tv without the licence

[jimo746]

Next time you buy a TV, just give them Choppers address details

 

[Pyro Tim]

I don't want to look like I'm condoning law breaking here but...

It is possible to avoid detector vans if you can find reliable internet streams of all the programs you want to watch - though they do mosltly rely on the database that you get added to whenever you buy a TV or other device (ever wonder why they ask for an address when you buy a TV?).

Assuming you have no equipment in your house that's capable of receiving a TV signal that is

Detector vans work by picking up and triangulating something called "IF (Intermediate frequency) re-radiation" - basically any TV or other reciever that is switched on retransmits whatever it recieves on a slightly lower frequency.

detector vans are a myth. They have a list of all the houses without a license, and knock on the doors

 

[The History Man]

Tv rots the brain anyway. A good book and radio 4 is all you need, and maybe Planet Rock for the housework.

Pledge and a pinnie?

 

[legrandefromage]

My friend has done this - bought a smart blu-ray player, a HD PC monitor and simply streams iPlayer or 4OD etc as and when he wants to watch something.

As long as you are not watching any live scheduled broadcasts, you can do it legit. He has had a few letters since stopping his license but that is it.

 

[Elysarian]

I don't want to look like I'm condoning law breaking here but...

It is possible to avoid detector vans if you can find reliable internet streams of all the programs you want to watch - though they do mosltly rely on the database that you get added to whenever you buy a TV or other device (ever wonder why they ask for an address when you buy a TV?).

Assuming you have no equipment in your house that's capable of receiving a TV signal that is

Detector vans work by picking up and triangulating something called "IF (Intermediate frequency) re-radiation" - basically any TV or other reciever that is switched on retransmits whatever it recieves on a slightly lower frequency.

detector vans are a myth. They have a list of all the houses without a license, and knock on the doors

Detector vans aren't a myth - or at least they weren't BITD (I worked in the TV repair/rental business up to the mid 90's and got the chance to have a look around inside one), As I said in my post, it's cheaper to rely mostly on the database these days (they cross-reference the list of houses with no licence against the list of those who've bought a TV/freesat box/Virgin/Sky/freeview reciever.

And, as the poster above says, it's actually legal to stream as long as it's not live (I've been in pubs where they screen Football with a 5-minute delay to avoid paying the ridiculous Sky publican rates)

 

[highlandsflyer]

Recently they hired Uri Geller to seeks out unlicensed premises.

I know this for a fact; his car is highly distinctive and we have a drawer full of bent spoons after his last visit.

What pisses me right down the toilet is the repeated letters threatening action when you have no license on a property. I have complained to them before about it, we had a place empty for five years while I was refurbishing it. They kept sending more of these damn threatening letters, and when you call them and complain they say you just have to inform them. Yes, but once you have informed them it only last for a while and they start it all again.

It is conceivable they could have 'entered' the property at some point due to this. Surely letting them know once should be enough?

 

[Alison]

Tv rots the brain anyway. A good book and radio 4 is all you need, and maybe Planet Rock for the housework.

Absolutely radio 4 although some of those afternoon plays can be pretty depressing.

Alison

 

[daugs]

What pisses me right down the toilet is the repeated letters threatening action when you have no license on a property. I have complained to them before about it, we had a place empty for five years while I was refurbishing it. They kept sending more of these damn threatening letters, and when you call them and complain they say you just have to inform them. Yes, but once you have informed them it only last for a while and they start it all again.

It is conceivable they could have 'entered' the property at some point due to this. Surely letting them know once should be enough?

I had a similar issue and experience, we didn't live there, but one time the inspectors arrived when I was there and rudely demanded access. I politely suggested there was no basis to the request and that given their incompetence and refusal to answer my letters appropriately I refused access and suggested they should collect any evidence appropriate from outside the property. Given there was nothing to watch TV on I was very comfortable with my position but isn't life too short to be spending time explaining what you are watching is not capable of receiving live pics or whatever the technical rule is.

 

[Chopper the ex Copper]

detector vans are a myth. They have a list of all the houses without a license, and knock on the doors

That is itself a myth that goes right back to the 60's. Im a radio amateur and our club has had a presentation from an ex GPO bloke, who also brought along his beautifully restored detector van for us to clamber all over. Absolutely, definitely, positively a fully functioning vehicle, although in modern times with lcd screens, and software defined viewing via pc's on dongle receivers, it's technology is virtually ineffective.

 

[P20]

You can view tv catchup on an android USB tv stick. I've got one for media streaming and it can do tv over the wifi network. It's not tv quality, but only about £50.