HTPC replacing TV?

MOH

Just wondering if this makes any sense.

Currently thinking of cancelling Sky and getting rid of the TV altogether, replacing it with a large monitor and some kind of HTPC setup.

I hardly ever watch live TV anymore, and I'd save myself about €400 a year in Sky and €160 RTE tax.

I'd be looking to mainly watch mp4s, etc, streaming some other stuff, plus I'm thinking I could always stream AerTV if I needed it.

So basically would a decent size monitor and some kind of mini barebones PC or Pi with openelec/xbmc be all I'd need? Maybe a wireless keyboard/mouse, some kind of remote?

Wils110

You would still have to pay the licence of 160

MOH

Wils110 wrote: »

You would still have to pay the licence of 160

No, you wouldn't.

Wils110

Your getting a monitor without a HD connection so,cause if not...if monitor has a HDmi input you have the capability to watch satellite and digital..it's how I watch my sky in another room

Meesared

Did I just imagine it, or did I hear they were expanding TV licensing to cover PC's too, given the availability of RTE player and such things?

Patrick 1

I've heard rumours and talking to such an affect, but have seen no solid sources, would like a link if anyone can help out or knows of one.

Johnboy1951

Wils110 wrote: »

Your getting a monitor without a HD connection so,cause if not...if monitor has a HDmi input you have the capability to watch satellite and digital..it's how I watch my sky in another room

You are confused.

A HDMI input has nothing at all to do with a TV licence.

peter_dublin

Wils110 wrote: »

Your getting a monitor without a HD connection so,cause if not...if monitor has a HDmi input you have the capability to watch satellite and digital..it's how I watch my sky in another room

Wrong. You only need a license if a device is capable of recieving a "Broadcast" tv signal, a monitor with HDMI or not is not capable of recieving Broadcast Tv as it does not have a tuner built in so does not need to a Tv License, if you have a Sky box or any other equipment then he would including a "Tv tuner" card in a pc but a Monitor or PC without a means of recieving the signal does not need a license.

Nino Brown

Wils110 wrote: »

You would still have to pay the licence of 160

I'm with you on this, the license is for any equipment capable of decoding a TV signal

Nino Brown

Is it easy to find a screen big enough to enjoy a movie but without any type of tuner?

Johnboy1951

Nino Brown wrote: »

I'm with you on this, the license is for any equipment capable of decoding a TV signal

Then you too are confused ....... read the orig post again ...... there is no tuner involved that is capable of decoding broadcast TV and thus no licence required.

Wils110

Sorry if you have a monitor with a HDmi input you can recieve a broadcast through a sky box,free view box hence you pay a licence so the input does have something to do with it cause that's what brings the tv signal through

Johnboy1951

MOH wrote: »

Just wondering if this makes any sense.

Currently thinking of cancelling Sky and getting rid of the TV altogether, replacing it with a large monitor and some kind of HTPC setup.

I hardly ever watch live TV anymore, and I'd save myself about €400 a year in Sky and €160 RTE tax.

I'd be looking to mainly watch mp4s, etc, streaming some other stuff, plus I'm thinking I could always stream AerTV if I needed it.

As far as I am aware the Pi does not decode MPEG-2 without the purchase of a separate licence. So bear this in mind when setting it up ..... the licence costs only a few euros IIRC.


So basically would a decent size monitor and some kind of mini barebones PC or Pi with openelec/xbmc be all I'd need? Maybe a wireless keyboard/mouse, some kind of remote?

Sounds like a plan.

The alternative would be a HTPC that is suitable for sitting under the monitor which would do everything, eliminating the need for a front end like the Pi.
It would of course need to be silent or 'near silent', but that is manageable these days.

Of course if you have the hardware for the backend, which is not suitable for use as a living room HTPC, then using it as a back end with the Pi or similar as the front end would seem a reasonable use of existing equipment.

MOH

Wils110 wrote: »

Sorry if you have a monitor with a HDmi input you can recieve a broadcast through a sky box,free view box hence you pay a licence so the input does have something to do with it cause that's what brings the tv signal through

Yes, but it's the box that's decoding the signal - the monitor by itself is not capable of decoding a broadcast TV signal, so if you don't have a sky/freeview box, you don't need a license.

cgc5483

MOH wrote: »

Yes, but it's the box that's decoding the signal - the monitor by itself is not capable of decoding a broadcast TV signal, so if you don't have a sky/freeview box, you don't need a license.

That would be my interpretation as well. A HDMI signal does not constitute a tuner.

