How to Connect Apple TV through a VPN

he aim of this little tutorial is basically to help those who have purchased an Apple TV, and want to access the US iTunes store from other countries! However this can be used for other devices and/or other regions ! (This tutorial will presume you are wanting to access an American service).
Most official media services, whether it be music (such as Last.FM or Pandora) or video (such as ABC or BBC iPlayer), are region based, meaning that, for example BBC iPlayer will not allow viewers from outside the UK. The way the service checks is by looking at where your IP address is based. The same is true for other services such as iTunes. What we want to do is have a US IP address.

This method uses what’s known as a VPN (Virtual Private Network) – which basically creates a secure tunnel between you and another computer (in the US). The way this works for us is when we connect to a service on the internet… it gives us an IP address that originates from America. There are lots of VPN solutions out there, one I have used is HideMyAss VPN – Useful to know that HMA VPN provide servers in a few different countries incase the service you need is in another country!

Ok so now that’s all out of the way, here’s the steps you need to set this all up:

1. Get a VPN
2. Make sure you have set it up and are able to access the internet through it! – A good way to check is by visiting http://whatismyipaddress.com/ – This website will tell you your IP and where it originates from!
3. Grab you Apple TV and connect it to your computer via ethernet cable.

OSX instructions:

4. Go to System Preferences  > Sharing
5. Select “Internet Sharing”
6. On the right hand side, make sure “Share your connection from:” has “AirPort” selected, and “To Computers using:” has “Ethernet” selected.
7. You’re all set – go connect to your US iTunes account!

Win7 instructions:

4. Go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center
5. Click “Manage Wireless Network’s” Link
6. Click your wireless connection and then “Adaptor Properties”
7. Click the “Sharing” tab and tick “Allow Other Network Users to Connect through This Computer Connection”
8. You’re all set – go connect to your US iTunes account!

It might be worth noting that some routers provide VPN passthroughs for instance the Netgear DG834G – However this means that all devices connected to this router will be going through this VPN.

VPN sharing allows you to easily share their VPN service with other devices on your network – give them a go!