Connecting to Mac Studio remotely for streaming services

Yes, with a LOT of work you could make a very slow connection. VPN is NOT part of that solution -- they are always slower and involve more Hops.

But the speeds required for Streaming are NOT achievable, and some services preclude forwarding Streaming data.

You need to think about other solutions.

If you have ANY connection to the internet, why can't you connect directly to the Provider for Streaming?

This isn’t particularly related to this Mac, or to whatever other computer gear is involved. Not particularly. This is centrally a question around networking, around your ISP service, and your particular choice of router. The Mac gets (more) involved if the firewall lacks features.

Usual suggestion here is a travel router, which can provide a local Wi-Fi that appears to be connected to your home network. Here is a video discussing a few choices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVID4cM5KFg

Some networking gear supports travel routers natively, some can be added, some require rather more help. Most networking gear purchased on price or that was provided by the ISP tends to lack ease-of-use features, and can require more setup work and potential costs.

The alternative to the travel router is a software-defined network connection, which can be an organizational VPN, or a solution akin to Tailscale. Various routers feature an embedded VPN server which makes this much easier, while others do not. (The over-hyped “pinky promise” VPNs are not involved here.)

There are ancillary setup details around locating the address of your home network from remote networks, which can include using dynamic DNS, or a static IP address from your ISP. How fast your network is too, as some ISP connections can be slow, or asymmetric, or both.

So… what is your router vendor, and router model?

And how much do you want to know (more) about networking?

Joemac8 wrote:

Because I will be in Europe and much of my content is unavailable there

If your domestic streaming service providers have blocked usage from locations in Europe, then the limitation is probably also included in their Terms of Service/Agreement, which you accepted when you signed up for each service. While a robust VPN service might enable you to technically access the service(s) abroad you could be "found out" and end up with your service being terminated for misuse. Trying to go through your home-based Mac Studio is likely to be an effort full of frustration even if it works, and it would still be a violation of the Terms of Service.

As one example, quoting from Amazon Prime's TOC ...

"Due to technical and other restrictions imposed by content providers, the Service is available only in certain locations. The Digital Content (including subtitled and dubbed audio versions of Digital Content) and how we offer Digital Content to you will vary over time and by location. Amazon will use technologies to verify your geographic location. You may not use any technology or technique to obscure or disguise your location.."

Similarly from Disney+:

"Content Availability. The Content that we make available via any Service Tier is not guaranteed and may be limited and vary over time, including (i) based on rights availability, (ii) based on the terms of your subscription or Service Tier, (iii) based on your location, or (iv) by law. ... We may use different technologies and methods to verify your location, and you may be required to enable location sharing on certain devices in order to access this Content. Please visit each Service’s applicable help center for more information."

These are just 2 examples of many and they don't take kindly to users who try to skirt either the technology or the agreements.

Joemac8 wrote:

I have an ASUS RT a3 5300 that I own

I’ll assume ASUS RT-AC5300.

That router does have an embedded VPN server using OpenVPN, which makes this remote-access approach easier.

I don’t see dynamic DNS client support, just some sort of passthrough listed. The ASUS website is not currently allowing downloads of the router manual, so no confirming the DDNS details from there. Downloading a copy of the ASUS manual from elsewhere does indicate DDNS support.

Various travel routers will likely work, as will another VPN client capable of connecting into your OpenVPN server.

You’ll be limited by the speed of your ISP link, and particularly for streaming by the speed of the ISP uplink.

You may be able to access the internet and other servers directly from your router, assuming the router can redirect incoming connections back out; can proxy your incoming network connections back outward.

If you’re trying to screen share here and where that’s permissible by your services’ agreements, DRM can block that.

The network where your remote connection is originating is involved. Many local networks can have poor performance. If your remote network and your ISP connection uplink is fast enough to support streaming, this then looks like a question for ASUS. Check for newer RT-AC5300 firmware, too. This all looks to be a decade or so old too, so what other security or performance issues might lurk here is a discussion with ASUS.