Patrick 1

Completely correct, holding a HDMI lead in the air will not get you a signal, it has to be plugged in to something, so if you have no sky/freeview box you should be good to go.

Nino Brown

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Then you too are confused ....... read the orig post again ...... there is no tuner involved that is capable of decoding broadcast TV and thus no licence required.

True, if he can find a big enough monitor, with no tuner, he's good to go. I've just never seen one big enough, but I'm sure they exist somewhere.

Johnboy1951

Wils110 wrote: »

Sorry if you have a monitor with a HDmi input you can recieve a broadcast through a sky box,free view box hence you pay a licence so the input does have something to do with it cause that's what brings the tv signal through

The HDMI has nothing at all to do with it.

What you describe is a receiver (sky box) coupled with a display and such a combination requires a licence.

The display does not require a HDMI .... the combination requires a licence even without a HDMI.

The main requirement is the tuner to receive broadcast TV, and a display capable of showing it.

The orig post describes a set up WITHOUT tuner/receiver.

Hence no licence required.

Wils110

Q. Do I require a television licence for a computer which can access television-like services (e.g. the RTÉ Player or streaming services) over the Internet?
A. No. So long as the computer is unable to display television channels distributed by conventional television broadcasting networks (i.e cable, satillite, IPTV, analogue terrestrial, digital terrestrial or MMDS) e.g. using a television tuner card or similar device, then there is no requirement to hold a television licence.



Computeris unable yea your right........but your monitor can display television through sky or free view that's what matters

vibe666

cgc5483 wrote: »

That would be my interpretation as well. A HDMI signal does not constitute a tuner.

ditto to this.

if he still has a sky box (or anything else with a TV tuner in it) in the house though, he would still need a licence (regardless of if it is connected or not), so he'll (technically speaking) still need to sell on anything like that to comply with the law.

Johnboy1951

Nino Brown wrote: »

True, if he can find a big enough monitor, with no tuner, he's good to go. I've just never seen one big enough, but I'm sure they exist somewhere.

Yes they are available ..... the larger sizes are quite costly.

What is 'big enough' is a personal requirement of course

Johnboy1951

vibe666 wrote: »

ditto to this.

if he still has a sky box (or anything else with a TV tuner in it) in the house though, he would still need a licence (regardless of if it is connected or not), so he'll (technically speaking) still need to sell on anything like that to comply with the law.

Yes indeed.

Nino Brown

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

Yes they are available ..... the larger sizes are quite costly.

What is 'big enough' is a personal requirement of course

True but he did say a large screen, I guess size is relative, but I'd consider large to be 40"+, and I haven't come across monitors that size.

Another thing to consider is, is it worth the hassle to find a monitor this big, and then have the inevitable argument with the license inspector proving that no receiver exists. All for E160.

My policy with TV licenses is don't pay it until the inspector comes to the door, then go get one for that year, and don't get another until he comes back

Patrick 1

Anyone know if opening up a traditional TV and removing the terrestrial antennae connection would get around this? As in removing a TVs ability to receive any signal but that from a computer?

Nino Brown

Patrick 1 wrote: »

Anyone know if opening up a traditional TV and removing the terrestrial antennae connection would get around this? As in removing a TVs ability to receive any signal but that from a computer?

I doubt it, the device was designed to receive a TV signal, therefore I would imagine it is classed as a device capable of doing so, regardless of if the tuner works or not

slavetothegrind

i would consider a projector and screen maybe, prices on these have tumbled recently and you could get a very good deal secondhand for the price of a 42" tv

peter_dublin

cgc5483 wrote: »

That would be my interpretation as well. A HDMI signal does not constitute a tuner.

Exactly. If you have "ANY" equipment which can recieve and decode a broadcast tv signal such as a Tv, PC Monitor with "Builtin" tv tuner, a sky box, a UPC box, an old 500 line tv from the 1960s then you need a Tv license.

A PC monitor with HDMI cannot do so, a Sky box can, it's doesn't matter if you can connect it to a monitor via HDMI or not, the license would be required due to the Sky box' capability to recieve the singal in that case not the monitor.

Johnboy1951

Nino Brown wrote: »

True but he did say a large screen, I guess size is relative, but I'd consider large to be 40"+, and I haven't come across monitors that size.

Another thing to consider is, is it worth the hassle to find a monitor this big, and then have the inevitable argument with the license inspector proving that no receiver exists. All for E160.

