Move along, detector van man

By Margaret.

DO YOU own a TV licence? At 145.50 a year, the British licence is not the most expensive in the world – Switzerland, Denmark and Norway all require TV-watching households to register with licensing authorities and pay higher charges – but it’s not to be sniffed at.

In the past, people had little choice but to stump up. But an explosion of new technology and services such as at&t tv means that today as many as half a million British households have opted out. Many of these people still watch video on big-screen sets, computers, tablets and smartphones, using apps to download favourite shows or stream “nearly live” episodes. It’s legal because they never watch live shows or TV they have recorded themselves, making them exempt from licensing. Thanks a lot for stopping by. Just before we carry on I needed to thank http://thesmiddyhouse.co.uk/ for their continued assistance and the support of their online community. Having a company and team like this means a lot to us as we continue to grow our public blog.

Technology has made it much harder for the authorities to trace licence fee evaders too: services such as tvcatchup.com send dozens of live TV channels over the internet to computers and mobile apps – streams that TV Licensing is as good as powerless to track. It is illegal to watch these unless you have a licence. If you don’t, you can still view a wealth of pre-recorded, legal content , much of it in HD. Here’s how to get it.

FREE CATCH-UP TV
All the big terrestrial broadcasters offer catch-up apps that serve archived programming over the internet: iPlayer from the BBC, ITV Player, All 4 (formerly 4oD) and Demand 5. These are made for smart TVs, disc players, set-top boxes, games consoles, tablets and smartphones. Good luck finding them all on one platform, though; iPlayer is on pretty much every type of hardware, but support for the others is patchier, especially on smart TVs.

PREMIUM STREAMING
If you are prepared to pay for streamed TV, Sky offers a selection of its biggest shows via its Now TV service. Passes start at 6.99 a month and its app is available on multiple devices, although only a few LG smart TVs. Netflix‘s app is more widely available – some new TVs even have a “Netflix” button on their remote – and costs from 6.99 a month. It has some exclusive series, including House of Cards and Better Call Saul, but most of the catalogue consists of older films.

Wuaki and Blinkbox are a pair of movie channels that offer the latest titles to rent, typically at 3.49 per film. Amazon Prime is 79 a year, a cost that includes unlimited film rentals – although not the most up-to-date titles – some exclusive TV shows and online shopping benefits.

You won’t need super-fast broadband to enjoy any of these: most work fine over a 4Mbps connection, which is around one-quarter of the national average connection speed.

ONLINE VIDEO
The Google-owned YouTube is the big player, with more than 300 hours of video uploaded a minute. Its app is available on phones, tablets and most smart TVs (check out somewhere like VIZIO to find out which ones) and consoles, as well as some set-top boxes and internet-connected disc players, where it displays full-screen video that can be controlled with a standard remote control. Video quality is variable, and any TV shows that have been uploaded may be subject to copyright and removed.

For most video-streaming alternatives you’ll need a computer. Vimeo has much less footage than YouTube but it tends to be of good quality; Steam has thousands of hours of gaming content and a useful “big picture” mode that fills a TV screen.

PLUG-IN DEVICES
If your TV set isn’t smart or has only limited apps available, plug a box into it. Apple TV ( 59) gets you access to a big catalogue of films to rent or buy; a Sky Now TV box (from 20, including two months of movies) brings Sky Now shows to any set; Amazon’s Fire Stick ( 35, out next week) does the same for Prime users.

Apple TV also allows you to “cast” any content playing on an iPhone or iPad onto the TV. Google’s Chromecast ( 30) does the same for compatible apps on most phones and tablets, including Google’s own library of film and TV to rent by the title.

Truth and Licences
truth and Licences

I DON’T NEED A LICENCE BECAUSE I WATCH ONLY ITV
Incorrect. Although TV Licensing is overseen by the BBC (and is worth 3.7bn a year to the corporation), a licence is needed to watch any live TV, regardless of the channel and whether it’s being received over the air or via cable, satellite or the internet. And don’t think you won’t be prosecuted: thousands of people are taken to court every month for licence fee evasion.

I USE A COMPUTER INSTEAD OF A TV SET – AM I EXEMPT?
No. A licence is needed for a “TV, computer, laptop, mobile phone or any other [device]” to watch programmes at the same time as they are shown on TV.

I ONLY EVER PLAY GAMES ON MY TV SET
Then you don’t need a licence. The same applies if you just watch DVDs. You can inform TV Licensing of this fact (and may receive a visit to check), but there is no legal obligation for you to do so.

DO I NEED A LICENCE FOR EACH DEVICE?
One licence covers all screens in your house and any device used away from home, as long as it is powered by its own batteries. But if you plug in the device, then the place you are using it in – a caravan, say – needs its own licence.

I NEVER WATCH LIVE SHOWS, ONLY RECORDINGS
The law applies equally to watching and recording TV programmes, so if you are recording programmes to watch later, you’ll still need a licence.

I ONLY WATCH CATCH-UP
If you only ever watch catch-up shows, no licence is required. But use iPlayer or the like to watch live TV and that will be 145.50, please.