There’s no denying that Netflix’s recent launch worldwide, including here in Malaysia, has been a hot topic over the last few days. While there are quite a bit of limitations in their catalogue offerings due to licensing issues (their appalling anime offerings have gotten us all huffed up), you can still get the full US Netflix catalogue if you were to use a VPN or Proxy service. That option however, is about to be taken away.
We’ve already explained why Netflix here in Malaysia does not get the full roster of shows but there was always the option of a VPN service to bypass those pesky restrictions. By masking your IP and making it look like you’re say, in the US, VPNs, Proxies and unblockers would allow you to access other region and countries’ catalogues,without having to travel all the way there.
There are also browser extension like Hola Unblocker, which removes the region lock on Netflix when you login, giving you access to the services entire international catalogue. And if you want a program, there’s Smartflix which give you gives you access to Netflix’s entire international catalogue in a single, easy-to-use interface.
But our Netflix smorgasbord from this service will be coming to an end according to Netflix Vice President of Content Delivery Architecture David Fullagar. In a recent blog post, Fullagar affirmed that they will continue to enforce content licensing according to geographical locations, and those using VPN and Proxy services will not be spared.
In the blog statement Fullagar said “Some members use proxies or “unblockers” to access titles available outside their territory. To address this, we employ the same or similar measures other firms do. This technology continues to evolve and we are evolving with it. That means in coming weeks, those using proxies and unblockers will only be able to access the service in the country where they currently are.”
No mention of HOW exactly they’ll be doing this but if Netflix does start implementing the blocks, services like Hola, Smartflix and even our local VPN provide BolehVPN won’t work anymore.
No specific timeline was given on the blocks being implemented and “coming weeks” seem kind of vague. We’re guessing there’s still some time left so if you’d really want to make full use of the one month free trial Netflix has offered for first time users, we suggest getting either one of the programs/extensions/services mentioned above and really binging out on the shows.
After that, maybe just end your subscription if you like though, we must say that there are still some benefits of keeping a Netflix subscription, which includes getting access to Season 2 of the upcoming Daredevil series this March 18.