My policy with TV licenses is don't pay it until the inspector comes to the door, then go get one for that year, and don't get another until he comes back

http://www.lg.com/us/commercial/widescreen-monitors

There is no hassle with licence inspectors ..... just declare there is no broadcast TV receiver in the house.

Johnboy1951

peter_dublin wrote: »

Exactly. If you have "ANY" equipment which can recieve and decode a broadcast tv signal such as a Tv, PC Monitor with "Builtin" tv tuner, a sky box, a UPC box, an old 500 line tv from the 1960s then you need a Tv license.

A PC monitor with HDMI cannot do so, a Sky box can, it's doesn't matter if you can connect it to a monitor via HDMI or not, the license would be required due to the Sky box' capability to recieve the singal in that case not the monitor.

But the presence of a receiver such as Sky box or other, without any display, does not require a licence.

So one could have a satellite tuner, and listen to its channels, but if there is no display, then no licence is required

MOH

Nino Brown wrote: »

True but he did say a large screen, I guess size is relative, but I'd consider large to be 40"+, and I haven't come across monitors that size.

Another thing to consider is, is it worth the hassle to find a monitor this big, and then have the inevitable argument with the license inspector proving that no receiver exists. All for E160.

My policy with TV licenses is don't pay it until the inspector comes to the door, then go get one for that year, and don't get another until he comes back

Sorry, by "large" I meant compare to the 16" monitor on my desk. TV is 32", so something close to 30 would do.

As regards arguments with the license inspector, he can look at the label on the monitor and go google it. Beyond that it's his problem. That said, I'll probably pop them an e-mail before I go ahead just to confirm that I'm right in thinking I don't need a license.

I'd also save close to €400 on the Sky sub. OK, I could do that without shedding the TV, but I'm really sick of being forced to pay €160 every year for a rubbish service that I never use.

Johnboy1951

Patrick 1 wrote:

Anyone know if opening up a traditional TV and removing the terrestrial antennae connection would get around this? As in removing a TVs ability to receive any signal but that from a computer?

Nino Brown wrote: »

I doubt it, the device was designed to receive a TV signal, therefore I would imagine it is classed as a device capable of doing so, regardless of if the tuner works or not

This has not been tested, as far as I am aware.
One could speculate that removing the tuner from a TV, thus converting it to a monitor, would bypass the need for a licence.

It is interesting speculation ..... but a court would have to decide.

iba

MOH wrote: »

Just wondering if this makes any sense.

Currently thinking of cancelling Sky and getting rid of the TV altogether, replacing it with a large monitor and some kind of HTPC setup.

I hardly ever watch live TV anymore, and I'd save myself about €400 a year in Sky and €160 RTE tax.

I'd be looking to mainly watch mp4s, etc, streaming some other stuff, plus I'm thinking I could always stream AerTV if I needed it.

So basically would a decent size monitor and some kind of mini barebones PC or Pi with openelec/xbmc be all I'd need? Maybe a wireless keyboard/mouse, some kind of remote?

There are many threads here on HTPC, they might help you:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=643

tippgod

if you desoldered the coaxial connection from your lcd tv, would that make it a monitor?

have no sky box or cable input to you home and no device that could pick up a signal. would this work?

Patrick 1

Kinda what I was talking about, but as JohnBoy said it'd be up to a court decision as I don't think it's ever been done. That being said we may not hear of it because it does work, and short of getting an inspector into this thread all we can do is speculate.

peter_dublin

Johnboy1951 wrote: »

But the presence of a receiver such as Sky box or other, without any display, does not require a licence.

So one could have a satellite tuner, and listen to its channels, but if there is no display, then no licence is required

You sure about that, as I was aware it is phrased something along the line of any equipment that can recieve a signal so a skybox with no tv would require it, anyway I invested my Tv License money in a video intercom, six years ago :-)

Johnboy1951

Nino Brown wrote: »

I doubt it, the device was designed to receive a TV signal, therefore I would imagine it is classed as a device capable of doing so, regardless of if the tuner works or not

peter_dublin wrote: »

You sure about that, as I was aware it is phrased something along the line of any equipment that can recieve a signal so a skybox with no tv would require it, anyway I invested my Tv License money in a video intercom, six years ago :-)

Yes the requirement is a capability to receive and display broadcast TV signals, with one, or a combination of, devices.


The definition of a Television set (Section 140 (1) of the Broadcasting Act 2009)

"television set" means any electronic apparatus capable of receiving and exhibiting television broadcasting services broadcast for general reception (whether or not its used for that purpose is dependent on the use of anything else in conjunction with it) and any software or assembly comprising such apparatus and other apparatus.