TV licence for a PC monitor?

MrSinn

I have recently moved into an appartment and i have a TV tuner card in my PC
I received a letter addressed to me from an post telling me that they have no record of a licence at my address an that i should get one asap but i dont have a TV as i use my pc as a tv,i have subscribed to NTL and i get the whole package but do i need a licence for a TV that does'nt exist???

HelterSkelter

You need a licence for a TV receiver, so in theory you need one for your PC TV tuner card. In practice though I reckon you would get away with it, I doubt the TV inspector is going to open up your PC to see what is inside it.

neacy69

afaik you need to have a license for any peice of equipment that is capable of receveing and de-coding the signals

MrSinn

The advertisments always tell us "IF YOU HAVE A TV YOU MUST HAVE A TV LICENCE"but i dont have a TV

DMC

Yes. you do need a licence.

See our more recent discussion, all 113 posts of it, here. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054847646

Cabaal

Anything that has a reciver, it does not matter if it can't get RTE and can only get BBC
- VCR;s
- TV's
- UK TV (generally can't get RTE)
- PC TV Tuners
etc

egan007

neacy69 wrote:

afaik you need to have a license for any peice of equipment that is capable of receveing and de-coding the signals

Unless it's projection equimment
I remember this loophole being discussed on boards before....

muppetkiller

Whats the situation if I cannot receive any signal on my TV ?
I'm also not allowed get Sky as it's against planning permission (appartment block)
I plug my arial in an nothing can be tuned in ?
I have a TV but i just use it for DVD's and xboxin

egan007

Well your reciever is capable of recieveing a signal that's all the matters to them - they won't care about individual circumstances

MrSinn

I'm getting F'd in the A again,im gonna give it a miss,see what happens.

BTW do an post act on letters from the likes of sky,NTL to find out if people have TV's?

egan007

afik NTL spill the beans on who has a TV and anpost use the info

Elmo

NTL cann't tell anyone anything about you. Data Protection Act.

However the Licence Inspector will look to see if there any cable wires, Sats or Arials going into your house.

He's very sneeky like that.

egan007

Elmo wrote:

NTL cann't tell anyone anything about you. Data Protection Act.

Indeed you are spot on - most people don't read the small print though.....
Most have an automatic opt in clause that you sign when signing the terms and conditions. You have to specifiaclly opt out in alot of cases.

Mossy Monk

some people seem to think it is a tax to watch RTÉ

not at all. it is for owning equipment capable of receiving a television signal. a house with just a vcr and no television requires a license as it is able to tune in television signals

bk

BTW If you just have a PC without a turner card, then you don't need to have a TV license.

My friend is in this situation, he has no TV and only uses his pc to watch DVD's and play games.

It is actually very funny, the TV inspector was hounding him for a while, he specifically wrote to them asking for a radio license (he does have radios), but not a TV license, however the inspectors weren't able to supply him with one as non exists and he isn't required to take a TV license.

After the inspector kept calling and my friend kept nicely showing him around his house to prove he didn't have a TV, my friend got feed up, contacted An Post and demanded that his name and address be removed from their database per the Data Protection Act. They did and he hasn't heard from them since

It would almost be worth giving up TV just to do that to the inspectors.

MrSinn

yea lets get rid of all the TV's,we've had enough brainwashing by now anyway,nothing to do with the inspectors.Give me time and i will have 5000+ posts here too!So what will that say about TV(tuner card is being removed)

Elmo

Do you have a TV?

If you do you need to have a TV licence that TV licence will cover you for the PC tuner.

Do you have cable/Satellite?

Hagar

Afaik NTL and all cable companies are specifically required to supply list of subscribers to An Post.
All TV dealers are also legally required supply details of TV purchasers to An Post.
This has nothing to do with the Data Protection Act.

If you have a subscription to a cable TV service you are liable for a TV licence.

Elmo

Afaik

What does that stand for :rolleyes:

If you have a subscription to a cable TV service you are liable for a TV licence.

No. Why would the TV licence inspector come around to houses with Cable if they already new that you had a licence?

Cable Companies cannot give out any information about you to anyone, not even the gardai unless they have a warrent of some kind.

Big brother cann't watch you. Where did you get that information, if you have something to back it up I will beleive you.

Hagar

AFAIK means as far as I know

Why would the TV licence inspector come around to houses with Cable if they already new that you had a licence?

To inspect the premises and ascertain whether or not a licence was in fact required. Circumstances change, people move, records get out of date etc etc.
I would have thought the word "inspector" would have been a bit of a clue there.;)

Check here for the official legal position. Cable companies are in effect selling you a "legal television"

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA5Y1972S3.html

This law is still in effect AFAIK*

*see above:D

bk

Hagar wrote:

If you have a subscription to a cable TV service you are liable for a TV licence.

Are you sure about this, my friend that I mentioned above, who doesn't have a TV and doesn't want a TV, is about to order NTL cable broadband. Now in order to get NTL cable BB, you must also get their analogue TV service. Now my friend is willing to do this, but he isn't going to watch it (he doesn't even have any type of turner that could receive it), will he still need a TV license, I don't think so, but he is going to have a hard time trying to explain it to the inspectors.

Ulsterman 1690

In thory one could subscribe to cable without actually having a TV set (and therfore not needing a licence) sine many cable networks carry one or more of the following
1) Radio Services
2) Broadband
3) Telephone services

So no you DONT need to have a TV licence for a cable connection (but expect a visit from the RTE protection racket enforcers anyway)

Capt'n Midnight

egan007 wrote:

afik NTL spill the beans on who has a TV and anpost use the info

An Post used to use the mail database to send demands. Years ago four of us were in a house. The license reminder came in the names of the only two who got mail there.

Ulsterman 1690

The Licence mafia use several methods to get peoples details including
1) Address databases
2) Ex-Licenced addresses
3) Info from Cable/Pay satellite providers (the obligation to disclose this info is not covered by data protection legislation)
4) Sales records from TV dealers (In the past compliance by dealers has been patchy but in the UK at least the authorities are getting stricter about enforcing this)
5) Detector vans (UK only)
6) Inspectors on walkabout looking for houses with aerials/dishes or even just not on their licence checklist (Areas with high student populations are among their favorite stomping grounds)

. Years ago four of us were in a house. The license reminder came in the names of the only two who got mail there.

Those "reminder" letters (despite what they say you are NOT legally required to respond to them) can be addressed to "the occupier" if they dont know your name

Mossy Monk

person is living at address 1 and has a licence but is about to move to address 2. does he need to inform the television license people?

Ulsterman 1690

if they want to take their licence with them of course they do

watty

Just go into nearest P.O. of new address with old licence.