Watch TV Legally without a licence

jamespir

roddydogs wrote: »

You were locked up for not having a telly licence, when youve only got a comp?
Seriously?

i have a tv and dvd palyer but no rf input or anything but they siad it wasnt prove that i couldnt watch tele

speedt5r

from what i remember when i was youger you paid a tv licence because you had receiver to receive broadcasted transmissions over the radio waves,when sky first started you did't have bbc channels,strange how they just change it to suit themself.
tv detector vans those were the days

Antispam

Why not get freesat?

One off costs of a box of around £50+ and a satellite dish which will be around £80 with installation if you cant do it yourself

If you dont get a licence expect to be hounded

sgl1965 wrote: »

The reason I started this thread is because I was so fed up with the BBC. I cannot receive Freeview where I live, or Channel 5 (yes, I know it's not BBC but you still need a licence to watch it) but I was expected to pay for a licence which funds programmes I cannot see. Also I love cycling and the BBC's Tour De France coverage was rubbish. So I wrote to them explaining why I was giving up my licence and said if they could make Freeview available where I live I might consider having a licence again but until then I will just watch everything on iplayer, for free. They said they would send someone around to make sure I did not have a tele, that was a year ago and I am still waiting.......
I don't honestly know if my computer is capable of receiving live tele, how would I know?

i8change

This is correct so you are OK using the "catch up" service without a licence, as long as you are not recording or watching anything live.

Examples of websites that allow you to watch television programmes as they are being shown on TV are:

BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/playlive/)
ITV (http://www.itv.com/)
Sky (http://skyplayer.sky.com/vod/page/default/home.do)

There are a number of other websites that also offer this service. If you use any of these websites you will need to be covered by a TV Licence.

You do not need to be covered by a TV licence:

• If you are using these websites to watch television programmes that are not being shown on TV at the same time. This is often described as a "catch up" service.
• To view video clips on the internet, as long as what you are viewing is not being shown on TV at the same time as you are viewing it.

This is what to expect:-

http://www.bbctvlicence.com/

You can avoid them knocking on your door and disturbing your peace by following the advice in the "Tips for avoiding TVL/BBC harassment" part of the above link. By removing their "Implied right of access."

Swan_2

roddydogs wrote: »

Here we go again "I dont need a license as i dont wathc live TV" yeh, right we believe you.

not everyone's all that interested in telly, I prefer a movie or a game tbh

the TVLA people believed me, which is the important thing

Bunny82

More useful info here.

I've just moved house and can't receive a single TV channel as the outside aerial is rubbish. I'm quite happy watching catch-up TV via the 'net so have no plans to buy a TV licence in the near future. Oh yes, and I refuse to pay a tax which makes such utter tripe as 'Strictly Come Dancing' and gives talentless 'celebrities' however many £millions a year.

housebug

Someone needs to tell the BBC there's a recession on. Got a nice shock in the mail this morning in the form of a notice from the TV license people. License is going up nearly £4 more a month, starting next month.

I'm not from England (Canadian) and it baffles the hell out of me how they've managed to get themselves funded from the taxpayers' pocket. Some bright bulb tried floating this idea back home, to fund the CBC aka Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The public told the government where to go with that notion, in no uncertain terms. Never heard from again.

Get your funding the same way the rest of TV Land has to, with advertising revenue. :mad:

d40eq6

housebug wrote: »

Get your funding the same way the rest of TV Land has to, with advertising revenue. :mad:

Please no! From times when I've lived and holidayed aboroad, one of the things I've really missed is quality ad-free tv. Also I don't know any other country that provides national radio to the quality of radios 1-5.

On the subject of the main debate, I have some good friends (one of which is a qualified lawyer) who have had televisions for years but never watch live TV (or have it connected to do so) and don't have a TV licence. They have researched the Law fully and report:

1. You do not require a licence to possess a TV PROVIDED that TV is not connected to an aerial or satellite capable of receiving TV.

2. You do not have to grant entry to TV Licence People unless they have a court warrant. They all know this (albeit if you have nothing to hide thereb should be no issue here!)

frugallass

I don't have a TV, my daughter has one that she watches DVD's on - we're not connected to any receiving equipment and never watch live TV online - I notified TVL and they accepted it - they just said that I may receive an unannounced visit from a representative to check - which is fine by me

I watch stuff on iPlayer, 4oD etc etc

enigma368

the police see it as you ahve broadband you ahve the capacity to watch tv therefore you need a licence

I don't know what kind of kangeroo court you went to, but the law as it stands does NOT require you to own a TV license simply because you have a computer with broadband.

You do however need a license if you use the PC to watch live televesion, although right now it would be very difficult to prove you used a PC to do so.

And as others have said, watching recorded programmes via iplayer or otherwise does not require a license under current legislation, provided you did not record the programmes yourself.

That said, the law is clearly outdated.