[seasonscrystal]

Some personal experiences sharing, no fancy technology stuffs, just plain actual usage experiences.

Having 3 VPNs (VPTraffic, PIA and Astrill) currently, I personally think Astrill gives the best overall speed for my usage (stream from US & CN). PIA though give 5 connections, but most of the time we'll only be using one. VPNTraffic is just cheap.

For US steam, PIA speedtest normally you'll get lower ping to Singapore, but in actual usage I find Astrill gives better speed from most servers. Like when using XBMC add-on, some US stream servers I find I'm unable to watch 720p during peak hours, but am able to using Astrill. Sometime I even find VPNTraffic better than PIA. PIA seems to work better with putlocker and 180upload.

For China steam, Astrill still can lag during peak hours, but it's better than VPNTraffic. However, I ever managed to dl files with Xunlei VIP boost using VPNTraffic and gotten download speed of 2.5+MB/s. Astrill best CN server is actually proxy via US, which is why the speed is better, their direct CN server CMI. VPNTraffic is direct CN servers, offpeak hour streaming LeTV 720p normally no lag.

Most likely will not renew PIA, will just use Astrill and VPNTraffic as spare. Which is US$69.95 + US$35 per annual.

Just ordered a cheapo used modified netgear 614v9 (64MB RAM + 8MB Flash) which cost around S$25 shipped. Going to use it with Astrill applets and see how it turns out.

[lamEduDe]

Hi all, just asking is there any good free vpn providers out there?
of course i know im asking for free so im not expecting fast speed.

just dont want to pay as im not using vpn for netflix or stuff like that but just to secure my usage over a public wifi.

thanks!

[davidktw]

lamEduDe wrote:

Hi all, just asking is there any good free vpn providers out there?
of course i know im asking for free so im not expecting fast speed.

just dont want to pay as im not using vpn for netflix or stuff like that but just to secure my usage over a public wifi.

thanks!

So who are you securing your Public WiFi access from ?

[eyz]

does vpn helps to improve the streaming on my iptv box?

it's a china box, and i have no problem with access to the movies. it's just that there's quite a lot of buffering. will a vpn help in this case?

[Dryden28]

Hi guys, i can't signup with astrill as i'm on singnet. Any other vpn provider with a china server with decent speed?

[c1steady]

any one here using hotspot shield premium? what are the pros and cons ?

[Just Me]

mun wrote:

I just signed up Astrill VPN as recommended by some bros here. so far so good can watch from US channels to China youku - TVB cantonese drama :p

Full content on PPTV/PPS?

Also, possible to install the Astrill applet on a asus router with a trial account?

[oric1]

Just Me wrote:

Full content on PPTV/PPS?

Also, possible to install the Astrill applet on a asus router with a trial account?

Applet not possible for trial

[rainmanreigns]

seasonscrystal wrote:

Some personal experiences sharing, no fancy technology stuffs, just plain actual usage experiences.

Having 3 VPNs (VPTraffic, PIA and Astrill) currently, I personally think Astrill gives the best overall speed for my usage (stream from US & CN). PIA though give 5 connections, but most of the time we'll only be using one. VPNTraffic is just cheap.

For US steam, PIA speedtest normally you'll get lower ping to Singapore, but in actual usage I find Astrill gives better speed from most servers. Like when using XBMC add-on, some US stream servers I find I'm unable to watch 720p during peak hours, but am able to using Astrill. Sometime I even find VPNTraffic better than PIA. PIA seems to work better with putlocker and 180upload.

For China steam, Astrill still can lag during peak hours, but it's better than VPNTraffic. However, I ever managed to dl files with Xunlei VIP boost using VPNTraffic and gotten download speed of 2.5+MB/s. Astrill best CN server is actually proxy via US, which is why the speed is better, their direct CN server CMI. VPNTraffic is direct CN servers, offpeak hour streaming LeTV 720p normally no lag.

Most likely will not renew PIA, will just use Astrill and VPNTraffic as spare. Which is US$69.95 + US$35 per annual.

Just ordered a cheapo used modified netgear 614v9 (64MB RAM + 8MB Flash) which cost around S$25 shipped. Going to use it with Astrill applets and see how it turns out.

