How to Watch Hulu Outside US

If you want to watch Hulu, there's one very important requirement - the computer you are browsing through must be located in the USA.  That's right anywhere else and you are out of luck. The picture above will greet you as soon as you try and play any of the videos on the Hulu site.

So why can't I watch Hulu Outside the US ?

Well I'm not sure exactly the reason it's blocked but it's normally to do with licensing agreements and stuff like that.  It's rather ironic though as most of the people who get blocked end up using torrent sites and illegal download websites.    There are many ways of Geo-Targetting surfers but usually it is merely based on your IP address.   Hulu will check the origin of your IP address and if it's from a Non-US range then you will be blocked.

So my IP Address restricts what I see ?

Absolutely I'm afraid what you can or can't do online is often dependent on your IP address.  But it works in loads of different areas, for instance it's the reason you'll see different adverts from a PC in another country.   IP address targeting is used to block people from watching the BBC Iplayer outside the UK, stops US players from accessing European Roulette sites - the list goes on and on.  Fortunately the system can be tricked and there are options to stop this rather unfortunate IP address censorship that stops us watching Hulu outside the US.

So what's the Options for Watching Hulu ?

Well the usual trick to bypass this problem is to use anonymous proxies to block the web site from knowing where you are.  So for example if you surf through an anonymous proxy based in the USA then it will look like you are based in the US.   This method works to bypass 99% of Geo-Targeting restrictions as long as you have access to proxy server in the correct country.

So I can just use an Anonymous Proxy to access Hulu ?

Ermm, no unfortunately that doesn't work, the problem is that Hulu uses a flash based media player which seems to bypass any proxy settings you have.  You won't get the same message as the picture, but you also won't be able to see any of the media.   The main free option was something called Hotspot Shield which used to work (but very slowly)  unfortunately it has now been blocked and no longer works to watch Hulu outside the US.

So How can I view Hulu ?

Well the only real option now (apart from moving to the US) is to view via a VPN.  This is a virtual circuit to a server or workstation in the US.  This will allow you to surf directly via a US workstation - so technically you are actually a US surfer.  There are no free options that I know unless you know someone in the US who can arrange to connect to.   

If you want to see how I connected and still watch Hulu from the UK, you can read about how I did some research for my friend to watch from Canada -  how to watch  Hulu Canada