If you don't have a TV licence ...

[skybluepearl]

We don't watch that much TV and have a limited number of channels due to living in a hilly area. On the whole TV seems quite seems rubbish these days. I do really enjoy sitting down to watch a film and the odd interesting programme though. The kids have a maximum of one hours screen time each day -they choose between wii/computer/TV.

I'd really like to rejig things. Maybe stop paying the TV licence/stop watching TV and join love films? Have thought about maybe watching i-player on TV through the Wii - but am not sure if we still have to pay our TV licence for this?

How are things set up in your house if you don't watch normal telly?

[Flisspaps]

You still need a TV licence to watch i-player.

[Flisspaps]

And you still need it if you only watch non-BBC channels

[ednurse]

You also still need it for a DVD player or phone that has access to iplayer, etc I believe. (lots of threatening letters from tv licensing later when I lived in a rented room on site at work)

[meditrina]

You need to have a TV licence in UK if you have any equipment which can receive television transmissions, regardless of whether you actually watch any. So you would need to get rid of all televisions, and possibly computers too.

[ChasingSquirrels]

I thought you only needed a licence if you are using equipment to watch or record tv while it is being shown live here and here, so you wouldn't need it for i-player.

[inchoccyheaven]

You do not need a tv licence to watch iplayer etc. I know someone that had to show that her tv wasn't connected to aerial so she couldn't receive tv programmes but is perfectly ok to watch dvds etc. This is from tv licence website

You do not need a television licence to watch television programmes on the current version of the BBC iPlayer. You will need to be covered by a TV licence if and when the BBC provides a feature that enables you to watch 'live' TV programmes on any later version of the BBC iPlayer which has this option... A 'live' TV programme is a programme which is watched or recorded at the same time (or virtually the same time) as it is being broadcast... [etc]

[Octaviapink]

You do NOT need a licence unless you are watching or taping programmes as they are broadcast - meditrina, Flisspaps and ednurse are incorrect. (You may still get some rude letters from the TV licence people, but if you call them to explain they're fine - the letters are generated automatically by a computer that doesn't believe people don't watch TV.)

We have a TV that we use solely for watching films and DVD box sets and playing computer games. We haven't had a licence for about five years and the TV licence people are fine with it. Go for it! It's very liberating not watching TV.

[Flisspaps]

I stand corrected :)

[sarahtigh]

you only need tv licence to watch live TV you can have Tv to watch DVD old videos etc, if you watch catch up tv on computer you do not need licence
by the way the vans can not detect most things they use addresses with no licence and sit outside and see if they can see screen working old fashioned tv sets gave out a signal that could be picked up but even if you were watching live tv on pc the van would not pick it up though that would be illegal

as octavia said they will be fine but do not ignoe their letters just go on line or ring them and say no tv

[AngelDog]

What Octavia said. We used to have a TV just for videos and the license people were fine with it. Now we use iplayer on the laptop.

It's becoming more common not to have a TV - the licensing man who came here recently said we were the 8th house in less than an hour not to have a TV.

[cinnamongreyhound]

I watched live streaming tv the other day on iplayer and it asked if I had a TV licence before I watched it, never does that with old stuff.

[TricityBendixx]

i don't have a telly and don't miss it one little bit! i watch A LOT of films and would definitely recommend lovefilm. also watch stuff on iplayer etc.

bin the gogglebox!

[NetworkGuy]

cinnamongreyhound - as has been mentioned in other posts, it's only LIVE or virtually live (ie within a few seconds of broadcast on satellite / Freeview / analogue, where those few seconds are down to internet time lag) where one needs a licence to watch (at least that's the case right now in 2011).

There has been some question mark over requiring anyone using iPlayer to have a licence, in future, which will no doubt catch out many tens of thousands of students who have laptops and can watch 'on demand' but may/may not be watching live.

Clearly it is difficult if not impossible to prove that while one has used iPlayer, it was never used to watch a show (or particularly sport, since they don't allow viewing later) 'live' at the time it was going out.

