If you try to access F1TV via a VPN from your country where F1TV Pro is not available (like the UK) it will no longer play the full race videos and displays an geographical error code…
Polite reminder not to discuss piracy or workarounds for region locks in here. Thanks all!
That’s why people return to piracy.
Woah what the fuck. Isn’t that illegal in the EU? I’m in Italy. AFAIK there’s no way TO watch the race in English without F1TV.
Isn’t that illegal in the EU?
It is. But the UK chose to leave the EU, and this is one of the many “perks” they now have.
This is bullshit. What if I have to go a different country for a work trip. Should I be forced to not watch the race that weekend even though I have a F1TV pro subscription in the country where I reside for the majority of the year¿?
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Cheers
At least for now, F1TV Pro works fine for me here in Germany. I’ve been using it since 2021 without a VPN (only used a VPN for signing up once) and never had any issues.
We’ll see if it works this weekend.
Else I’ll have to get the Sky package. I don’t even mind paying more to be honest, it’s just that F1TV is so nice to use and has great third-party apps (like MultiViewer), plus I really enjoy their commentary. I’m not even sure if I can at least get the English Sky commentary with Sky Germany…
Else I’ll have to get the Sky package
Which costs 6 times as much, and as far as I know it doesn’t have English commentary, doesn’t have archive races, doesn’t have free choice of cockpit cams, doesn’t have Formula 2 and 3. (Correct me if I’m wrong.)
It’s just a bad deal. If F1TV ever stops working in Germany for legacy subscriptions then I either have to stop watching F1 or look for other sources. ~5 euros per month is a fantastic price, I’d even pay 10 or 15 for that. But not 30 euros for the Sky package with a lot less features.
I agree that F1TV is obviously a way better deal. But F1 is pretty much the only thing I watch as far as live events go (and other race series sometimes) so I wouldn’t mind spending quite a bit on it, although I can totally understand not wanting to spend 30 euros a month for F1.
The commentary and features I’d lose by switching to Sky is what concerns me the most.
If they get good at blocking VPNs and also start geo-blocking me (as I said, I’m not even using a VPN with F1TV, it still works just fine), I’d probably get a cheap VPS from Linode or wherever in a region where F1TV is officially available, and just set up my own VPN. They shouldn’t block this unless they block static IPs in general.
I tried out sky (well, actually wowtv) and the absolute deal breaker for me was that the races are not viewable on demand. I also got for IndyCar, and canceled my subscription the next day because of that.
Why should they ban it now? I’m an old subscriber and I never used VPN. If they block me it’s fraud.
Lol. F1tv subscription numbers are about to plummet then…
That’s too bad. I run a VPN on my phone 24/7, literally set to the country I live in, it’s just for privacy/security. Incredibly annoying that now the F1 app will be obnoxious about that.
@Vormuk so the issue is in some countries F1 TV is not available. People would then pay for the service and still have to use a VPN to access the service. Now this seems to be not an option? That’s pretty shitty. They can play it off like they have no control all they like. This is a shit move for people who want access.
Yes basically. Here in the UK. Yoi cam access f1TV for some live data, but not watch the actual race. Even after it’s finished. So we have to VPN to another country in order to both buy F1TV Pro access and utilise that access. That has now been block.
Well this sucks. They could have at least waited until the Summer break.
Always made me laugh that the official F1 podcasts are sponsored by expressVPN and the spiel they have to mention is how it can circumvent geo-restricted content, but at the same time F1 has it’s own geo-restricted platform.
Hmm, I wonder if this also affects personal/private VPNs. I have a personal VPN back to my homelab server/network. I have a commercial VPN service, as well, and I know I’ve been blocked from some services while using that one. Though I’ve never tried with my personal VPN.
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Is there a community for F1TV where I can follow this better¿?
Nooooooooooooo! That’s a problem for me haha.
I never heard of f1tv before seeing this podt, but I wouldn’t stress. I guarantee there will be a workaround. Blocking VPNs is harder than it sounds.
There’ll be workarounds, but how many of them work on am nvidia shield is the real question.
