US based devices loading channels from non-US channel store

Question

I have two versions of my channel, Rokagram

1. US market (configured in channel store for US only)
2. non-US market (configured for all locations except US)

As new devices load up my channel, I get a location registered on my back-end based on IP address look up (supplied by Google). I am seeing an alarming number of US based IP addresses winding up with the non-US version of the channel. When this happens, it's not the end of the world, but they miss out on some streaming music that is only licensed for the US.

Does anybody know why this might happen?

I do have a URL to the non-US version on my web site but I only serve that URL conditionally based on the same country lookup that Google provides. I guess it would be conceivable that someone used a web browser coming from on non-US IP and installed the channel and then all their Roku's tied to that account get the channel even though the Roku itself is sitting in the US??

Doesn't seem likely. In the past I had seen this only occasionally and not enough to worry about, but it seem to be increasing lately.

Anybody know what might be causing this?

renojim · Answer

If I had to guess, and that's all it would be, the "US based" devices are using some kind of proxy and are really not US based. They could have been set up initially without the proxy, so got the non-US based Channel Store, or the Channel Store can see through the proxy somehow and provides the non-US channels. There seems to have been a few mentions in the general forum of how Netflix (or some other channel) used to work through a proxy but now doesn't, so something may have changed in the firmware.

-JT

kc8pql · Answer

"renojim" wrote:If I had to guess, and that's all it would be, the "US based" devices are using some kind of proxy and are really not US based.  That's what I was thinking. From what I see in the general forum, there seems to be a lot of proxy use among non-US users to access the US only content.

wpinkman · Answer

I guess the question is then what determines which channel store they "see". If a non-US user set up their account normally (no proxy) and got registered to see the non-US channel store then later added the proxy to get around restrictions for a particular service that would explain it.

Another question I've been wanting to ask. May sound like a joke, but what's the deal with Suriname? I'd never heard of it, but it's a small country in South America. I see tons of rokus hitting me whose IP address has that country code. Doesn't seem real. That that some country commonly used for proxying around for some reason? Not hurting anything, but make me wonder.

RokuJoel · Answer

Suriname - interesting. Searching for 'Suriname Roku' brings up "Circuit City Suriname"'s facebook page, they appear to be selling Roku's there (not officially, obviously, but there is nothing to stop them from buying a pile of them at full price and reselling).

As to the non-US devices in the USA - maybe we've got a lot of UK people visiting for the summer weather? Certainly there would be a lot less content and channels on a UK player, and without a proxy, they would not be able to watch most UK programming. It could be UK resident people proxied to the USA, but that wouldn't be of much use either if they are still linked to a UK account...

Maybe its your ip geolocation service, which as you know, tells me I'm in Aurora, and I'm definitely not in Aurora.

- Joel

wpinkman · Answer

Still not sure I believe you. Go Cubs  😄As far and the Suranimians go.. I've got more than 50 devices registered from that country. I guess they're lining up around the block at Circuit City Suriname. Circuit City? Wow.. I wonder if they have a Blockbuster too!

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US based devices loading channels from non-US channel store

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