TV Licence - ALL TV licence discussion/queries in this thread.

Johnboy1951 · 11-11-2019 5:01pm

Sam Russell wrote: »

The point being made by some posters was that such broadcasting should not appear on a channel funded by the licence fee. If it is cheap as chips TV, and it is paid for by in vision ads, then it is not an issue.

It might be an issue from a cultural point of view.

I guess it is what one would expect from a Public Service broadcaster that makes the difference.
If education and culture and such like are not top priorities then of course fillers of any old rubbish is acceptable

I would much prefer to see reruns of Frank Hall than most of what we get

Sleepy · 12-11-2019 3:49pm

Sam Russell wrote: »

The point being made by some posters was that such broadcasting should not appear on a channel funded by the licence fee. If it is cheap as chips TV, and it is paid for by in vision ads, then it is not an issue.

It might be an issue from a cultural point of view.

My point was that if such material can be broadcast profitably, there's no need to shut down the state broadcaster overnight. Show the profitable crap and use the profit to subsidise the production of real public service content.

Of course, there's probably no need to even go down the route of broadcasting total crap. I'd be convinced that there are other public service broadcasters in the English speaking world who would sell us some of their back catalogues cheaply, or even engage in content swaps (for some of RTE's back catalogue) to provide enough filler for these out of prime-time slots.

I know dozens of people who've trawled through crap quality Youtube copies (or similarly poor torrents) of stuff like PBS's "The New Yankee Workshop" - which alone would have almost 300 episodes of high quality, educational content.

Having seen some episodes of it's parent show "This Old House" on the UKTV catchup player would lead me to suggest that it's still commercially available and profitable to show (with UKTV being a for-profit FTA subsidiary of the BBC).

It seems a bit of a no brainer to me that public service broadcasters should be trying to partner up to provide archive content to one another and, if the Canadian and Australian childrens programming I remember RTÉ showing during my youth were sourced from public service broadcasters, hardly a new one.

Sam Russell · 12-11-2019 3:52pm

Sleepy wrote: »

My point was that if such material can be broadcast profitably, there's no need to shut down the state broadcaster overnight. Show the profitable crap and use the profit to subsidise the production of real public service content.

Of course, there's probably no need to even go down the route of broadcasting total crap. I'd be convinced that there are other public service broadcasters in the English speaking world who would sell us some of their back catalogues cheaply, or even engage in content swaps (for some of RTE's back catalogue) to provide enough filler for these out of prime-time slots.

I know dozens of people who've trawled through crap quality Youtube copies (or similarly poor torrents) of stuff like PBS's "The New Yankee Workshop" - which alone would have almost 300 episodes of high quality, educational content.

Having seen some episodes of it's parent show "This Old House" on the UKTV catchup player would lead me to suggest that it's still commercially available and profitable to show (with UKTV being a for-profit FTA subsidiary of the BBC).

It seems a bit of a no brainer to me that public service broadcasters should be trying to partner up to provide archive content to one another and, if the Canadian and Australian childrens programming I remember RTÉ showing during my youth were sourced from public service broadcasters, hardly a new one.

RTE should never go down the road of broadcasting total crap. I agree with that, so why do they do it?

Bob24 · 12-11-2019 3:59pm

babelfish1990 wrote: »

If the Apple TV 4k box doesn't require a licence when used for streaming movies or RTE player content, then it is difficult to see why the same box should require a licence to view the same content in real time over the same network?

I don’t know how the Eir TV App works, but if it is using private IPTV multicast on Eir’s private network (as opposed to streaming on the internet direct from RTÉ) it is not quite the same network nor the same technology. And also from a legal point of view it probably makes Eir an active TV signal broadcaster as opposed to just a conduit.

These differences could be making the whole setup fall into the “conventional television broadcast” category (essentially with what I described above it is exactly the same setup as a Virgin Media digital TV box).

Sam Russell · 12-11-2019 4:18pm

Bob24 wrote: »

I don’t know how the Eir TV App works, but if it is using private IPTV multicast on Eir’s private network (as opposed to streaming on the internet direct from RTÉ) it is not quite the same network nor the same technology. And also from a legal point of view it probably makes Eir an active TV signal broadcaster as opposed to just a conduit.

These differences could be making the whole setup fall into the “conventional television broadcast” category (essentially with what I described above it is exactly the same setup as a Virgin Media digital TV box).

That whole question needs to be addressed by either primary legislation or by a court case.

Sleepy · 12-11-2019 5:25pm

Sam Russell wrote: »

RTE should never go down the road of broadcasting total crap. I agree with that, so why do they do it?

