TV Licence article Discussion
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Mecoconuts wrote: »What a load of BULL that Article is ......it has nothing to do with how you 'watch' TV but how you recieve it.
Here is the LAW :
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/legislation-and-policy-AB9#link1
If you can receive TV regardless of means then you PAY for it.
As usual MSE misinformation AGAIN......am not surprised members have declined over the years .....the websites a mess too.
Money Sponging Expert should be the new website name....to go with the previous owner.
I stopped paying my license and spoke to someone at the BBC licensing and she said all I needed to do was unplug the aerial from the back of the TV set then I didn't need to have a license. So there it is from the horses mouth. No one has ever been prosecuted for having a TV that isn't connected to an aerial.0 -
Hi guys, my first post!
I am quite excited about not having to pay for a tv licence.
I've been reading about the qualifications for watching tv without a licence but would like to know what actually constitutes live tv away from the obvious. ie real time broadcasts. Is there any grey area or non obvious trip ups. Plus can you get burned for channel hopping, accidentally bringing up a live broadcast for a few seconds. It might sound paranoid but these things happen.
Any of your comments would be welcome.
All the best, Colin.0 -
You just need to unplug the TV aerial from the back of the set. You are also no allowed to watch any live internet broadcasts. For example you are not allowed watch BBC news or Russia Today live on internet TV.Hi guys, my first post!
I am quite excited about not having to pay for a tv licence.
I've been reading about the qualifications for watching tv without a licence but would like to know what actually constitutes live tv away from the obvious. ie real time broadcasts. Is there any grey area or non obvious trip ups. Plus can you get burned for channel hopping, accidentally bringing up a live broadcast for a few seconds. It might sound paranoid but these things happen.
Any of your comments would be welcome.
All the best, Colin.0 -
Technically we shouldn't pay too much attention to what TVL say (though as you fail to link to a source, it's hard to verify this - here, they say that foreign TV is included - http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ1), because they don't set the law.
It's on the page that you get when you click on "Check if you need one" on the homepage.
I agree that TVL do not set the Law, however anyone wanting to keep TVL at a safe distance does need to know how they will interpret it.
Yes - these are the practical issues that arise. (In fact, some practical issues will arise whatever interpretation one assumes).Well that's a little ambiguous. Examples:
* BBC1 - you definitely can't watch it live, because it's broadcast live to the members of the public
* Canal+ (France) - not allowed, presumably, because it's on Sky channel 896 (or whatever it is)
* Red Hot & Dutch (or similar European channel) - I assume with a big enough satellite dish you can get this in the UK
* Indosiar (Indonesian TV channel) - Definitely NOT available via satellite (impossible physically), but if you can watch it live online, then other 'members of the public' can surely do the same, and it's therefore a television broadcast.
* IPL cricket on Indian TV channel - let's say you are watching on India1 (made-up name) - not available in the UK, but the same programme, except for adverts, is being broadcast on ITV2+ - they haven't bothered getting new presenters, it's just rebroadcast. Or vice versa, if you watch a Sky cricket feed, being broadcast in say the USA, with US adverts, online, does that require a licence.
No. What would be the point in that definition?And if I use geographical spoofing to access a foreign channel, is that 'available to the public'?
I doubt very much that MSE has vast resources. They are always telling us how few moderators there are.MSE is a company worth hundreds of millions of pounds, they are not short of resources. It's not THAT complicated.
You may not be aware that this issue (and technology reporting generally) has a shameful history of bad reporting that is conceptually flawed and badly researched. In the context of that background, MSE's article isn't too bad.
It still comes down to equipment "installed and used for TV reception". You can have a Sky subscription and no box. Having a Sky sub is not illegal per se.Well no of course it doesn't, my point was that it was a terrible example, because without a licence a Sky subscription is either illegal or a complete waste of money.0 -
I disabled my aerial (just enough to make the picture quality so poor no-one would want to watch it, but not so much I can't bring it back to life should I ever want to), and then removed all coaxial cables between the aerial sockets on the walls and the TV sets. As such there's no way we can accidentally watch live shows on any of the TVs in the house through that.Plus can you get burned for channel hopping, accidentally bringing up a live broadcast for a few seconds. It might sound paranoid but these things happen.
I don't use iPlayer, but I believe from what I read that this could be a problem area where you need to be careul - it sounds as if they show live as well as delayed.Cheryl0 -
Hi guys, my first post!
I am quite excited about not having to pay for a tv licence.
I've been reading about the qualifications for watching tv without a licence but would like to know what actually constitutes live tv away from the obvious. ie real time broadcasts. Is there any grey area or non obvious trip ups. Plus can you get burned for channel hopping, accidentally bringing up a live broadcast for a few seconds. It might sound paranoid but these things happen.
Any of your comments would be welcome.
All the best, Colin.
I went for a long while using the term "TV broadcasts" as opposed to "live TV", as the latter is too confusing.
If you don't have a licence, you cannot watch or record TV broadcasts i.e. what is transmitted conventionally using Freeview/Satellite/Cable.
The Licence also covers programmes delivered over the Internet when they are viewed at the same time as the conventional transmission.
To be on the safe side, you'll want to detune your TV and and Settop Boxes, Video Recorders, etc. so they can no longer receive TV channels. Also disconnect aerial leads, satellite feeds, etc.
There can be no accidents through channel-hopping, because none of the channels should be receivable.
You don't need a licence for Catch-up,Video-on-demand, Netflix, Youtube, etc.0 -
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No one has ever been prosecuted for having a TV that isn't connected to an aerial.
Really?
http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/whereilive/localheadlines/3741726.TV_licence_worker_made_fake_reports/0 -
The person who was prosecuted there was the TV license official. He even probably had a TV license.Bedsit_Bob wrote: »0 -
Clearly put!
I only experienced the torrent of threats you receive when I lived in a house without a licence. No, we did not have a licence, but neither did we have a television, nor did we have the time to watch it.
Brown envelopes arrived with reference to court action in red on the front and threats I would be interviewed according to the Police & Criminal Evidence Act. Somebody eventually arrived the first time (without the police) on the doorstep, having been sent around 100 miles to drive to check on me and whether I had a licence.
Eventually, in exasperation, I told a friend I was going to buy a licence because it was cheaper than the annoyance and my blood pressure.
I'm glad I didn't give in.0
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