Wow... I was actually thinking of switching from Astrill to PIA! Astrill works ok for hulu plus but with netflix I can't seem to get a consistent 1080HD stream. Which Astrill server are you connecting to? I end up having to switch between Los Angeles 1, 2, World and Business. The speed really depends on the particular server within each cluster you get connected to and the speeds are not consistent across servers.

[mengdeng]

rainmanreigns wrote:

Wow... I was actually thinking of switching from Astrill to PIA! Astrill works ok for hulu plus but with netflix I can't seem to get a consistent 1080HD stream. Which Astrill server are you connecting to? I end up having to switch between Los Angeles 1, 2, World and Business. The speed really depends on the particular server within each cluster you get connected to and the speeds are not consistent across servers.

Try Singapore 1 (USA) server. TCP port 443. Hope it helps

[Just Me]

Opened up a trial account just for the sake of testing the china server in astrill but it's for full account users only.. defeats the purpose..

[rainmanreigns]

Just Me wrote:

Opened up a trial account just for the sake of testing the china server in astrill but it's for full account users only.. defeats the purpose..

Why not sign up for a paid account and then ask for a refund within 7 days if the speed is not satisfactory.

[Just Me]

Well, after I emailed astrill they changed the trial account to a full one with 3 days access. Customer service is great. Tried out the China vpn using my friend's MR 100Mbps fibre. Performance is satisfactory. But they only have one China server though and the speed varies at different times of the day.

But they have VAS like stealth vpn and router pro udp which is supposed to provide an overall speed boost but it costs an extra $5/mth and their subscription is already pretty steep at almost $70/12 mths.

Another bro mentioned vpntraffic is good. Tried a 3 day trial and it's total crap.

[seasonscrystal]

Just Me wrote:

Another bro mentioned vpntraffic is good. Tried a 3 day trial and it's total crap.

That's cause you aren't connecting to the right servers They only give you 1 or 2 server address then assigned you to their highest priority server, if that server is full, they'll switch to another.

Haven't used VPNtraffic for a month (always on Astrill as they give 2 connections now), by memory there are 4-5 US servers, only 2 are good (can be as fast as Astrill). China server there are 3 I think, 1 that's most assigned to connection sux, the other one is fast but unstable (at time even faster than Astrill via US connection), the last one least assigned to but decent speed (faster than Astrill direct China connection).

VPNtraffic China (direct)



Astrill China 1 (via US)


Astrill China 2 (direct)
So slow it doesn't even load speedtest well.

VPNtraffic US


Astrill LA (World)


720p streams normally you only need 5mbps, so for streaming movies purpose, VPN traffic is sufficient on off peak hour. Peak hour will depends.

Edit: Tested VPNtraffic US on another server


For record, I'm using M1 200mbps fibre

[Just Me]

seasonscrystal wrote:

That's cause you aren't connecting to the right servers They only give you 1 or 2 server address then assigned you to their highest priority server, if that server is full, they'll switch to another.

Haven't used VPNtraffic for a month (always on Astrill as they give 2 connections now), by memory there are 4-5 US servers, only 2 are good (can be as fast as Astrill). China server there are 3 I think, 1 that's most assigned to connection sux, the other one is fast but unstable (at time even faster than Astrill via US connection), the last one least assigned to but decent speed (faster than Astrill direct China connection).

VPNtraffic China (direct)



Astrill China 1 (via US)


Astrill China 2 (direct)
So slow it doesn't even load speedtest well.

VPNtraffic US


Astrill LA (World)


720p streams normally you only need 5mbps, so for streaming movies purpose, VPN traffic is sufficient on off peak hour. Peak hour will depends.

Edit: Tested VPNtraffic US on another server


For record, I'm using M1 200mbps fibre

Is VPNtraffic China (direct) = Los Angeles (China) & Astrill China 2 (direct) = China 2 (No Facebook) ?

As for VPNtraffic, it's crap because there's only 1 china server (cn.trafficvpn.com) and most of the time the connection drops halfway and/or there's no internet access though I can connect to it.. does not occur with astrill..