In many cases, I'd imagine it's because that's what large chunks of the population want them to broadcast (Mrs Browns Boys, At Your Service, Irelands Fittest Family etc. usually feature quite well in the ratings.)

Bob24 · 12-11-2019 6:02pm

Sam Russell wrote: »

That whole question needs to be addressed by either primary legislation or by a court case.

Might or might not be needed. We can’t answer here as we don’t have all the information, but *if* the tech architecture behind it is pretty much the same as a Virgin Media TV box (i.e. as I explained in my previous post), I don’t think there is much debate as it is commonly accepted a Virgin media box requires a licence.

In any case I don’t think it would be require a legislation change though - worst case a court needs to confirm which side of the legislation this particular setup fall under.

retropessir · 30-12-2019 3:01am

I’m currently the main tenant in a house. The other day, a licensee moved in under me with their TV. We didn’t have a TV before and therefore didn’t have it pay the fee.

Based on the holder of the lease (not who owns the TV), do they sign up and pay independently or do I have to do it on their behalf and have them transfer me the fee? Does it have to be under my name, since I’m on the lease of the house?

They will be keeping it in the living room but I will not be using it.

It’s not a question of who pays the fee. They must pay it since they’ve decided to bring it in and use it solely. It’s a question of who signs up and pays their fee based on tenant house lease, I or them.

ps200306 · 30-12-2019 5:07am

A TV license is required for an address, not a person. So in principle, either of you could pay it. There are two issues you might want to think about. 1) If the licensee moves house they can ask for the license to be transferred. If your sub-tenant wanted to do this it might be more fair if they owned it. 2) On the other hand, if an inspector calls and you are the registered tenant, then you are responsible for the license. It's all very well checking that your sub-tenant has a license the first year, but it's the sort of thing that could slip your mind in subsequent years.

From anpost.ie:

Any person in occupancy at an address where a television set is held is legally responsible for the licensing of the television set regardless of ownership of either the premises or the set itself

If you move home, you can log on to our Online Service to change your Personal Details or notify your local TV Licence Record Office and they will amend your licence to your new address.

Capajoma · 04-02-2020 6:37pm

Got a letter the other day stating an inspector was by and observed a satellite dish. There is no name on the letter, just the address of the house. Can I avoid paying as long as they don't have my name or I don't answer the door to an inspector? Thanks.

elperello · 04-02-2020 7:06pm

Capajoma wrote: »

Got a letter the other day stating an inspector was by and observed a satellite dish. There is no name on the letter, just the address of the house. Can I avoid paying as long as they don't have my name or I don't answer the door to an inspector? Thanks.

Do you have a television?

Capajoma · 04-02-2020 7:18pm

elperello wrote: »

Do you have a television?

Yes

elperello · 04-02-2020 7:29pm

Capajoma wrote: »

Yes

They will probably follow up so you'd be best advised to get a licence.

Worrybug85 · 05-02-2020 1:27am

Reading another thread where the OP is claiming that they were summoned despite not having met the licence inspector - is it normal to go direct to summoning a person?

I would have thought that they would have had to meet the person and at least personally address a final warning to them.

Reading a name off a bin/off the voters register surely isn't enough evidence to warrant a summons without a meeting or verification of ID?

I ask this as the property I'm renting out has my name on the bins - even though I haven't lived there in years! Need to change those fricken stickers.

biobot · 05-08-2020 8:23pm

I was wondering how long after a TV license is due, would I expect a summons to arrive?

Also, how is it delivered, does it have to be hand delivered directly to me?

My situation is that mine was due at the end of April, and the last time I was at my house in Dublin was just after St. Patricks Day, before the lockdown, and I hadn't been back to the house until a few days ago, when I got the 3 letters (Renew, Please Renew, and RENEWAL OVERDUE). The last "renewal overdue" letter is dated 11th June.

I paid online a short while ago.

Should I be worried?

Johnboy1951 · 05-08-2020 8:47pm

biobot wrote: »

I was wondering how long after a TV license is due, would I expect a summons to arrive?

Also, how is it delivered, does it have to be hand delivered directly to me?

My situation is that mine was due at the end of April, and the last time I was at my house in Dublin was just after St. Patricks Day, before the lockdown, and I hadn't been back to the house until a few days ago, when I got the 3 letters (Renew, Please Renew, and RENEWAL OVERDUE). The last "renewal overdue" letter is dated 11th June.

I paid online a short while ago.

Should I be worried?

