would I be correct in assuming that, you only need one of these now if you have the capability to receive and watch a digital signal?

the TV in my living room is fairly old so requires a seperate digibox but its still as good as most of the new stuff in my opinion its a (bang and olufson) I love it

anyway a while back the digibox died and we have just been watching DVD's, playing games, chatting and I have even been out in the garage building :0 shock horror LOL

by my understanding I dont need my TV licence anymore?

TV in our bedroom is an LCD but not go built in digital, so requires a set top box, will bin that as we only ever watch DVD's up there and very rarely anyway as I hate watching TV in bed.

TV in my daughters room, is an old portable for her games console, not digital capable

its not that Im tight or looking for a loophole, just that I dont see the point in paying for something if I dont need to, £150 a year or whatever it costs could be spent on my daughter for swimming lessons etc

It is worth paying 150 quid a year just to keep the TV Licensing off your back, we had a holiday home on Cumbrae with a black & white portable set that we used for only the news (the reception was so bad a buying set would have been a waste) we were continually bombarded by them ---- they never give up they think every address should have a colour license.

i think you would have to be prepared to argue a lot with the tv license man. And not be easily scared by threatening letters. I believe your license also covers you for any online content put out by the beeb, so they will prolly argue you could be watching/listening to bbc1 radio 1 etc etc online.

AFAIK if your not using it to watch tv, Even its its capable of receiving its fine.

i recently purchased a load of 42" lcd tvs at work to use as dashboards, driven by a pc via hdmi to show stats, alerts etc, tv licencing started bugging us but we told them to bugger off, they were being used on a pc, as long as no aerial is connected you should be fine.

just a thought, but if u bin ur digi box, wont mr sod conspire to put a programme on tele you *really* want to watch

You don't need a license just for the capability to watch TV as it's broadcast. You also need the intention to actually watch and to do so to require a license. We're renovating our house and I haven't yet got round to installing an aerial/dish/distribution box, but we have bought a TV which we use for games/DVDs etc. We've always simply phoned them up after recieving a letter and informed them of the above situation and said when we require a license we'll buy one thanks very much. Have never had any bother at all and have had only two letters in total - one when we moved in and one when we bought the TV (as the retailer is obliged to grass you up!). When we've phoned they always end with a 'we may send an inspector to verify what you've said', but it's all part of their smoke blowing - like the detector vans.

When I lived with my last gf we only had a TV for the kids to watch DVD's/play games etc, we had no TV aerial, no stations tuned in etc. but harassment by the licensing guys that came round in their van every few weeks never stopped for the 5 years I was there, it was almost worth paying just to shut them up but it was the principal of paying for something we didn't use that stopped me (plus it was something of a ritual after a while!).

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Originally posted by dan__wright
AFAIK if your not using it to watch tv, Even its its capable of receiving its fine.

i recently purchased a load of 42" lcd tvs at work to use as dashboards, driven by a pc via hdmi to show stats, alerts etc, tv licencing started bugging us but we told them to bugger off, they were being used on a pc, as long as no aerial is connected you should be fine.

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If the TV can recieve signals i.e its working you need a License even if you have not got an aerial. The TV license also covers you for Radios too.

You even need a license if you watch Live TV on the internet and dont have a TV!

You dont need a Licence to watch recorded programs like on the iplayer. So long as you dont have a TV.

Unfortunately they (the BBC) have you over every which way.

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If you watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV you must, by law, be covered by a TV Licence, no matter what device you're using.

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No no no! The capability is irelavent. You only require a licence if you watch or record a signal as it's broadcast. Everyone with an internet connection is capable of watching broadcast TV whether they actually own a TV or not. Having an internet connection does not mean you require a TV licence any more than owning a TV. They'd love you to think otherwise with their misleading propoganda, but that is not the law. When forced to say so by the FOI Act they will do so. In fact it's clear enough from their own website...

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ15/

[Edited on 6/8/10 by Liam]

Apologies:

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You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder.

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Amusing site with some useful info...

http://www.bbctvlicence.com/

Check out the latest letter - it's bordering on sinister! I dare say if that guy just did what I did and phoned them to tell them he doesn't require a licence, they'd leave him alone just as they've left me alone for over two years, but he seems to be enjoying himself too much

I have been fighting the TV licensing agency for years now and I refuse to get a license because I don't watch TV. I hate 90% of all programs and the only ones I remember being any good were ones involving David Attenborough.

The truth is the Beeb say if you have the capability to receive a signal you need a license. The Beeb actually told me its like owning a shotgun. Even if you don't fire it you need a license. They actually compared the TV license to a dangerous firearm.

They will hassle you constantly and they won't give up. You'll receive so many letters telling you of your terrible 'non-license' paying orientated fate that you'll wonder about the worlds supply of trees. They'll try and scare you with threatening letters and predictions of dire consequences.

Do it, don't give up and stick it to the man.

See this link

http://www.bbctvlicence.com/

Out of interest, have you actually tried just telling them you don't require one? Maybe I'm just lucky that that worked for me, but it seems more likely they have the means to 'flag' an address on their system as not requiring hassle/bullying/whatever they call it. Or maybe it was my 'I'll totally buy one when I need one' angle that satisfied them?

quote:

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Originally posted by Liam
You don't need a license just for the capability to watch TV as it's broadcast. You also need the intention to actually watch and to do so to require a license. We're renovating our house and I haven't yet got round to installing an aerial/dish/distribution box, but we have bought a TV which we use for games/DVDs etc. We've always simply phoned them up after recieving a letter and informed them of the above situation and said when we require a license we'll buy one thanks very much. Have never had any bother at all and have had only two letters in total - one when we moved in and one when we bought the TV (as the retailer is obliged to grass you up!). When we've phoned they always end with a 'we may send an inspector to verify what you've said', but it's all part of their smoke blowing - like the detector vans.

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I have just done the online notification that I do not require a licence, even added in the notes section that I do have TV's but none are digital, we only watch DVD's and Videos etc

so far they say that they will now leave me alone for 2 years, then will be require to redeclare?

quote:

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Originally posted by Liam
No no no! The capability is irelavent. You only require a licence if you watch or record a signal as it's broadcast. Everyone with an internet connection is capable of watching broadcast TV whether they actually own a TV or not. Having an internet connection does not mean you require a TV licence any more than owning a TV. They'd love you to think otherwise with their misleading propoganda, but that is not the law. When forced to say so by the FOI Act they will do so. In fact it's clear enough from their own website...

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ15/

[Edited on 6/8/10 by Liam]

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Originally posted by britishtrident
It is worth paying 150 quid a year just to keep the TV Licensing off your back...

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I cannot remember when it was the last time i bought a TV licence.

I do not have a tv and I never bothered replying to any of their letters.

Why should i pay the 30p for the post stamp and 30p for the envelope or call them at a high rate number and spend £.

You need a tv licence if you have a computer that can receive a tv signal, a mobile phone that can receive tv signal or radio, a radio that can receive stations.



Oups, They forgot to mention that you need a tv licence to use the stereo on your Car!


Dohh just realised, If they don't say that you need a tv licence for your car, does this mean that you can get an Incar TV tuner and watch tv there?

Yeahh baby. Come and get me.

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Originally posted by Irony
IThe truth is the Beeb say if you have the capability to receive a signal you need a license. The Beeb actually told me its like owning a shotgun. Even if you don't fire it you need a license. They actually compared the TV license to a dangerous firearm.

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Originally posted by Irony

Do it, don't give up and stick it to the man.

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Might be worth finding out how much those inspectors get paid, and then once they've harassed you enough politely point out that it's cost them more to not get into their heads that you don't need a licence than the licence costs.