Laptop for student & to watch TV

lonestarfan

Does anyone have a comment on whether I should buy a monitor only or a proper tv so he can watch on a decent size. Either choice will demand a tv licnece from what's been posted as that then means its pliugged in and not using batteries.
Also any thoughts on type of laptop mentioned in my OP. TIA.

reaprr

lonestarfan wrote: »

reaprr wrote:

You can connect laptops to TV or monitors very easily with a few cheap cables depending on what connections the laptop/tv/monitor has. These would allow the TV or monitor to display whatever is on the laptop. HDMI cables would be best as these transmit both video and audio over 1 cable and can display HD quality, however if the devices don't have the right sockets you can use an AUX cable for sound (connected to the headphones jack) and a VGA cable for video.

I think that would mean that the laptop is then mains powered so would need a licence. Do you think that?

That's an interesting question. In this scenario (laptop screen being displayed on a TV) the laptop itself does not need to be mains powered however the TV would.

Would the TV count as an extension of the laptop? I'm not sure.

As my laptop doesn't have an HDMI connection I use VGA and AUX cables to display my laptop on my TV when watching films, it came in very useful at university!

If he wants to watch live TV at university (on a TV, his laptop, or his xbox) he will legally need a TV licence, but it will be near impossible to track it.

He can legally watch catchup tv such as iPlayer and ITV player without a tv licence.

Lifeforms

What exactly is he studying at university?

This can have an impact on whether a larger screen would be beneficial for work purposes or just for easier watching sake. (could also work as a second screen)

reaprr

lonestarfan wrote: »

Does anyone have a comment on whether I should buy a monitor only or a proper tv so he can watch on a decent size. Either choice will demand a tv licnece from what's been posted as that then means its pliugged in and not using batteries.
Also any thoughts on type of laptop mentioned in my OP. TIA.

Monitors generally have better resolution than TV's so if he will want to display his computer on the device then a monitor would be best.

I'm fairly certain an xbox can also be displayed on a monitor although I have never done it myself so I can't say much about the subject.

To make life easier the monitor should have a couple of HDMI slots so he doesn't have to disconnect his xbox everytime he wants to use it for his laptop.

I just had a very quick look on ebuyer for you for a monitor, I've no idea what price range or what size screen you want, but something like this could be good (it has x2 HDMI slots, and a VGA and Headphones(AUX) slots)

http://www.ebuyer.com/393520-lg-ips237l-bn-23-led-lcd-ips-hdmi-monitor-ips237l-bn

Just a suggestion.

If he isn't going to need it until September you have plenty of time to look around for other monitors. Generally with technology it is best to wait until you need it, as they are always improving and getting cheaper.

Cornucopia

lonestarfan wrote: »

Reappr - The website I posted (tvcatchup.com) is live TV, despite the name. Yes I did interpret that as catch up tv not live tv - they could do with a better name lol

Originally they were doing "not live" versions of all the channels content, but were blocked on copyright grounds. Now they just re-stream live versions.

Someone said earlier that a TV dongle is the same as having a tv and aerial so needs a tv licence. Think I'm leaning towards needing to buy a licence.

Not true. The exemption we're talking about actually originates with the early portable TVs. People have confused the internet/catch-up exemption with the portable equipment exemption - they are two different things.

Cornucopia

lonestarfan wrote: »

Does anyone have a comment on whether I should buy a monitor only or a proper tv so he can watch on a decent size. Either choice will demand a tv licnece from what's been posted as that then means its pliugged in and not using batteries.
Also any thoughts on type of laptop mentioned in my OP. TIA.

If you are buying new, you can simply compare the resolution of the monitor to TV. A large screen (32inch +) Monitor will be more difficult to get hold of, and more expensive than an equivalent TV - you'll probably have to order it online from a specialist supplier.

Either way, you should be looking for HD resolution (1920x1280) which is what most 22inch/27inch monitors and most 26inch+ TVs have.

As I mentioned before, I think that using this configuration (TV + laptop) for watching TV broadcasts would not be compatible with the portable equipment exemption.

lonestarfan

Thanks everyone for replying and the info/examples/links to tvs etc. much appreciated. The next bit is that I've found out the internet is free wifi enabled broadband style internet by Cable-com. It also provides ITPV to all residents. I've googled them and itpv and I and can't see this type of tv service is any different to what we've been talking about so will still need a tv licence for that. Any comments? TIA.

reaprr

lonestarfan wrote: »

Thanks everyone for replying and the info/examples/links to tvs etc. much appreciated. The next bit is that I've found out the internet is free wifi enabled broadband style internet by Cable-com. It also provides ITPV to all residents. I've googled them and itpv and I and can't see this type of tv service is any different to what we've been talking about so will still need a tv licence for that. Any comments? TIA.

Do you mean IPTV?

I believe that was the service that was offered at my university that was very unreliable, of course this was a few years ago now and technology has improved quite a bit since then so it might be much better now!

Legally he will still need a TV licence as it is live TV streamed over the internet. It won't stop him using other services like tvcatchup/iplayer/itvplayer etc either so he will have a lot of options providing the internet is fast enough to cope with all the students using it!

edit:

My mistake, IPTV is just the general name for TV streamed over the internet, it isn't a brand name of a specific company. So the IPTV offered by my uni might be completely different to your one - which might be a lot more reliable!

Cornucopia

lonestarfan wrote: »

... so will still need a tv licence for that. Any comments? TIA.

The same exemption for portable equipment still applies if the laptop is not playing TV broadcasts whilst plugged into the wall socket.

closed

A tv dongle with an aerial plugged in, is essentially a tv tuner, used for watching live broadcasts - if someone buys one, and watches live tv, whilst plugged into the mains (as they surely will at some point), then they should have a licence.

if they watch catchup tv on anything, they don't need one.

to use iptv, you'll need a licence unless it comes as part of the halls package.

http://iss.leeds.ac.uk/info/290/for_students/315/iptv_internet_protocol_television


http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/technology--devices-and-online-top8/