I would not worry as you have paid, backdated to renewal date, so they should take no further action.

Bluefoam · 10-10-2020 7:44pm

I'm moving into a new house and have no interest in a TV subscription or otherwise... I have two TVs that came back from the Middle East with me and I'm not even sure if they can pick up Irish terrestrial signals, they definitely don't have Soarview, Freeview etc... TVs will be used for YouTube and Netflix.

Do I need to pay a TV licence?

lucast2007us · 10-10-2020 7:49pm

Bluefoam wrote:

Do I need to pay a TV licence?

Should let everyone off the TV licence this year.
Especially seeing as most programming is recycled from across the pond. Not really feeling the value for money

Bob24 · 10-10-2020 8:17pm

Bluefoam wrote: »

I'm moving into a new house and have no interest in a TV subscription or otherwise... I have two TVs that came back from the Middle East with me and I'm not even sure if they can pick up Irish terrestrial signals, they definitely don't have Soarview, Freeview etc... TVs will be used for YouTube and Netflix.

Do I need to pay a TV licence?

Yes, as long as they are TVs and not monitors (i.e. if they have any type of tuner in them) you are due to pay a licence. This is regardless of their tuners being able to pickup Soarview signal.

If you don’t want to pay a licence and just need something to watch the likes of YouTube or Netflix, you could sell the TVs and buy a large monitor or a projector (making sure it doesn’t have a tuner).

I’ve been doing this for years and the amount I saved on the licence more than paid for my large monitor (for put in in context 5 years of no licence will save you 800 euros ... more than enough to buy a very decent monitor/projector, for exemple something like this monitor which is 4K with HDMI input and built-in speakers).

ps200306 · 11-10-2020 5:55am

Bob24 wrote: »

I’ve been doing this for years and the amount I saved on the licence more than paid for my large monitor (for put in in context 5 years of no licence will save you 800 euros ... more than enough to buy a very decent monitor/projector, for exemple something like this monitor which is 4K with HDMI input and built-in speakers).

I'd love to do this. I don't watch any broadcast TV, including RTE (can't even receive it). But I do watch streaming video and youtube and don't want a lesser quality screen than my current 48" LG TV which only cost 400 EUR. That Philips monitor is smaller, more expensive, and seems to have very bad screen reflections and some ghosting judging by reviews. Is there any reasonably priced monitor that's up to the job of replacing a large format TV?

Bob24 · 11-10-2020 9:31am

ps200306 wrote: »

I'd love to do this. I don't watch any broadcast TV, including RTE (can't even receive it). But I do watch streaming video and youtube and don't want a lesser quality screen than my current 48" LG TV which only cost 400 EUR. That Philips monitor is smaller, more expensive, and seems to have very bad screen reflections and some ghosting judging by reviews. Is there any reasonably priced monitor that's up to the job of replacing a large format TV?

On price, monitors are pretty much always more expensive than similarly sized TVs, I don’t think you can get around that. But given the savings on the licence it is irrelevant as long as you know you will keep it for some time. Each year you can deduce 160 euros from the price of the monitor vs having a TV, so within a year (or max 2 years) you usually break even and then it becomes cheaper each year.

Size is a bit of a problem though: if you want to go above 43in they are usually for professional use (with that size it is usually for public display rather than individual use on a desk), and can get rather pricy. I can see this one on Amazon though: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CRMGLPX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fab_icSGFbAG04C1M

But if you’re not happy with 43 another option might be to look at projectors which don’t have a tuner.

Also keep in mind that unless stated otherwise people are reviewing them on Amazon as monitors and not as TVs. The 43” Acer I have (I paid 400 euros a bit over 2 years ago but they don’t seem to have it anymore) is fine as a TV but as a monitor some people would complain about reflection and ghosting. Like most TVs it has a glossy display which causes reflections but increases contrast, and it has a bit of ghosting but it is a non issue for TV use as you don’t tend to display static pictures for a very long time and then uniform backgrounds on a TV.

styo · 11-10-2020 5:39pm

purplegreendave wrote: »

If I've a console hooked up to a computer monitor, does that evade the TV licence regulations?
I bought a TV licence purely to cover the crap 4:3 12" CRT screen I have for games while at college, but I can get a swanky 20" HD computer monitor for less than the price of a TV licence next year - if I'm not watching tv (the only thing I broke out the aerial for this year was the toy show ) I don't see why this solution wouldn't not only work but be legal

You need a license for the old CRT TV set you have because it has equipment in it to receive a broadcast signal. Chuck it out.

