BEATRESTRICTIONS in...40 4-17April 2018
Watchthe wayyou want to,onthe threemostpopular
video-streamingservices.RobertIrvineexplains how
to unlockusefultools,fix annoyances andtake control
of your viewing
COVERFEAT
URET
he days when 24 million of us satdownatthe
same time to watchEastEndersorOnly Foolsand
Horsesarelong gone. Video-on-demand services
nowallow us to watchwhatwewant, when we want
andwherewewant, whether it’s aslick US drama,a
classic British comedy or cute clips of cats falling down
thestairs. Thevariety,qualityand flexibilityoffered by
thestreaming giants meanswe’re living in agolden
ageofvisualentertainment,but thesenew ways of
watchingalso impose their ownrules.
Geographical restrictionsare themostnotable
example –YouTube videos that can’tbeplayedin theUKand iPlayerprogrammesthatcan’tbe
streamedoutsideit, forexample –but thereare
manyother limits on your viewing. In thisfeature,
we explainhow to getaround theseannoyancesand
fixcommonproblems,frompoor-qualityplayback
andunwelcome interruptionstofiddlyinterfaces
andrestrictivefeatures.
We’vefocused on the bigthree streaming services
–YouTube,BBC iPlayerand Netflix–becausewe’re
sure mostWebUserreadersuse at least oneand
probablytwo of these–withsomebonus advice on
page 46 forAmazonPrime Videoviewers.