MSE News: You'll need a TV licence to use iPlayer from 1 September this year

mooksthepukes

Do we need a TV license to watch the BBC weather forecast on their website, please?

Cornucopia

mooksthepukes wrote: »

Do we need a TV license to watch the BBC weather forecast on their website, please?

It looks as though it's served by iPlayer, so I'd probably say: yes.

VisionMan

Cornucopia wrote: »

It's not really about the numbers. Though I have to say that polls regularly put the proportion of the Public who would like to see the back of the Licence Fee as around 50-65%.

Yet again you bend the truth to suit your point of view. But then again, don't we all?

Cornucopia

VisionMan wrote: »

Yet again you bend the truth to suit your point of view. But then again, don't we all?

How am I bending the truth?

https://www.sundaypost.com/in10/half-of-viewers-would-bin-the-tv-licence/

In this issue, though, the sheer quantity and audacity of the misinformation emanating from BBC/TVL is such that you'd have to be telling massive whoppers to depose them from their position as number 1 hoaxers of the British Public.

You seem to be suggesting that this "great campaign" (whatever that means) is some kind of exercise in democracy whereby I persuade as many people as I can that the Licence needs abolishing and after a while enough people think that and it can get done.

Unfortunately, it isn't that and was never intended to be. Even if it was, our democracy doesn't work like that - at the margins of niche issues like this, it really isn't very democratic at all.

What I am doing is using my knowledge to help people understand whether they need a Licence or not, to help people deal with the "issues" around BBC/TVL safely, and to assist people who have been falsely accused by TV Licensing exercise their legal right to a defence (one that has been roundly undermined by successive Governments, the Courts and the BBC).

That sets my personal moral compass several orders of magnitude higher than the BBC, at least for the moment. But let's bring on OFCOM and see where we go from there.

If, for whatever reason, you object to that activity (though I cannot fathom why anyone would), then I suggest you find an alternative spectator sport.

tristanwhotravels

If your holiday home is an actual House or Flat, then you need a Licence, but only if you plan to operate your Laptop/Tablet from mains power.

If your holiday home is a static caravan, mobile home or moveable chalet, then you don't need a second Licence as long as TV is not being watched/recorded in both places at the same time.[/QUOTE]

So it seems the key point here is whether my laptop is plugged into the mains or battery powered whilst streaming/downloading over the internet live/previous BBC programmes - if the latter I should be covered by my licence for my main home.

Thanks

EdSwippet

Cornucopia wrote: »

Do we need a TV license to watch the BBC weather forecast on their website, please?

It looks as though it's served by iPlayer, so I'd probably say: yes.

For the average user though, it can be fiendishly difficult (if not downright impossible) to tell what is served through iPlayer and what is not.

The BBC radio site sometimes embeds videos alongside music programming. For example, this one from 6Music. Before the start of this month there wasn't any questionmark over licence-less access to it. Now there might be.

It's all a horrible mess.

Cornucopia

EdSwippet wrote: »

For the average user though, it can be fiendishly difficult (if not downright impossible) to tell what is served through iPlayer and what is not.

Yes, I totally accept that. I hadn't realised the extent to which video content now permeated the BBC website(s), given that I am not a user of them.

I knew that the Weather videos were part of iPlayer because they were blocked by the blocking URLs I have in place on my Router. The BBC 6 Music video is also blocked.

It's all a horrible mess.

Yes, I don't think "they" thought through the extent to which video apparently owned by the BBC crops up in so many places.

A cynical person might say that it was in their interests for this to be very complicated so as to be able to manipulate Licence sales and prosecution as they see fit.

unforeseen

EdSwippet wrote: »

For the average user though, it can be fiendishly difficult (if not downright impossible) to tell what is served through iPlayer and what is not.

The BBC radio site sometimes embeds videos alongside music programming. For example, this one from 6Music. Before the start of this month there wasn't any questionmark over licence-less access to it. Now there might be.

It's all a horrible mess.

Simple answer

If you get a box asking whether you have a licence then you need one. If not then no licence needed

Cornucopia

unforeseen wrote: »

Simple answer

If you get a box asking whether you have a licence then you need one. If not then no licence needed

I've seen reports of content that doesn't fit that suggestion. I'm unable to test it out because I've blocked iPlayer, but we can make a list of possible problem areas...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ (under UK Forecast video)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p044385j (I don't see this, but I imagine it's a play button on the main picture)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/37260318 (again, probably a play button on the large picture)

EdSwippet

unforeseen wrote: »

If you get a box asking whether you have a licence then you need one. If not then no licence needed

Yeah, thanks. I think on balance I'm happy to go with that.

I do wonder, though, how long this 'Do you have a licence?' click-through will persist, because it's probably going to irritate a lot of users in short period.