TV Licence article Discussion

Gnocchi

Haven't had a TV since late 90s. The new BBC iPlayer licence fee rule decision doesn't make any difference to us as we prefer to watch Channel 5 on catch up (NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, NCIS New Orleans, Police Interceptors, Chicago Fire) and Amazon Prime.

We just removed all BBC iPlayer software from all our devices.

I just don't like the idea of funding secretive salaries and overblown expenses. The BBC is like some huge Civil Service department but way less accountable to anyone.

As for the idea of time warp Seventies remakes OMG I would never watch them. Nor am I a fan of watching people baking themselves towards diabetes.

LadyDee

emmablight wrote: »

I Pay For My Licence By Direct Debit, My First 6 Months Were Double And Then Went Down. I Am Therefore 6 Months Ahead. I Have Moved House 3 Times Since Setting This Up And Each Time My Licence Has Just Been Transfered. I Asked Tv Licence When I Get Back The 6 Months They Are ''looking After'' For Me And They Said Either When I Cancel My Licence( Imposible As Is Illegal) Or When I Qualify For A Free One (when I'm 65) 38 Years Away. Can Anyone Work Out How Much Interest Bbc Are Earning On My 6 Month License For 38 Years And How Much I Am Losing Out On. Will I Even Remember In 38 Years That I Have Already Overpaid, Who Knows. But The Bbc Certainly Seem To Know What They Are Doing!!

Where did you get the idea that you get a free licence at 65?

[Deleted User]

derrick wrote: »

No licence required if 74 and over.

Not strictly correct.

A person of 75 or over does require a licence, to watch/record live TV programmes (and I-player catch up, from midnight), but the licence is provided free to said person.

Cornucopia

hutch96 wrote: »

If I am a student (as of 1st September when the new licensing laws come into play), I am covered by my parents' TV license when away from home as long as I am using a device which isn't plugged into the mains (for example a laptop). If I was then to plug the laptop into a TV or a computer monitor through an HDMI cable (so the TV/monitor is connected to the mains but the laptop which is streaming live TV isn't), would I still need a TV license?

I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that, and I suspect that it is so specific that TVL would just give you a default answer of: you need a Licence.

There is a workaround, though. Download the content from iPlayer to the Laptop whilst it is on batteries, and then you can play it back however you like. That's particularly true of get_iplayer, which creates freestanding MP4 files that don't require the iPlayer app to play them back.

bsod

carrotmuseum wrote: »

they cannot possibly monitor the power supply!

They can

http://demo.hongkiat.com/html5-battery-status/

Cornucopia

They can't (well it didn't work for me).

What good would it do them, anyway?

bsod

http://caniuse.com/#search=BatteryManager

how, and if it's used is upto them, but it's technically possible, as is picking up a whole host of other information about the user including facebook id's, location/gps coordinates (caravan park check, unlicensed property check, halls of residence check), phonebook contacts etc.

biggsy137

Has anyone else who's not got a TV license also not had a letter or have the message on iplayer to say they'll needing now??

I work at sea for 6 months of the year but in 2-4 month blocks. Is there any reduced licence fee based on the fact that I won't be using it for half the year? Or are the BBC just pillaging all they can to line their pockets?

Cornucopia

bsod wrote: »

http://caniuse.com/#search=BatteryManager

how, and if it's used is upto them, but it's technically possible, as is picking up a whole host of other information about the user including facebook id's, location/gps coordinates (caravan park check, unlicensed property check, halls of residence check), phonebook contacts etc.

I think you're somewhat missing the point. It may or may not be technically possible to obtain personal info through the browser, but there are two questions regarding using that info to police iPlayer, which are:-

- Is it legal?
- Is it practical?

I'm not an expert on Internet law, so I'll pass on the legality question.

Practicality, though, is not on its side. The best you could say is that it *could* identify IP addresses, and BBC/TVL *could* apply to a Court to force the ISPs to divulge the account holder's name and address, and BBC/TVL *could* check that address against their database, and the BBC/TVL *could* guess whether a device powered by batteries was covered by an address elsewhere, and they *could* attend the original address and the resident could still ignore them, or decline to comment, and there would be no prosecution.

Cornucopia

biggsy137 wrote: »

Has anyone else who's not got a TV license also not had a letter or have the message on iplayer to say they'll needing now??

I haven't had one, although the BBC banned themselves from my address when I complained and stopped sending threatening letters.

I work at sea for 6 months of the year but in 2-4 month blocks. Is there any reduced licence fee based on the fact that I won't be using it for half the year? Or are the BBC just pillaging all they can to line their pockets?

You can buy a Licence in full, and then cancel it after 3, 6 or 9 months and obtain a pro-rata refund. There is no fee for this, although it can only be cancelled in those months. You can also do this with the monthly DD scheme, although the maths is more complicated.