Apple TV first generation in Japan?

[Chuchichan]

I'm living in Japan and would like to be able to watch iTunes movies. I'm looking to get the Apple TV first generation due to connections available on my TV.

If I purchase an Apple TV here in Japan, would it most likely be in Japanese and not have Netflix? Are there differences between Apple TVs sold in the US vs. Japan?

If I do get one sold in the US and connect it here, I understand that Netflix would be blocked. But is there any chance to get it to work with a VPN program? Can I even install anything additionally on the Apple TV like a VPN program?

Thanks in advance...

 

[marc11]

I'm living in Japan and would like to be able to watch iTunes movies. I'm looking to get the Apple TV first generation due to connections available on my TV.

If I purchase an Apple TV here in Japan, would it most likely be in Japanese and not have Netflix? Are there differences between Apple TVs sold in the US vs. Japan?

If I do get one sold in the US and connect it here, I understand that Netflix would be blocked. But is there any chance to get it to work with a VPN program? Can I even install anything additionally on the Apple TV like a VPN program?

Thanks in advance...

I am also in Japan and have used an Apple TV 1, 2 and 3 here. The ATV1 and 3 were purchased in the USA, the ATV 2 purchased here in Tokyo. No difference, all three work here and or in the USA the same.

Yes you can only get Japanese HULU and no Netflix, but if you have a USA iTunes account you can buy or rent any USA iTunes movie or TV show.

Not sure if you can connect a VPN via a jailbreak of the ATV 1 to be honest. I suppose you could VPN from your computer and internet share over wifi to your Apple TV...

 

[Chuchichan]

Thanks for the reply. So, it's actually possible to stream from iTunes in my MacBook Air to an Apple TV? How does that work exactly? Do you rent and play the movie on the laptop and it will connect and play properly on the TV? I was thinking of hooking the MacBook up to the Tv directly but streaming sounds good.

Would you be interested in selling your ATV 1?

 

[marc11]

Thanks for the reply. So, it's actually possible to stream from iTunes in my MacBook Air to an Apple TV? How does that work exactly? Do you rent and play the movie on the laptop and it will connect and play properly on the TV? I was thinking of hooking the MacBook up to the Tv directly but streaming sounds good.

Would you be interested in selling your ATV 1?

You can stream right from the Apple TV or your Macbook Air. I had my MBP connected to the TV via HDMI for a while using a BT keyboard and trackpad. It was alright, but I like the ability to having something running on the TV and do something different on the computer. Plus I like to Airplay the NFL games via Gamepass from my iphone to the ATV.

So long as you have a USA iTunes account you can buy or rent and stream any show or movie. If you have a Japan account then you are limited to the Japanese content.

Sorry, my original Apple TV 1 died which is why I bought the Apple TV 2 and then upgraded to the 3.

 

[orestes1984]

For the ATV2 onwards you can set your location to the US which will give you US Netflix and then use a VPN service such as unblock-us.com. Your Netflix account will work just fine provided you're also using your US credit card for the account. I'm not sure about the Apple TV1, I've never played with the version of OS X on it, but it's an intel Mac, at very worst you could jailbreak it and run the Netflix desktop client.

As for streaming, you can run Airparrot which is mostly software version agnostic if you're running a recent version of OS X/Windows, or if you've got 10.8 and a recent MacBook that supports it, you can use Airplay to stream directly to your Apple TV.

 

[alFR]

AFAIK The ATV1 doesn't support Airplay, that's ATV2 onwards only.

 

[orestes1984]

No it does not.

 

[Chuchichan]

For the ATV2 onwards you can set your location to the US which will give you US Netflix and then use a VPN service such as unblock-us.com. Your Netflix account will work just fine provided you're also using your US credit card for the account. I'm not sure about the Apple TV1, I've never played with the version of OS X on it, but it's an intel Mac, at very worst you could jailbreak it and run the Netflix desktop client.

As for streaming, you can run Airparrot which is mostly software version agnostic if you're running a recent version of OS X/Windows, or if you've got 10.8 and a recent MacBook that supports it, you can use Airplay to stream directly to your Apple TV.

Not sure if I completely understood your post. Basically you're saying that I would need an ATV2 or on to stream from my MacBook Air (late 2011)? If I'm trying to run Netflix directly on the ATV, would I then download a VPN app on the ATV? Or is that not possible and if I want to use Netflix from Japan, I would have to run a VPN app on my MacBook?

Thanks for clarifying if you can...

 

[bogatyr]

You can buy a router that supports holding a VPN tunnel and get a US VPN service. Then the ATV thinks it is in the US.

 

[marc11]

I know you really want Netflix, but there is Hulu here and its okay, not great, but something for 980 yen. And then there are sites like Vettle and plex that you can get a ton of streamed content from and airplay with either Airplay mirroring if your Mac is new enough, any iDevice or via Airparrot. And of course all the USA iTunes stuff. Oh and with the YouTube app on Apple TV you can find lots and lots of content; sometimes a PITA and of course not 1080p but still, its free.

