How to access Vudu and Pandora on Boxee Box in Canada

BoxeeBox is a great media streaming device which allows both access to your own files, and also to streaming content from the internet. Vudu was just added to the Boxee with the newest firmware update, and is available only to the USA. Pandora is another application which offers music streaming to the USA only. If you are interested in accessing the service from your Boxee Box and you live in Canada, heres a quick how-to.

1) Create an account and subscribe to a VPN service. Blackvpn and strongvpn are two choices and are very affordable for a pay service. You want to make sure that you choose a company that offers fast service as you will be sending all internet traffic through their servers as well as your own.

2) Once the account is created you will need your login details to enter in the Boxee Box. From the Home Screen go to the settings icon in the top left.

tektok vpn how-to

3) Then click the network icon.

tektok vpn how-to4) Scroll down and select VPN.

tektok vpn how-to5) Depending on the VPN provider you signed up with, you will enter the details accordingly. In this example we have used Blackvpn PPTP settings. Now you are ready to install and load applications such as Pandora and Vudu from the Apps menu. Each time you power up the Boxee box, you need to enter into the VPN settings menu, and enabled the VPN. Once it has been enabled you will see the icon in the upper right of the screen to indicated if VPN is running or not (shown in step2). And at any time you can disable VPN the same with a simple checkmark.

Few screenies below show Vudu and Pandora running from a Canadian Boxee Box. Please use at your own risk. There are many other methods of accessing blocked sites, such as entering in the proxy directly into your router config which would allow any of your networked devices access to these services. There are also free US proxy services so feel to do some research. Most of all, Enjoy!

tektok vpn how-to
Vudu Menu

Pandora
Pandora Menu

 

 UPDATE: If you would like to give BlackVPN a try, you can use our referal code for a free trial. Please mention CBWFTSG.

About Jamie Forestell

Jamie Forestell is the Editor-in-chief and also the founder of Tek Tok Canada. His knowledge and aptitude for Technology led him to create a central website for all Canadians. His strong passion for the Technology world helps him stay abreast of leading-edge technologies and his desire to spread this information was the driving factor behind the creation of Tek Tok Canada.

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21 comments

  1. Jamie I am a complete noob, but I fully understand your post and would like to give it a try. However there are a couple of matters that are not mentioned that give this noob pause for thought.

    Would rental of Vudu 1080p HDX format movies be possible ( given necessary bandwith)/

    I also recall that Vudu requires an email address in establishing an account.How is this handled where the idea of the VPN is to overcome this? Does VPN address satisfy this requirement?

    How about rental payments.Surely the source could be established ? I have US Dollar credit card but issued by Cdn source.

    Thanks for your patience in listening to and helping out a noob. Any suggestions would be appreciated

  2. Jamie -I would like to withdraw or overwrite my previous comments which were combersome (getting over serious bronchial attack),More succinctly my curiosity is aroused by the following question:
    :If one quite legitimately uses VPN portals for purposes of encrypted privacy reasons how might one pay for any accounts/services of foreign domicile that one might encounter.

    PS Agree with and have signed petition.We watch Egyptians have their internet turned off, as we potentially face restrictions ourselves. It is time for good Canadians to be heard,eh?

  3. well, just tried it and used the instructions listed abovee..my boxee cant connect to VPN…( error cant connect to VPN)

    guess I paid blackvpn for nothing

  4. just tried blackvpn with my boxxee box – worked first time – had bbc iplayer up and running in 5 minutes after i got the email – thanks

  5. i have used a vpn easily at home to access pandora and hulu. i just got an ipad and loaded the vpn on. hulu will not work because it wants you to pay for its services on a portable device which i would do but it must have a US billing address for the credit card.
    i have been unable to download the pandora app and i wonder if its because at teh apple store you have to register a credit card, even tho this app is free, which tells them you not in the US.. any thoughts or tips to avoid this? thanks.

  6. On what platform are you running boxxee? I have tried now on Windows linux and Mac. On Ubuntu linux Boxxee crashed too much so I abandoned it. On Mac OS and Windows there are no VPN settings. Are you running this on a Boxxee box or on Apple V?

  7. I’m considering this because I’m tired of getting gouged by Rogers for basic cable. I already have netflix, and did see Boxee. My question here is: Can I get CSI/Miami/Criminal Minds? And would you recommend blackvpn OVER strongVPN?

  8. I do not see the CSI or Criminal Mind series on Vudu, but perhaps you could stream current shows by connecting through the network web stream on Boxee. As for the VPN, I have heard good things for both, and if you use the referral code you can get some free time with Blackvpn so I will let you choose. Boxee also lets you view your own downloaded movies that you acquire from your own sources whether it be through torrents or newsgroups which is a nice feature if you cannot stream the show you are looking for.

  9. I DID find them, just not many of the episodes, but they DO have it (boxee that is) so how long have you been using boxee? I was in Futureshop today and one guy gave me a good streaming site, said he’d cancelled his cable outright (something I’m planning to do) but then said to “save your money” with regards to Boxee. He mentioned limitations. In your experience, what would those be? If you want to chat further, you’ve got my email. 🙂

  10. One other question: I’m assuming: Does boxee support wifi? Got a sweet connection, no cap. Never had a stutter on PS3 with Netflix…

  11. I’ve downloaded the software but don’t see VPN as an option. It stops at SMB. I assume this is not the case with the hardware device?

  12. What happens when you want to watch something on Vudu? Don’t you need a US based CC?

  13. I can use Boxee with Pandora, Netflix (US) and any other service that doesn’t require a US address when signing up. I can access Vudu on my Boxee and view trailers etc but when I tried to sign up for an account it asked for my address when registering the CC.

  14. Tried blackvpn and got mediocre results; could not get above 4.25 Mbps. Tried strongvpn and it’s off the charts (VuDu test maxes out at 9 Mbps). With blackvpn the movies (even in Netflix) would stop and buffer; hasn’t happened yet with strongvpn.

    I’m using a cable modem and Netgear 4500 wireless router.

  15. Hi Airedog, perhaps it all depends on the area you live in. We use blackvpn for everything and have never had any buffering issues. A speedtest tonight shows great results.

    http://www.speedtest.net/result/1695180391.png

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