This section elucidates information on Hollywood Studios and content licensing.
Hollywood studios have realised that there is massive potential of their existing film libraries and archives. Currently, they distribute the rights of their movies and television shows to other streaming platforms globally. That means the movie or show which can be watched on Max in the US may be on a totally different streaming service in UK or Korea. The studios earn from these transactions by keeping the extra pounds or won from the process.
The role of VPNs
Still, wise watchers have been using VPN (virtual private network) to opened more possibilities for themselves. However, by shift their virtual location from for instance United States to United Kingdom they are able to stream once again cult series like Friends and The Office from Netflix. Although setting up and turning on a VPN are usually easy if done on a phone, tablet, or computing device, doing so on a TV is quite difficult. Fortunately, there are many possibilities how to pipe VPN-filtered content to the largest display in your abode.
Tips for choosing a VPN
If you are not a willing subscriber of a VPN service, you should choose one from the VPN ranking of our top choices. It is worrisome to recommend free VPNs save for the Proton VPN; however, you should avoid free options at all costs.
Connect a VPN to a smart TV
Alternatively, you can also install a VPN directly on to your smart TV if your VPN of choice is available at the Smart TV Store. Therefore, for smart TV platforms, the Fire TV from Amazon and Google TV systems, are your best options with the inbuilt support. If your TV doesn’t work with these operating systems, you can plug them into any TV that has an open HDMI port starting at $30.
Other methods to use a VPN
If you don’t want to bother with wireless protocols, another lesser-known way to stream videos to your TV using a VPN is via an HDMI cable. You’ll need an HDMI cable and, for some devices, an HDMI dongle that converts a USB-C port to HDMI. Once connected, your laptop, phone, or tablet screen should be displayed on your TV screen. At this point, all you need to do is launch your VPN, start your streaming app (or browser), and max out the window.