I wouldn't go too crazy for just Netflix; there is a lot of content you can get pretty easily and mostly free. Worth checking into IMHO. I do and I have not turned on one Japanese channel here in 18 months and only pay for Hulu, MLB and NFL packages.

 

[orestes1984]

Not sure if I completely understood your post. Basically you're saying that I would need an ATV2 or on to stream from my MacBook Air (late 2011)? If I'm trying to run Netflix directly on the ATV, would I then download a VPN app on the ATV? Or is that not possible and if I want to use Netflix from Japan, I would have to run a VPN app on my MacBook?

Thanks for clarifying if you can...

To get American Netflix from the Netflix App you need an Apple TV2 or Apple TV3. You need to also set your location on your Apple TV to the US, you then set up your internet connection with the Unblock-US.com VPN so that it acts as though you are in the US. Once you have that all set up you can use American Netflix on your Apple TV so long as you are using an American credit card to pay for it.

You are basically circumventing the Geoblock by using an American based VPN service so that Netflix sees your web presence as being within the US. There are many of us here in Australia that use it to get access to Netflix, Hulu and NBA season pass. We use it to watch live on demand US television streams instead of watching TV shows that are 2 or 3 seasons behind over digital terrestrial TV, or paying for Cable/Satellite that doesn't guarantee not being behind either.

 

[marc11]

To get American Netflix from the Netflix App you need an Apple TV2 or Apple TV3. You need to also set your location on your Apple TV to the US, you then set up your internet connection with the Unblock-US.com VPN so that it acts as though you are in the US. Once you have that all set up you can use American Netflix on your Apple TV so long as you are using an American credit card to pay for it.

You are basically circumventing the Geoblock by using an American based VPN service so that Netflix sees your web presence as being within the US. There are many of us here in Australia that use it to get access to Netflix, Hulu and NBA season pass. We use it to watch live on demand US television streams instead of watching TV shows that are 2 or 3 seasons behind over digital terrestrial TV, or paying for Cable/Satellite that doesn't guarantee not being behind either.

I just tried the free trial of the VPN and can confirm it works. You need to follow the directions for setting the DNS on your Apple TV and your router, but it does work. It even works if your ISP requires you to use ppoe connection. The internet feels a touch slower, but overall it works well.

 

[orestes1984]

I just tried the free trial of the VPN and can confirm it works. You need to follow the directions for setting the DNS on your Apple TV and your router, but it does work. It even works if your ISP requires you to use ppoe connection. The internet feels a touch slower, but overall it works well.

Of course it works and you can enjoy American TV on schedule.

 

[marc11]

I guess I meant it works without needing a VPN app running and works over ppoe which I wasn't sure about.

 

[orestes1984]

I guess I meant it works without needing a VPN app running and works over ppoe which I wasn't sure about.

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude, yep it works as you said and it shouldn't really be much slower than your standard internet connection. As others have said you can buy a router that is capable of locking the VPN settings into it and it will be pretty much seamless.

If you have the need/want to watch US TV the moment its available on Netflix/Hulu, or want to wach NBA, MLB or NHL live streamed coverage outside the US then this is the most stable way of doing it. You can also use strongvpn for an alternative to unblock-us.

I guess being an American you've got the extra added bonus of already having a US based iTunes account and a US credit card as well, so you don't have to go through the rigmarole and pay for extra payment forwarding services to get things done.

 

[marc11]

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude, yep it works as you said and it shouldn't really be much slower than your standard internet connection. As others have said you can buy a router that is capable of locking the VPN settings into it and it will be pretty much seamless.

If you have the need/want to watch US TV the moment its available on Netflix/Hulu, or want to wach NBA, MLB or NHL live streamed coverage outside the US then this is the most stable way of doing it. You can also use strongvpn for an alternative to unblock-us.

I guess being an American you've got the extra added bonus of already having a US based iTunes account and a US credit card as well, so you don't have to go through the rigmarole and pay for extra payment forwarding services to get things done.

Right, I have a US iTunes account and already had a Netflix and Hulu account at home which I just left activated for my family back there. So it was easy enough to just pop my info in and log in. I use an AEBS here, so easy to add the DNS servers to it.

What is odd in a good way is that my NFL Gamepass app, which I had to get from the Japan iTunes store still works and still plays the games, I would think it would block me thinking I was in the USA, but it works fine as before. So this is an ideal set up.

 

[orestes1984]

Interesting that NFL game pass still works as normal. It's good to here that you've had success with it and you can view all the content you want on it pretty much free until the trial kicks over. I'm glad you're happy with the solution.

 

[Chuchichan]

Just a follow up to this. I think I will try to purchase an ATV1 here in Japan. I saw a used one listed for about $100. The model number is: MB189J/A

Just to confirm, this wouldn't have Japanese firmware or anything like that? On the Apple TV one can select the language that you'd like to have displayed? I just don't want to have to deal with Japanese menus.

Also, does the ATV1 pick up Netflix and Hulu or is that only from ATV2 onwards?

Thanks...