The BBC

[renewablejohn]

I know its an old topic but what is the latest situation with regards changes in technology as I am totally confused.  If I go on the TV licensing site it states that if you only watch catch up tv you dont need a licence. But then if you do have the equipment ie tv or satellite then you do need a licence.  It gets more complicated as my tv's are all analogue and will not work unless connected to a satellite box or to my computer as a monitor. Do I ditch my satellite and only have catch up TV on the now down graded TV monitors. Is catch up TV cheap bearing in mind we dont have a landline internet connection only a slow orange dongle which hardly copes with You Tube clips.  Totally fed up with live TV channels rarely finding anything I want to watch on at the time I want to watch it so Catch up TV appeals to me but living in the middle of nowhere means we are a bit restricted although we do have a satellite dish we could reuse.

[clockmanFR]

renewablejohn, I am in France, with a French satelite system, 80e.

I have trained our dish on the freeview ASTRA 2 satellite, look up the coordinates on Oogl, has about 200 English channels and all the major Main English channels.
 I can come in for a coffee break, and quickly go through about 20 news channels. to see whats happening.

Here in France it used to be a National Sport not to pay the French tele licence fee, but    now the 70e is automatically added to the Rates Bill.

 

[billt]

AIUI you don't need a licence if you only watch old programmes via the internet. If you watch live TV either broadcast or over the internet you do need a licence. It will be an interesting exercise to prove that you never watch live TV though!

If you have to use mobile data I'd have thought that the licence fee was a bargain - the technical quality of broadcast TV is better than IP TV as well (for the main channels).

[renewablejohn]

Clockman

I am already set up with Astra 2A B D as well as Eurobird 1 but getting a little fed up of continually loosing channels and then having to do a new install to get the channels back.

Billit

We have to use a mobile phone as BT will not upgrade the landline and every time it rains we would be disconnected for a week until it dries out. Unfortunately we get a lot of Manchester sunshine so thought a satellite internet would solve a lot of problems and the licence fee of £148.50 would be a good start of covering the cost.

[Baz]

The website is incompetently set up as it didn't cater for my situation of having a tv aparatus but not wanting to watch utter rubbish so not turning it on. In the end I had to pretend I watched tapes to stop them sending me threatening letters. They expect you to ring them up on a premium rate number to tell them you don't want to buy their Oh, how I wish it was better product. I think it only lasts a couple of years and they will start pestering me again.

[Paulh_Boats]

I think the BBC is truly excellent - a jewel in the crown of British culture just like the NHS.

The IPlayer is one of the greatest inventions, because I watch far more BBC than the other rubbish. The BBC produce the best science and drama programs in the world; when I lived in Arizona the exported BBC programs were popular.  Are You Being Served got a lot of attention!  

The BBC website is great also, always objective and devoid of biased journalism. When I search Google News I always look for a BBC link because the articles are always straight to the point and advert free.


BTW: I have 3 daughters and always find Womans Hour very relevant to their lives (and the other 3.75 billion women on the planet)

ttfn
Paul

[desperate]

The website is incompetently set up as it didn't cater for my situation of having a tv aparatus but not wanting to watch utter rubbish so not turning it on. In the end I had to pretend I watched tapes to stop them sending me threatening letters. They expect you to ring them up on a premium rate number to tell them you don't want to buy their Oh, how I wish it was better product. I think it only lasts a couple of years and they will start pestering me again.

Yeeeeaaaah riiiiiiiiiiiight, I wonder how many times they've heard that, "yes I have a telly, but I never turn it on"

Desp

[renewablejohn]

When is a telly not a telly. Surely an analogue telly is now only a monitor as it cannot decode a digital input.

[mikey9]

It will be an interesting exercise to prove that you never watch live TV though!

This isn't your problem - they have to prove that you do....

An offence is committed if you use equipment to receive live programs - not have the equipment on the premesis. We have an old sat dish and a big aerial on the roof - but we don't watch any live TV. We told the licencing people (in a letter - 42p) about 4 times and eventually they went away - and haven't come back for a couple of years - when they do - the message is still the same - we don't watch ANY live TV.

We have been in this position for 4 years - don't use - only use an old 15 in tv/vcr for the kids old videos and watch (sometimes very old C4) on  4oD, and iPlayer. - and LoveFilm DVDs and use the library/charity shops for videos (free or 10p) I don't feel the need to watch anything when it is transmitted  - but do like to to line something up with my feet up when it suits me - not the schedule! Best thing we ever did with the TVs

Don't need to prove it - we just don't do it - so they will struggle to prove that we do then... .

[Stuart]

Don't watch any Dont miss it, waste my time tinkering or on the internet (learning!) instead  

plenty info here on the licence http://www.tvlicensing.biz/

saying that I do listen to Radio 4's factual programes when there is not some awful drama on.

[renewablejohn]

Was looking at Tooway as a satellite answer to my broadband problem at £25 per month but have come across O2 and MIFI whatever that is at £15 per month for 15 GB. Anybody use MIFI and if so is it any good. Will the speed be quick enough to watch 4OD or iplayer. Anybody know how many hours 15GB would last streaming something like iplayer. We dont have any of that HD nonsense.

[Countrypaul]

With iPlayer you can download the programs to your PC and watch when convienient for you. iirc it takes about 1gbof disk space per hour of program (but it is slightly variable and I am trying to remember the figure). So 15gb/month would allow you about 15hrs a month of downloaded iPlayer content.

Paul

[martin]

Sounds about right - we've got a nominal 8Mbps connection, which tests at around 6 - we can watch iplayer full screen, and watch probably 2-3 hours of it a week - all our internet use usually totals under 30gb a month (way under the allowed 80gb on our Plusnet connection)

[Quakered]

I think the BBC is truly excellent - a jewel in the crown of British culture just like the NHS.

ttfn
Paul

Fully support your views on the BBC  but think you slur this fine organisation by comparing it to the NHS. The NHS is a nasty bureaucracy totally focused on self preservation rather than caring for patients. I appreciate that this is a terrible generalisation but I am so old I have seen 6 relatives finish their lives in the "care" of this organisation. I also saw my brother spend his last few weeks in a charity run Hospice and if the NHS showed half the compassion and caring that this charity showed I might share your views of the NHS.

[renewablejohn]

Is the plus one service  classed as live tv (itv1+1 ITV2+1 More4 +1 etc) or a catch up service. If catch up then would it require a licence