It would have been helpful if you had provided the web address where you saw this comment.

DNS is Domain Name Service and it changes a web site name into 4 groups of numbers, Google what is dns for a fuller explanation.

You can watch all 3 series of Downton Abbey here, 23 episodes

It was a suggestion on a different GW forum. Why?

I did google it, but knowing what DNS stands for means nothing to me, and doesn't help me understand the original suggestion.

I went to the link that you provided (thank you), but then I get this message:

{{gwi:1497453}}

Do I need to say I'm from U.K. in order to watch? Will it somehow know I don't have a U.K. IP?

Ann I got that link from a Gardenweb member who lives in the UK, I have no problem here in Canada. How far in did you get? There are 6 or 7 clicks to arrive at the actual movie and at one point there can be 6 to 10 connections to select from. I found 'Goriil---.in was a good location. Those dashes are extra letters which I forget right now.

The reason the link is always nice is so that others can check that the site is working or otherwise and can then offer a solution based on experience.

Here is the link to the Watch Series index, you might find it interesting

I have never been asked to create an account or register like that screen shot you posted, are you sure you are on the correct site that owbist provided? I simply get the list of episodes to choose from then once you select the episode it provides the list of servers to choose from, like owbist suggested groillavid is a good one once I click that it then goes to gorillavid and pops up the viewer.
I have never downloaded from this site I simply just view them directly from there.

I am sure you could go ahead and register if you prefer and most sites do have the ability to know what country you are from by your IP address so it could well know and then provide you with servers closer to your location to stream from.

As to the dns situation I think it would probably be best to ask the person that had posted about it on the other forum since it would then be in context and on topic there, with out the other info provided we would simply be guessing.

I'm assuming the quote came from this thread: http://dir.thathomesite.com/forums/load/decor/con100924102840.html?26? If so, it appears it's not as "easy" as claimed,

I'm not an expert so may be missing something but I'm not understanding how changing your DNS server would trick itv.com into believing you're from the UK. They can still see your IP... unless you use a UK based proxy that they(itv) don't know about.

As for Watch Series, it works fine from here(Florida,USA) but I would make certain to use Adblock Plus in Firefox or the EasyPrivacy Tracking Protection List if using IE 9.

Ahhh see how much seeing the original post brings it to light!
Had you mentioned to us why you wanted to do it that would have helped too.
Any time you want the best recommendations and suggestions give us as much information as possible, to save every one time and resources.

So the reason for wanting to change Dns was to some how trick a website into thinking you were accessing it from another country.

I agree with chuggerguy unless you some how block your ip address completely or use a spoffer the site reads the ip address which includes that information.

I mean go to a whois site and put in your ip address and you can see how much information is available from it.

If you're trying to connect to a UK site that has a geographic block on it (ie, no US connections), you can do so using a UK proxy. If your capability as a PC user is less than an intermediate level, doing this is probably too hard for you and I won't attempt to explain it.

Sometimes I'll encounter a message on the BBC site saying something like "This content is not available in your territory". It can be worked around.

I know there's plenty of them out there but I've been using http://www.tcpiputils.com/ for "Geo Lookup".

When I first started using it, they had my location as West Palm Beach, close enough for targeted advertising but not that close.

Now they're down to the correct city... Vero Beach.

What's next, street level? Just kidding.

Something does not add up here. The original poster who referred to the Watch Series site, forget his name, hereb4mee (or similar) is from the UK and said he had no problems. Also ITV being a UK network should have no issues with the OP as she is from the UK.

Also gorillavid is from India assuming the .in stands for India which would be why we in America and Canada can see these programs.

Regarding baffling the ISP I did try Expat Shield for a while but some of the underlying stuff bothered me enough to get rid of it. Plus I am not television fan of any sort. I was able to view some Australian and European programs with that.

Well, I'm happy to report that I just finished watching the first episode!!! Thanks, of course, to all of you. The reason I got the above screen, asking me to register, was bc I clicked on a play button to view in HD at the top. But Owbist's suggestion of seven clicks, combined with Raven's explanation that these are various servers, and there was no need to download, etc., made me realize that I needed to move to the list below and begin trying those gorilla... type links, which I did. After several tries, one worked. That's all I had to do. Y'all rock! :)

MizAnnThrope

There is a thread on here already dealing with the Watch-series site.

I introduced that site here a number of years ago and folks seem to always have problems when they first try to use it.

I find that the problems come from not following instructions.

There is No need to jump through hoops or move through six or seven screens!

The screens are a form of pop-up/redirects and That is why I use a blocker.

Oh yeah .. The site and the programs on the site can be viewed from anywhere!

Below is one of my posts .. copied and pasted here:

If you are talking about the Watch Series site that I brought up .. did you follow the rest of my advice?

Use Firefox and an ad blocker.

There is NO so-called utility program to download and there is NO reason to give any information .. to anyone to view the programs.

I have tried using Opera, IE and other browsers with the site and have experienced the pop-up ads and redirects .. same as you and that is why I only use firefox with a pop-up blocker now.

I have used the site for years and have never had a problem.

With the multiple links for each episode .. sometimes one wont work and I'll just find one that does.

I'm not that good with gifs but... this is how it goes for me...

{{gwi:1497449}}

Actually, I don't watch much new TV but but have it bookmarked to watch some older stuff... someday. :)

I think the new post about deceptive links for download is very appropriate here because there are a lot of extra download buttons that are really ads which are trying to fake you out and make you click their button instead of the buttons you should be clicking.
If you have not read the new post here about the deceptive links please do it is an excellent resource and shows how careful we must all be.

chuggerguy I am applauding your excellent presentation!!
thank you for that effort!

chuggerguy

You did just fine (Actually GREAT) on your gif presentation!!

If you ever want to break down a gif to display each picture individually you can use this online tool: GIF EXPLORER

Again .. Thanks for the great display!

That link should have said Gif Exploder!

Wish we could edit. 8(

Thanks ravencajun and justme4now.

The online Gif Exploder looks useful. I'll bookmark if for when I need it. Thanks for sharing it.

Yeah... I second wishing we could edit. I write, preview, edit, preview, edit, preview until I think I have it right. Then I read though it again for good measure. Finally I submit and either right away or later on catch a mistake. Oh well. :-)