Comcast XFINITY → Re: Netflix Super HD and alternatives

I think unblock-us.com is a little different than just a straight VPN. It's hard to tell from their site, but I think they use a combination of altered DNS data and custom proxy services to offer something that differs from a regular VPN. unblock-us only works with services (e.g. like Netflix) that they have specifically coded for.

It may be something like the following: you enter Netflix.com into your browser: their DNS servers direct you not to the normal IPs for Netflix.com, but to a custom IP address, which is unblock-us's proxy for Netflix. They apparently proxy just a part of the communication with Netflix (perhaps the authentication), providing a US-based IP to the real Netflix service. The remainder of the communication, the actual streaming, happens direct, without have to go through their proxy. The advantage is that the Netflix communication goes at the speed of your internet connection and is not slowed by unblock-us's proxy/vpn service.

More details on how unblock-us actually works would be helpful, but they are keeping the information under wraps.

This link provides a bit of information on unblockus: »www.damonkohler.com/2012 ··· ity.html

Seems like it'd be prone to breakage if/when Netflix changes, well, anything on their end. And you'd still have to be tunneling the traffic through their servers, otherwise I don't see how it would work.

Sounds like when it works, it's great, but I question if it would work for everyone (depending on their datacenter presence) or how reliably it would work.

If I were the OP, I would not make an internet speed upgrade decision based on a week of trying this service, but that's just me.

According to netflix.com, superhd requires 5Mbps minimum and 7Mbps for highest quality stream.

Realistically, I'd say that you'd want a sustained rate of 8-10Mbps, for the superHD stream plus your normal background bull-roar.

As stated here:
»support.netflix.com/en/node/8731I would concur with this observation.