck for a few minutes and it wasn’t fun. Anyway if anyone is interested in booking the cinema room tomorrow, you can contact Yousif on 67001250.

“In It 2 Win It” is a new local reality show that just started airing on YouTube. The show follows a Kuwaiti husband and wife on their journey to lose weight for 120 days. The show is in Arabic (without English subtitles) and will be composed of 12 episodes with the one above being their first. Subscribe to their YouTube channel if you want to be notified once a new episode is out. [YouTube]

Ray Elbe, the Kuwait based MMA fighter just finished filming season 2 of Al Batal, the first Arab MMA Reality TV show thats similar to the Ultimate Fighter but based out of the UAE. This is the second season and is going to feature 12 fighters of Arab ethnicity flown in from around the world to compete for the opportunity to be champion in either the 70 kilo or 84 kilo weight division. Ray is leading one of the teams on the show so if you’re interested, the show premiers September 27th on FOX Movies, check out the trailer above. [YouTube]

A few months ago OSN launched a video streaming service similar to Netflix called ‘Go’. For just $10 a month you get access to a large library of movies and TV shows which are all available to watch at any time from your desktop or your mobile devices.

I found out about the service today and after playing around with it for a few hours I liked it, even though I don’t have a use for it.

The service isn’t anywhere near perfect but it’s a good start nonetheless. I have two main issues with ‘Go’, the first is the limited library. In the TV shows category they only have 15 shows, all old seasons which most of us have watched before. I compliment them on the fact they have one of my favorite shows ‘Boss‘ available but that show got canceled like 2 years back. The movies category is a lot better just don’t expect any of the latest blockbusters. Their movie section actually reminded me of Blockbuster back when I used to rent videotapes from them in Canada. Once I would be done watching everything in the top 20 I would wander randomly around the store looking for old classics I might have missed out on. Groundhog Day, Good Morning Vietnam, Top Gun, Medicine Man.. all classics available to watch along with other more recent hits. If only they would allow us to sort through the movies by release date, it would make things a lot more practical.

The second issue I had with ‘Go’ was the quality of the video stream. I’m on a 10Mbps connection and I had difficulty getting a decent quality stream going. They don’t even let you control the quality of the video, they do it automatically for you based on your current speed so if your connection is fluctuating so will the quality of the video. One minute I’m watching a clear 1.3Mbps stream a few seconds later it drops down to 300Kbps, then back up to 800, then back down to 500. It’s really irritating and I wish they had an option similar to YouTube where I could choose the quality, hit pause and let it buffer up a bit and then hit play. On my iPhone things were slight better just because the screen is smaller so compression artifacts didn’t show as much.

On the plus side $10 a month is pretty cheap and I loved the fact I could play anything I wanted instantly. Even skipping randomly into different sections of the movie was fast. On the iPhone you could also leave the app while watching something and when you come back to it, the app will remember your last position and continue playing from where you stopped.

As I mentioned in the beginning, it’s not a bad start for a service that just recently launched. You don’t need to be an OSN subscriber to sign up to ‘Go’ and they also have a 7-day free trial so you could give it a spin before deciding if you want it or not. Here is a link to their [Website]

Thanks Sara

@mark248am as of 1st January the UFC has decided leave OSN and we are very disappointed at their decision.

— OSN (@osn) January 21, 2014

This absolutely sucks. I used to love recording live UFC event and then waking up early morning to watch them. It’s the only reason I still had my OSN subscription. Instead, OSN are now getting Bellator which no one wants to watch while the UFC has moved to Abu Dhabi Sports.

Spotify is my favorite digital music service and whenever I post about it on the blog people always ask me how I manage to get it working. Geek in Kuwait has put together easy step by step instructions to follow to get Spotify and Netflix working in Kuwait. So if you’re interested in getting those two services working, follow this [Link]

Note: I use StrongVPN to bypass blocked websites. Also with Spotify unlike Pandora, once you sign up you no longer need to use a VPN to use it.

The Masked Hitman is a 4 part short film that will be aired this coming Ramadan. The film by Khaleel Hayat is based around a hitman that was kidnapped as a child and had his parents killed by a gang that kidnaps children to use in drug trafficking. After escaping their clutches, the hitman is coming back for revenge. Not your regular run-of-the-mill Ramadan series that’s for sure.

Originally the film was going to be shot in Canada but due to the film containing weapons and Canadas strict rules, the film is now being shot in Kuwait. The Masked Hitman will be uploaded onto YouTube in 4 parts with one episode per week during Ramadan. Once the first episode is out I’ll be posting it here on the blog so stay tuned. [YouTube]

The Kelsey Grammer TV series Boss was one of my favorite American political dramas but it sadly got canceled last year. On the bright side I think I just found a great alternative, House of Cards. House of Cards stars Kevin Spacey as a congressman and in the same way Boss was offering a behind the scenes look into US politics, House of Cards does pretty much the same thing.

Kevin Spacey’s character was promised the position of Secretary of State by the US President if elected. But when the President ended up getting elected (and all because of Kevin Spacey’s help), he decides to backtrack on his promise and give the position to someone else which pisses Kevin Spacey off who decides to take revenge. Kevin Spacey’s character is an amazing mastermind and watching him plan and set things in motion all to help him gain more power and control is really exciting and just makes you want to continue watching to see what he has planned next.

The first episode starts off a bit slow but it quickly picks up and then becomes really hard to stop watching. House of Cards was originally created for Netflix but you can also watch it on OSN and it’s also available online on OSN Play. So if you’re looking for an alternative to Boss or if you’re into political dramas then check out House of Cards.

I’m not a fan of The X Factor but for those of you who are you might be interested to know they will be coming to Kuwait to hold auditions on November 30th at Courtyard by Marriott Hotel starting at 8AM. If you’re interested in trying out check out The X Factor Arabia website for more details [Here]

On the other hand I’d love to try out for the Fear Factor if they ever bring that to the Arab world.

Thanks Rayboy