Trick for students to still watch BBC iPlayer or live TV without a TV licence

MSE_Luke

"Trick for students to still watch BBC iPlayer or live TV without a TV licence"

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VisionMan

Its not a trick. Its the law.

Honestly...

Yue

I wish they would just use a login for BBC Iplayer instead of all these confusing rules.... It feels like this is just trying to catch people out. Does this mean I could watch stuff on my tablet as long as its not charging at the same time? As long as I only charge it from a portable power pack and never from the mains? And I still don't understand the rules regarding live broadcasts that are not shown on TV, like Twitch.tv or Youtube livestreams, for instance.

jenniewb

Yue wrote: »

I wish they would just use a login for BBC Iplayer instead of all these confusing rules.... It feels like this is just trying to catch people out. Does this mean I could watch stuff on my tablet as long as its not charging at the same time? As long as I only charge it from a portable power pack and never from the mains? And I still don't understand the rules regarding live broadcasts that are not shown on TV, like Twitch.tv or Youtube livestreams, for instance.

I can tell from your sensible questions that you are young. You have not yet been around long enough to realise how when people get older and massively richer at the same time, they lose touch with the real world and make silly rules in an attempt to control things without even thinking them through. This only happens when your ego is that far inflated you think your ideas are faultless and don't give yourself space to think things through or even consider having a talk with others who may know more, because when you are a fat-cat, you assume you are the world and you know everything.


I've no doubt they'll close the loop holes you've already described, but the real world moves faster than out of touch corporations, and there will be new loop holes to replace the closed ones...


If they just sat down and spoke to people, asked how they could create a service people wanted to pay for, people could pay for, they'd not make everyone pay, but they'd solve a lot of this crazy loop hole game in a shot. But they wont do that, because that would involve a degree of forethought and no one does that anymore.

blink18

Vanished wrote: »

I live in a house with a tv licence but how will the BBC be able to catch people who don't have a license?

the same way as they always have, by visiting people at home and harassing them and getting them to admit to watching live tv.

ironik

I don't think this trick is still valid.

I saw this thread before my son went to university a month ago. However the words on the TV License page have now changed from those quoted in the MSE article:

From the latest TV licensing page (I added the bold)

Alternatively, they may be covered by their parents’ licence. If you think this is the case, please check that all the following are true before getting in touch with us:
1. They never watch or record programmes as they're being shown on TV or live on an online TV service
2. AND never download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand
3. OR they only do the above using a device that’s never connected to an aerial or plugged into the mains.

What does anyone else think?

boliston

I'm not sure what has changed as using a portable device has always been covered by the parent's license - so no "trick" involved

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ32


Does my parents' TV Licence cover me while I'm away at university?

Your parents' TV Licence won't cover you while you're away at university.
There is just one exception to this rule. If you only use a device that's powered solely by its own internal batteries, you will be covered by your parents' TV Licence. However, you must not install the device (e.g. plug it into the mains) when using it to receive TV. To check whether this exception applies to you, see student information.

teddysmum

The difference seems to be in the 'never connected to the mains' part which implies it must be a device which runs on batteries not taking a mains charge.


Years ago, we had a boat and a portable tv which would run on a car battery as well as mains. This tv was covered for use on the boat, as it would use the car battery and covered at home while on mains. (This was before you were covered away from home if the tv at home was unused)


It looks as though this tv (long dead) would have failed the newer student conditions, as it was used from mains at home, so would not be covered while running on battery away from home. (Though it would be covered if we were away from home while no tv was used at home)

Cornucopia

I can't see anything wrong with the MSE article. I think it explains it quite well.

The exemption originates with portable equipment. Such equipment would be something that is completely self-contained when in use under this provision in the parents' Licence.

So, in today's terms we are talking about a Phone, Tablet or Laptop that is solely connected to wifi when being used in "Parents' Licence" mode, and not to an external aerial or external power source.

How it is connected when it's not in use for that purpose is not relevant. Hence you can connect it to the mains power for charging, just not at the same time as using it for watching TV. The reason for the awkward wording is that a TV Licence only ever relates to the activity of watching/recording TV or viewing/downloading from iPlayer. If you're not presently doing those things, you don't presently need a Licence, and if you don't presently need a Licence, there are no constraints on how you connect your phone/tablet/laptop at that point in time.

The TV Licensing text is not great, and they've already changed it to make it slightly clearer.

Cornucopia

jenniewb wrote: »

I can tell from your sensible questions that you are young...

To be fair, TV Licensing are utter scoundrels (putting it politely).

They would struggle to tell the complete, absolute truth if their very existence depended on it.

phillw

teddysmum wrote: »

It looks as though this tv (long dead) would have failed the newer student conditions, as it was used from mains at home, so would not be covered while running on battery away from home. (Though it would be covered if we were away from home while no tv was used at home)

I don't believe the rules have changed.

A tv license covers a single address for installed devices, but you can use portable devices if your home address is covered.

You are allowed to install a device somewhere else, if you are staying away and the installed device at home isn't being used.

Your TV and car battery is an installed device, because the battery isn't internal, so you could only ever use your home tv license if nobody was watching an installed device at your home.

The wording is vague because laws are written (or at least interpreted) in a way that means that technical progress doesn't make something legal just because that innovation wasn't envisaged when the law was written. The iPlayer "loophole" is an example of one the original rules missed the first time round.

I am surprised they never classified the Wifi/adsl router as part of the device receiving the broadcast, so you'd need to use a laptop on batteries with a DVB receiver built in to qualify.