TV Licence article Discussion

Cliny

What happens if I don't have a tv licence but a staying visitor wants to watch live tv. Is their own licence sufficient?

Cliny

If I don't have a tv licence but have a visitor who has one for their own home, can they watch live tv in my house?

Cliny

I think previous comments have answered mine. As the tv has to be plugged in then i expect live tv cannot be viewed by a visitor. Thank you

cw18

Cliny wrote: »

What happens if I don't have a tv licence but a staying visitor wants to watch live tv. Is their own licence sufficient?

Cliny wrote: »

If I don't have a tv licence but have a visitor who has one for their own home, can they watch live tv in my house?

Cliny wrote: »

I think previous comments have answered mine. As the tv has to be plugged in then i expect live tv cannot be viewed by a visitor. Thank you

You are correct with your last post. If watching on a TV that's connected to the mains, then the property the TV is in has to have a licence - so no, your visitor can't watch using their own licence.

They could, however, stream to a mobile phone, tablet or laptop as long as it's running off the internal battery and not charging at the same time. I'm not sure what the situation is if it's connected to a powerbank rather than charging from the mains, but I wouldn't personally risk it without clarification.

Cornucopia

cw18 wrote: »

They could, however, stream to a mobile phone, tablet or laptop as long as it's running off the internal battery and not charging at the same time. I'm not sure what the situation is if it's connected to a powerbank rather than charging from the mains, but I wouldn't personally risk it without clarification.

No - it has to be a device powered by its own internal batteries.

Gers

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2019/feb/21/how-can-i-avoid-paying-a-tv-licence-fee

This article gives a fulsome explanation of when a TV licence is / is not required.

Cornucopia

Gers wrote: »

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/askjack/2019/feb/21/how-can-i-avoid-paying-a-tv-licence-fee

This article gives a fulsome explanation of when a TV licence is / is not required.

It's really not very good. A number of basic blunders as well as a tone and an approach that is overly complicated.

The basic rules are these:-

You need a TV Licence to...

- Watch or Record UK TV Channels that are received by traditional means (Satellite, Cable TV or Terrestrial).

- Watch the channels above using internet streaming simultaneously (or close to) the traditional transmission.

- Watch or download from BBC iPlayer.

If you never do any of those things, you do not need a TV Licence.


edit: Issues with the article...

- Watching streaming that originates outside the UK is a grey area. The law suggests that it doesn't require a Licence, although TVL differs on this.

- The notion of "live" TV isn't a relevant distinction.

- Beginning to stream a program from a commercial catch-up service before or after its scheduled transmission does not require a Licence. The issue of catching-up during transmission needs testing in Court, but common sense suggests it doesn't require a Licence.

- "Logically, it must also include any live television feeds on Facebook or Twitter". Nonsense.

- "You are not legally obliged to make an NLN (No Licence Needed) declaration, but it is better to do so". Highly debatable. Certainly, anyone considering submitting NLN information to TVL (it is not a "claim" or a "declaration" in legal terms) should think carefully about the pros and cons.

- "You can refuse them entry, but they [TVL/Capita] may come back with a search warrant". ONLY if there is reasonable evidence of an offence taking place. The number of Warrants is tiny (c. 100 per year for England & Wales, and none in Scotland).

- "You can easily claim that you don’t watch TV, but remember, you may have to convince a licensing officer with a search warrant" - given the tiny numbers involved, this is just scaremongering.

JimmyTheWig

Cornucopia wrote: »

No - it has to be a device powered by its own internal batteries.

You could build your own "shoebox watcher". Put tablet and powerbank in the shoebox and watch it.
The "shoebox watcher" is now being powered by its own internal batteries.
?

Cornucopia

JimmyTheWig wrote: »

You could build your own "shoebox watcher". Put tablet and powerbank in the shoebox and watch it.
The "shoebox watcher" is now being powered by its own internal batteries.
?

Nice idea, but I think it would be risky.

Amongst other things, TVL have no sense of humour or imagination, so I could actually see them taking this to Court, who, coincidentally tend to have no sense of humour or imagination.

[Deleted User]

cw18 wrote: »

They could, however, stream to a mobile phone, tablet or laptop as long as it's running off the internal battery and not charging at the same time.

Or they could run it off the mains/have it charging, and watch (non-BBC I-Player) catchup.