Often when I am traveling internationally I like to catch up on a tv show here and there from the US. Typically, the websites that offer this (cbs.com, abc.com, fox, HBO to Go, etc.) do not let you stream when you are located internationally. To get around this, I use the VPN on my company laptop to make it appear that I am in the US, which generally works ok but is somewhat slow.

I just got an Ipad and was hoping to do something similiar with this. Is there any simple way to do this or would I have to set up my own VPN etc. I guess the Slingbox with new Ipad app could work, but would prefer something more simple. Thanks for any help.

Doesn't get much simpler than the Slingbox. Most US based services will block things as you pointed out - and a VPN really usn't simpler than a Slingbox.

There are a number of paid VPN services at around $10 - $15 per month that will do what you want - They provide a US IP address, however you'll need to do a bit of googling to find one that has an ipad app.

(There are also a smattering of free services, but they tend to be unreliable, and slow.)

I've had a TiVo + Slingbox setup for years now and I'm extremely satisfied with it. I'm using the iPhone Slingbox app on my iPad and the video quality is acceptable for watching mostly news and sports programs. My only complaint is that the TiVo Remote is NOT replicated on the Slingbox app (which it is with the OS X Slingbox app on my MacBook) but instead have a clunky user interface. I'll wait for further reviews of the iPad Slingbox app before plunking another $30 for what is essentially a marginally improved app.

You don't need an App. Most of these can be configured to use the VPN app which built into the OS of the iPad.

Problem with the Sling Box is that the connection you have overseas may not be good enough.

I would be happy if you can just transfer the recordings on your DVR to the iPad so that you can view them later, even on a plane where you won't have network connections.

Obviously apps. like Air Video and Zumocast can transcode media on your computer. Now it's a matter of the satellite and cable companies giving you access to the keys to decrypt these recordings.

Dish is offering some kind of integration with Sling which they bought. Direct TV is said to be working on something called a Nomad but it's not clear they will work with iPad so much as their own proprietary device.

Comcast is advertising some kind of app. as well.

You can only hope that as iPad and other tablets become more popular, these TV providers will rush to support them, though with all kinds of limitations.

Presumably HBO will find a way to offer their programming somehow as well.

They will probably limit to streaming, since if you have the content stored locally, you have no need to buy DVDs or digital downloads or whatever.

If your overseas connection isn't good enough for Sling, then streaming services over a VPN isn't going to solve anything either.

Exactly, so streaming is limited.

Now if I could get the recordings on my DVR over to the iPad, that would be great to view overseas.

But they want you to pay for the DVD or digital version again.

And they wonder why there are torrents.

The Vulkano promises DVR features, streaming AND downloads of streamed content. It works perfectly on a PC and Android device, but no experience with it on an iPad. www.myvulkano.com

This is not the case AT ALL. Slingbox streaming will work with much slower connections than streaming from most websites like Hulu, etc. Slingbox has great software that maximizes reception based on whatever bandwidth you have. I am able to stream Slingbox to my iPod touch via a 3g cellular wifi device (Virgin Mobile Mifi) while driving down the road with pretty good video streaming and only the occasional hiccup. I have used Slingbox from all over the world - if you have even a decent wifi connection you should have no trouble. With a static wifi, the only real limit is the speed of your uplink at home where you have the Slingbox set up.

That's interesting, could be what I'm looking for, depending on the quality of the transcoding it does for viewing offline.

It's too bad these devices can't get HDMI input. Sling is like that as well, you have to use analog component. Probably a DRM issue.

It does have an HDMI output - just no input.

It isn't hard to create HDMI, it is near impossible to take HDMI, do something to it, then send it out as HDMI again.

The transcoding quality is done targeted for the device you plan to use, so it looks quite good.

VPN can be quite a bit of work to configure and still be slow (as you've experienced). I use Foxy Proxy paid proxy services to watch BBC streams. So this should be another viable option for you. Too bad there isn't an iPhone/IPad app to easily toggle proxy on/off.

Torrents can be your friend. The best solution for this I have seen is EZTV.it and uTorrent.

The OP is asking how he can stream content to his iPad... Not sure torrents work in this context? Is there an iPad torrent client available? If so I guess they could download .mp4 torrents?