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Author Topic: Watching TV in the UK  (Read 6187 times)

5F6-A

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Watching TV in the UK
« on: November 28, 2009, 08:24:52 PM »
Hello,

I'm going to be moving to the Uk soon and a few things bother me. For instance the TV. I haven't been to England to live for more than 12 years so I think things have changed. Any help would be appreciated...

Do I need to pay for a TV license even if I only watch DVDs?

The reception where I'm going to live in England is not that good.If I want to go cable... do I have to pay the license anyway?

The letting agent told me that the house has got Virgin boxes... what did she mean? ( no dirty jokes please )

If I decide to go cable ... which company is the cheapest?

Which one offers the best quality / price ratio ?

Basically any sincer help regarding these issues would be welcomed. Cheers.
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Jonny

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2009, 08:33:57 PM »
No, DVDs only then no TV license. Like playing your PS3 on it, you don't need a license.

I think the area is a Virgin Media area, so you can get Virgin Media type products. Broadband, phone, TV.

Well there's BT, Virgin, and Sky.. but that's all I know.
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Antag

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2009, 08:35:31 PM »
Not true Jonny - any TV that is capable of receiving a broadcast signal makes you liable for a TV licence.  No, I don't it either :(

Presumable a Virgin box is some sort of freeview box?  Does the property have a satellite dish?

Can't advise on cable, I have Sky...
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Jonny

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2009, 08:36:57 PM »
Quote from: Antag on November 28, 2009, 08:35:31 PM
Not true Jonny - any TV that is capable of receiving a broadcast signal makes you liable for a TV licence.
At Uni they told us you can watch DVDs or play games and not need a TV license..
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Antag

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #4 on: November 28, 2009, 08:43:56 PM »
Quote from: Jonny on November 28, 2009, 08:36:57 PM
Quote from: Antag on November 28, 2009, 08:35:31 PM
Not true Jonny - any TV that is capable of receiving a broadcast signal makes you liable for a TV licence.
At Uni they told us you can watch DVDs or play games and not need a TV license..
I guess if you watch DVDs on a computer, or plug a DVD player/Games console into a computer monitor, then no.
But: http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/for-your-home/students-aud1
(Read the bit at the bottom, I bet most of you fall foul of the second point...)
« Last Edit: November 28, 2009, 08:45:52 PM by Antag »
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Oli

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #5 on: November 28, 2009, 09:05:05 PM »
Try to convince the TV person when he/she arrives at your house that you don't watch TV.... on your TV. Even if you don't have an aerial, it's no excuse, as we all know that a coathanger works! I've a friend that every year has a real pain to get them to agree to him not paying a license... it's possible, but a bit of a pain in the arse!
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FELINEGUITARS

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #6 on: November 28, 2009, 09:38:05 PM »
Quote
Do I need to pay for a TV license even if I only watch DVDs?
If you have facility for watching TV programmes then the answer is yes

Quote
The reception where I'm going to live in England is not that good.If I want to go cable... do I have to pay the license anyway?

Yes - as you will be watching TV programmes
Cable companies in the UK have to carry the BBC channels as well so there is no way you can say that you dont see those channels and therefore you have to pay
Quote
The letting agent told me that the house has got Virgin boxes... what did she mean? ( no dirty jokes please )

Virgin Media are a cable TV provider
Means you will have access to cable TV, internet and telephones
You will have to set up an account with Virgin though and you'll have to pay for a TV licence

Quote
If I decide to go cable ... which company is the cheapest?

You dont have a lot of choice as far as I know
I think the two options are Virgin for cable and Sky for Satelite

Quote
Which one offers the best quality / price ratio ?
Much the same I fear - but you may be limited to whichever one is available where you live
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5F6-A

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #7 on: November 28, 2009, 09:52:54 PM »
Quote from: FELINEGUITARS on November 28, 2009, 09:38:05 PM
Quote
Do I need to pay for a TV license even if I only watch DVDs?
If you have facility for watching TV programmes then the answer is yes

Quote
The reception where I'm going to live in England is not that good.If I want to go cable... do I have to pay the license anyway?

Yes - as you will be watching TV programmes
Cable companies in the UK have to carry the BBC channels as well so there is no way you can say that you dont see those channels and therefore you have to pay
Quote
The letting agent told me that the house has got Virgin boxes... what did she mean? ( no dirty jokes please )

Virgin Media are a cable TV provider
Means you will have access to cable TV, internet and telephones
You will have to set up an account with Virgin though and you'll have to pay for a TV licence

Quote
If I decide to go cable ... which company is the cheapest?

You dont have a lot of choice as far as I know
I think the two options are Virgin for cable and Sky for Satelite

Quote
Which one offers the best quality / price ratio ?
Much the same I fear - but you may be limited to whichever one is available where you live


right.. that was helpful cheers!
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dave_mc

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #8 on: November 28, 2009, 10:20:02 PM »
i think if you were watching dvds on, say, a portable dvd player, or on a computer which you could prove didn't have a tv tuner installed, that you could get off without paying a licence. Otherwise, if you're watching dvds through a tv, you're going to have to pay, as everyone else has said. if you get cable you're going to have to pay too, as you can get bbc through cable, or sky for that matter.
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nfe

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #9 on: November 29, 2009, 05:21:50 PM »
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/

You don't need one if you aren't watching or recording TV. You DO need one if you use things like 4OD and iPlayer online.

I never used our tv in my old flat for watching anything other than videos and dvds and didn't need one. If you phone and tell the Tv License cats they'll send you out written confirmation.
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Sifu Ben

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #10 on: November 29, 2009, 09:40:57 PM »
Yeah, I lived without for a year, but had a set and DVD player, and I never had any problems. I'm about to cancel my license again because I haven't watched TV for over a year. The phrasing on the student guidelines is a bit ambiguous, but I believe what it means is that your TV cannot be capable of receiving TV signals, so it must be either disconnected or unplugged to be exempt.
 The terms of the license are very explicitly for you to RECEIVE TV signals. They would have to provide reasonable evidence of this to chase you, and simply having a TV does not constitute this.
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JDC

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #11 on: November 29, 2009, 09:52:22 PM »
Quote from: nfe on November 29, 2009, 05:21:50 PM
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/

You don't need one if you aren't watching or recording TV. You DO need one if you use things like 4OD and iPlayer online.

I'm pretty sure you can watch iplayer and 4od fine without a licence, so long as it's not the live broadcast
« Last Edit: November 29, 2009, 09:54:39 PM by JDC »
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FernandoDuarte

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #12 on: November 29, 2009, 10:20:16 PM »
Just a stupid question, how much is this TV license?
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_tom_

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #13 on: November 29, 2009, 11:14:37 PM »
About £140 a year I think?

As far as I'm aware you don't need a license if you're not actually receiving TV channels on it. My mate rang them up and said he's only using his TV for playstation and they said that's fine without a license, so unless its changed in the last year..
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Sifu Ben

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Re: Watching TV in the UK
« Reply #14 on: November 29, 2009, 11:21:17 PM »
Definitive answer here http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/what-if-a-tv-licence-is-not-needed-top12/
and you can cancel online now, which you couldn't before  :)
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