Todays office debate

[driver1 10]

Do you need a licence to watch ANY television stations on your laptop / desktop(wireless or hardwired) ?

Opinions / knowledge please

[Kaizabella 10]

I know you need one to watch Iplayer, I'm not sure about things like 4od and sky though....

[blurt 10]

The law says that anyone who uses a TV, or any other device, to receive TV signals, must buy a licence.

 

This includes video recorders, set-top boxes and DVD recorders.

 

You will also need a licence if you use your computer to watch live broadcasts.

 

just googled this

[flamingjimmy 10]

What about if you have a television but it's not set up to receive a signal and is only used for videogames? Do you need a license then?

[displaced 10]

I know when i used to work in blockbuster, they had TV's for playing in house pre recorded DVD's and we didnt need to get a TV licence for those. When they called us we were instructed to say we only play pre recorded material.

[Kaizabella 10]

What about if you have a television but it's not set up to receive a signal and is only used for videogames? Do you need a license then?

 

I think thats Ok, as long as you're not receiving any TV signals.

[flamingjimmy 10]

I think thats Ok, as long as you're not receiving any TV signals.

 

thanks that's what I figured, I can't seem to get confirmation anywhere on the licensing website though.

[Kaizabella 10]

thanks that's what I figured, I can't seem to get confirmation anywhere on the licensing website though.

 

 

Well when my ex didn't pay his TV licence, they put a little box on the back of the TV as we said we didn't use it for watching TV, and they said to us that we could play the PS2 (it was a while ago)

 

You don't need a TV licence for owning a TV, just watching TV channnels on it.

[flamingjimmy 10]

Well when my ex didn't pay his TV licence, they put a little box on the back of the TV as we said we didn't use it for watching TV, and they said to us that we could play the PS2 (it was a while ago)

 

You don't need a TV licence for owning a TV, just watching TV channnels on it.

 

Thanks, yeah my flatmates's TV is not so much a television as it is a screen for his xbox, he refuses to pay a license for programming he's not even wired up to receive. Which I think is fair enough.

[missrabbit 10]

I thought you needed one even if you dont watch your tv....Is it true that you dont pay for a tv licence if you are blind or deaf?

[quisquose 10]

You need a license if your monitor/pc/tv is able to receive tv signals.

 

So even if you don't have a tv, but you buy a PC with a tv card in it you will need a license.

 

You don't need a license if all your equipment is unable to receive (aerial/cable/satellite) tv signals.

 

So if you have no tv etc, but you do have a PC with no tv card, you don't need a license. So in theory you can watch BBC iPlayer and other video sites, even streaming live television, with no license.

 

More and more people are cottening on to this, as a recent R4 programme highlighted, and ditching their tv enabled equipment and the cost of the license. So expect the law to change soon.

Edited March 31, 2009 by quisquose