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cogitodexter

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2009
131
224
Naaaaaaarfolk, England
Still not sinking in is it? The catch up content loophole is yet another clause like the over 74s one. You still have to be licensed to own any of the receiving equipment you need to view the catch up content!

No. You don't.

I can own a TV, but if it's used as a monitor and not directly connected to an aerial or another intermediary device (such as a satellite or cable box) that can receive live broadcasts - AND DOES SO - then I don't need a license.

Yes, I will get interminable letters from the TV Licensing Authority. They'll whinge and whine about me not having a license, but they'll have to prove that I'm watching live content. I can say that my nice shiny (non-Samsung) television is simply connected to my home theatre system and that's it. Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt, job done.

To repeat: you are NOT required by any law to pay a TV license if you do not watch live broadcasts, no matter what you own by way of a visual display device.

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Incidentally, just as an aside, if you own a TV that only has an analogue tuner in it and you don't own a digital set-top-box, you can be connected to any number of aerials, but you won't be able to watch live TV on it as the signal is now purely digital. So if that's you and you want to stop paying the license, you can throw away your digibox and stop paying the license when it renews. The 'authorities' can't do anything about it.

Oh... and also, did you know that apparently not one case of license evasion has ever turned on the evidence of a TV 'detector van'?

I don't know but I can surmise that the only technology in such a van is a pair of binoculars to look through people's front room windows to see if they're watching live telly!
 
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