There's an old blog page about this, where Nick Reynolds from the BBC seems to imply that having the ability to view is enough to need a licence.

However, other posters can follow the Act and it clearly states "You need a TV licence to use any TV receiving equipment such as ... to watch ... programmes as they are being shown on TV."

However, there have been views from within the BBC - headline "BBC chief demands charge for iPlayer to stop viewers 'getting a free ride'" (19th May 2009)

It has been brought up again more recently. Indeed it may be popular for a lot of people overseas if they could have access (it is blocked on a geographic IP basis at present for TV) by either having a TV Licence number or using some sort of pay per view scheme or micropayments scheme (so one pays on the basis of some pence per hour/minute basis).

[NetworkGuy]

I should add that I have about 2 dozen PCs here (some running Windows, some needing repairs, several running Linux and a couple of (old) Macs). No way I could prove that none of them are capable, but I could, if TVL came with a warrant to inspect, and a policeman, let them start with an opening comment of "If you can make it work with iPlayer, you're better than me, and I've been in IT for 30 years". Might slow them down, having to check that lot... even getting some to boot may be fun!

(There is no up-to-date Flash player for the iMac or eMac as these are old OSX v10.2.8 or 10.4 machines, not running on Intel chips like the latest. Some of the linux machines might work with iPlayer but I have never tried it on them.

Oh yes, why would I need them to have a warrant and a policeman to accompany them? Because they were told in 1999 after my Mum died that there was no TV set, but have sent pestering letters and threats every 2 to 3 months since that time. No one was living here for around 7 years and it seems to be the case that they unlike the law, where you are innocent until proven guilty, they take the contrary view, and won't hesitate to attempt to intimidate with threats of 1000 pound fine if you don't comply with their request to visit. S*d them, I say. I download around 100 GB of BBC TV a month, (about 17 hours), but don't watch live. I may be 'out of touch' with images from war zones, etc, but from the TV schedules see there is so much rubbish these days I am not inclined to watch (though am tempted to get FreeSat or Sky primarily for the extra radio services which would be in better quality than DAB, or stations I cannot get easily)... I record radio 24x7 and listen a good 12 to 18 hours a day, across the board concerning content, whether jazz or drama, pop or comedy...

[skybluepearl]

thanks people - just about to follow up all the links now.

[FutureNannyOgg]

I didn't have a license for a while, after the digital switchover I didn't have a digibox, and as I rarely watched it anyway, I cancelled it, they guy ohn the phone when I cancelled was fine with it, and I got refunded what I had paid upfront.

I did however get regular letters and the odd doorknock, they were always fine when i explained, never asked for proof, but one sternly told me they would know if I was watching. I said fine, because I wouldnt be.

[UniS]

A liecence is needed to watch LIVE TV even via i-player. BUt not to watch recorded pragrams.

We have no working TV receiver, we live in a digital only area and have an old analogue TV as a video/ DVD monitor.

TV liecencing hassle us regularly and threaten to visit and inspect.

[NetworkGuy]

"and the odd doorknock" - on another thread someone says that there has been the same guy four years running, and it is a bit of a running joke with them now.

I consider an annual visit close to harrassment actually. I am now in two minds about inviting them to visit a first time if they will continue to annoy me 'evermore'...www.mumsnet.com/Talk/parenting/1159539-If-you-dont-have-a-TV-licence/AllOnOnePage#24061888

[NetworkGuy]

Sorry - browser wobble as I had no plan to link back to this same thread !!

[WoTmania]

We didn't have a tV for ages - I eventually relented and we have my brother's old0 2o1n0e for DVDs.
We don't have alicence and use i-player to watch things like DR Who after htey've gone out on air. THis is allowe0d, it's only live TV you need a licence for

[WoTmania]

Sorry DD attacked me!

[Londile]

I don't think watching TV in the morning is a good idea as I think it is more important for my husband and just as importantly me to spend time talking to our son, What do you think?

[Octaviapink]

Londile, I think that deserves its own thread, but I would certainly agree. Especially for boys - they need language interaction to develop the language part of their brain.