television on the net

[blueshada]

How can I watch TV on the internet?is it possible?

[beerbelly]

more important , would we still need a licence , because i WILL NOT pay the proposed extra �32 rise intended by the money grabbing BBC.

[Buenchico]

Quote (the capitals are mine):
"If you use a TV OR ANY OTHER DEVICE to receive or record TV programmes (for example, a VCR, set-top box, DVD recorder or PC with a broadcast card) - you need a TV Licence. You are required by law to have one."

Source:
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/index.jsp#link1

See my response to your question in I&T for further information about internet TV.

Chris

PS: If you're prepared to put up with the poor quality of internet feeds, wouldn't it just be easier to switch to watching a black-&-white portable and then you'd only have to pay �42 per year (at current rates) for your TV licence?

PPS: The current licence fee works out at �2.43 per week. For this we get BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, BBC4, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC News 24, BBC Parliament, Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 4, Radio 5 Live, 5 Live Sports Extra, BBC6 Music, BBC7, BBC Asian Net, BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Ulster, about 50 other local & regional stations and the biggest & most authoritative website in the world. Even if it goes up to nearer �3 per week it still seems great value to me!

[beerbelly]

interesting comments Buenchico , I watch less than 1 hour per day ,and am finding it more and more dificult to justify ANY licence payment !
the only programmes ive watched today were MINDER & THE PROFESSIONALS !! which we have all seen over the last 30 years or so .

I am seriously considering getting rid of my televisions
but I still want to use one with video , for security CCTV .

would i still have to pay a licence fee for this ???

not sure ......b...b

[khana]

I am glad that you feel that you get value for money from your licence fee Buenchico.

I personally don't mind paying a fee for watching tv, I just would like a choice in the matter.

For me personally, of all the channels and radio stations you have mentioned, I very occaisionally watch BBC 1.

I am sure that the BBC does a great job but to be honest they by there very nature have to appeal to a wide audience.

It would be much more beneficial for me and I am sure many others to pay for just what you watch, that way they still get their money, its just proportional to the viewers habbits.

The fact they do not have any adverts does not bother me at all, I tape anything I want to watch so that it can be viewed at a time convenient to me and I use the fast forward button a lot.

I guess what I am trying to say is that the BBC is good, paying for a squillion channels that I will never watch is not !. After all, I am sure that most people would prefer a choice in everything they do, the licence fee takes that away from them.

[khana]

PS got carried away by my rant...try this link in answer to your question.

http://mediahopper.com/portal.htm

[Buenchico]

(2-part post):

Beerbelly: If you own any equipment which is CAPABLE of receiving broadcast TV, then you must have a TV licence. So, if you only have monitors, for your CCTV, which don't have TV tuners built into them, you don't need a TV licence. If, however, you have a CCTV system which feeds into television sets (or monitors with built-in TV tuners) then you MUST have a TV licence. (An analogy is the person who only watches DVDs. If he uses a DVD-player feeding into a monitor which can't receive TV signals he doesn't need a TV licence. If, however, he uses a DVD-recorder, with a built-in TV tuner, OR if he feeds the signal into a television set, he does need a licence. This applies even if he hasn't got a TV aerial and he's in some remote part of the Scottish Highlands where he can't get any sort of TV signal anyway).

If your CCTV system has a recording facility, you also need to consider what type of video recorder you're using. Even if you're using monitors with no built-in tuners, if you're using a domestic VCR to record the images, you'll still need a TV licence because the VCR incorporates a TV tuner.

[Buenchico]

For both Beerbelly and Khana: We could argue forever about the rights and wrongs of the licence system. Personally, I like it because it's a form of 'taxation' without direct government control. While nobody really likes taxes, I accept that I pay towards schools and colleges (which I don't use) while my neighbours (with children) might pay towards libraries which they don't use. I pay, through my licence fee, for the BBC (which I use a lot) but I also pay, through the price of goods at the checkouts, for the advertising which funds such trash as ITV1 (which I hardly ever use). It's a matter of 'swings and roundabouts'. We all have to accept that we end up paying for some services that we don't use in order to benefit from those that we do use.

As a final comment, I'd point out that, as a qualified journalist, with knowledge of many international broadcasting organisations, I greatly value the independence of the BBC, which it maintains largely because of the way that it's financed. While the only two other organisations which command equal international respect (CNN and Al-Jazeera) both have some element of commercial funding, they form welcome exceptions to a general rule which says that commercial funding usually destroys editorial independence.

Chris

[foulecamp]

The answer to your original question is Yes - you can buy a Freeview dongle off Ebay for less than �50 - it comes with a little aerial & plugs into a USB port (ideally USB 2.0), or attach it to a domestic aerial - and off you go. Here (N Yorks) the quality is excellent and you get all Freeview channels.

[khana]

Chris, as i mentioned earlier, its not the BBC I object to really, its the lack of choice I have in the matter.

If I want to buy my shopping then I have a choice, if I fill up my car with petrol I have a choice. If I want to watch ITV1 for example then my choice is gone, I have to pay a licence fee.

[commoner]

...mmm..been watching this discussion with great interest and some good points made......I think that where we are going wrong here is that we don't pay the fee to WATCH TV, but to RECEIVE it.......so the choice is there.........have it or don't have it. ..............but if you have the equipment then you must pay up! Bit like your car really Khana.....you have to licence and insure it etc however little you drive the thing.

As for watching normal or digital TV on your PC..........you can, but it doesn't concern the Internet. You have a card....mine is an external USB freeview digtal model which uses an aerial just like your ordinary TV..............commoner.