You don’t need a license for a monitor. You don’t need a license to stream tv channels over the internet. It’s purely for equipment capable of receiving over the air tv signals, whether broadcast by rte or anyone else or not.

ps200306 · 11-10-2020 6:50pm

Bob24 wrote: »

On price, monitors are pretty much always more expensive than similarly sized TVs, I don’t think you can get around that. But given the savings on the licence it is irrelevant as long as you know you will keep it for some time. Each year you can deduce 160 euros from the price of the monitor vs having a TV, so within a year (or max 2 years) you usually break even and then it becomes cheaper each year.

Size is a bit of a problem though: if you want to go above 43in they are usually for professional use (with that size it is usually for public display rather than individual use on a desk), and can get rather pricy. I can see this one on Amazon though: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07CRMGLPX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fab_icSGFbAG04C1M

But if you’re not happy with 43 another option might be to look at projectors which don’t have a tuner.

Also keep in mind that unless stated otherwise people are reviewing them on Amazon as monitors and not as TVs. The 43” Acer I have (I paid 400 euros a bit over 2 years ago but they don’t seem to have it anymore) is fine as a TV but as a monitor some people would complain about reflection and ghosting. Like most TVs it has a glossy display which causes reflections but increases contrast, and it has a bit of ghosting but it is a non issue for TV use as you don’t tend to display static pictures for a very long time and then uniform backgrounds on a TV.

Thanks for the info and link. Very useful. On checking the latest on the proposed Broadcasting Charge I see we're supposed to be on a five year countdown to its introduction. Not a lot of time for a monitor to pay for itself. Of course I could have said that back in 2012!

styo · 11-10-2020 7:06pm

ps200306 wrote: »

Thanks for the info and link. Very useful. On checking the latest on the proposed Broadcasting Charge I see we're supposed to be on a five year countdown to its introduction. Not a lot of time for a monitor to pay for itself. Of course I could have said that back in 2012!

good thing to remember is that monitors/signage displays are generally built with far better components and to operate for far longer and with lower energy use than TVs.

So an investment in a decent large screen 4k display now is likely to last you a very long time indeed.

Unless you expect 8k to arrive meaningfully in the next 5 years, for example, a 4k large 55+ screen is probably effectively free, given the license fee and energy savings over the years, and will last far longer than that.

Keep an eye on amazon - occasionally they offer deeply discounted large screen displays. You should be able to pick up a 50 inch for 500 relatively easily.

styo · 11-10-2020 7:09pm

ps200306 wrote: »

Thanks for the info and link. Very useful. On checking the latest on the proposed Broadcasting Charge I see we're supposed to be on a five year countdown to its introduction. Not a lot of time for a monitor to pay for itself. Of course I could have said that back in 2012!

The other thing is that the question of the household broadcasting charge is imho unlikely to arrive. Hell hath no fury like the twitterati told to pay for something they don't use. The last attempt to introduce such a charge was real and was lost. I wouldn't bet on anything changing. 2c.

Bob24 · 11-10-2020 7:59pm

ps200306 wrote: »

Thanks for the info and link. Very useful. On checking the latest on the proposed Broadcasting Charge I see we're supposed to be on a five year countdown to its introduction. Not a lot of time for a monitor to pay for itself. Of course I could have said that back in 2012!

Yes you are correct there is the planned broadcasting charge which could potentially break this workaround.

But as you said it has been discussed for some time and keeps being pushed back. I don’t know if it will be worth the political risk to any government anytime soon. Hard to predict TBH.

ps200306 · 12-10-2020 4:23am

styo wrote: »

Keep an eye on amazon - occasionally they offer deeply discounted large screen displays. You should be able to pick up a 50 inch for 500 relatively easily.

TV license renews in Feb. So I have Black Friday and New Year to look out for offers. Will definitely go for this if the right offer comes up. Even if only to stick it to the state broadcaster that I don't use.

Asus X540L · 03-11-2020 5:16pm

Hi,
I paid for my license last January but I just got an email saying it's expiring on 30 November.

Is this normal - I would have thought it was for a year.

ps200306 · 03-11-2020 5:42pm

If you had a previous license they'll back date your next one to the expiry of that one. Did you have one at your address expiring in November 2019?

Asus X540L · 03-11-2020 5:52pm

ps200306 wrote: »

If you had a previous license they'll back date your next one to the expiry of that one. Did you have one at your address expiring in November 2019?

Nah I'm a new home owner so first one I ever bought.

TV Licence - ALL TV licence discussion/queries in this thread.

Comments