Watch Austrian television in Germany: How to bypass the reception block at ORF
Created: 01/16/2023 15:39
By: Linus Prien
ORF sign at the broadcasting center in Vienna (symbolic image).
© Sascha Steinach/ IMAGO
If you want to watch the ORF program in Germany, you usually fail because of “geoblocking”.
However, there is a cheap solution to the problem: the VPN.
Munich – The program from ARD and ZDF is not only available linearly, but can also be accessed in the media center in Germany.
In addition, programs can also be followed on the Internet via stream.
This makes it possible to enjoy the program, be it news, entertainment or sports, from places other than at home.
But what about the ORF?
The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation also offers an extensive programme, which, with the exception of border regions, is not available in Germany.
The offer of the media library and the live stream also exists, at least theoretically.
Watch ORF in Germany: Watch Europa League and Formula 1 live
The ORF is in no way inferior to German public broadcasting, especially with regard to the range of sports on offer.
On the contrary: Football fans can watch the UEFA Europa League live on the ORF 1 channel, according to
Computerbild
.
In Germany this would not be possible and a paid streaming service would have to be subscribed to.
The Austrian counterpart also offers Formula 1 live, just as different from Germany.
During the World Cup in Qatar, all games could also be seen on ORF and Servus TV.
Although Servus TV is a private broadcaster, Austrians were still able to stream the games free of charge.
Look at ORF in Germany: That's why it doesn't work
Like the German public service provider, the ORF uses encryption to control the IP addresses of visitors.
Unsurprisingly, access to the program requires an IP address from Austria.
Most Germans cannot show this.
This common means, which the ORF uses, is called "geoblocking".
IP addresses have provider and country identifiers, as
Computerbild
writes.
However, if you had an IP address from the Austrian address space, access to the ORF program would also be possible.
Watch ORF in Germany: This is how it can work
To get access to the ORF, you need a VPN (Virtual Private Network).
With this you get an IP address from Austria.
The VPN then accesses the stream on behalf of the user and sends it to the end device of the user that he is using.
There is a wide range of VPNs that can be downloaded intuitively onto a laptop, tablet or smartphone.
It should be noted, however, that these are not free of charge.
Once downloaded, the VPN is extremely easy to use and of course also allows connections to other countries apart from Austria.
There is currently no legal agreement as to whether circumventing geo-blocking with a VPN is legal or not, which also means that it is not prohibited.
(LP)
