Help with BBC iPlayer on a TV monitor please

Peter ... I was simply stating the terms and conditions by which the BBC provides its app (as told to me by the BBC, but perhaps they got it wrong). If I write an app then I'm allowed to state my terms and conditions for its use. Anyway, I was not trying to create an argument just pointing out that in the unlikely event that a BBC person should want to take this issue up then well, it doesn't matter - it'll never happen .... and I have no axe to grind ... I'm sure lots of videos on youtube infringe copyright laws, but people still watch them. 

Al the best, Guy 

Dear Kevin,

This being a free country where people can speak on public issues without fear, I am sure that the general population will make their own views known at elections before the Charter renewal.

At best, if the BBC survives in anything like its current structure, then it will continue to be become less relevant  as its sole relevance is based on it being trusted.

It is sad for me to see the BBC self-harming, but it seems in suicide mode.

With members of management and staff making such massive blunders of judgement, the enemies of the BBC from without are not the BBC's biggest problem. The problem is deep rooted inside, in a culture of being too secure in their jobs, or covering backs, of closing ranks, and when found out, trying to cast wrongful aspersions on others rather than fixing itself.

The BBC has left itself wide open to a media frenzy by its enemies, and the blood will flow, and the defenders will increasingly be seen as defending the indefensible.

Given the BBC's uniquely privileged position, it has only itself to blame for the crisis that it has over the last decades, and quite possibly enough people will be convinced that they have been sold a pup. If this happens then no amount of special pleading for the BBC to continue will be any use. 

People within the BBC will have handed the enemies of the BBC exactly what they need to see the BBC off.

ATB from George

Thanks - Adam there is another page that lists the stations and seems to contradict this, and I had to ask for clarity from BBC to see if I needed to block iPlayer for a client .... but no matter. Easy thing to do is to buy a TV licence then you can watch TV whenever. 

Can I watch Sky sports in the same way .... 

All the best, Guy 

Kevin,

Copyright law is a very complex area, and there is something called "fair use" of copyrighted material that some people try to claim.

A look at the copyright warning given at the start of most commercial DVD's explains the situation succinctly. It is true that it is extremely unlikely that anyone would be prosecuted for uploading copyrighted material to Youtube, and even more unlikely that anyone would be prosecuted for watching it. But this does not make it legal to do so. To claim ignorance of the law is no defence.

My original reference to Youtube was to illustrate a point regarding peoples' morality rather than to discuss the legal ins-and-outs of it. 

It is analogous to ripping CD's to a hard drive and then selling the CD's. This is apparently illegal, but I can't imagine anyone ever facing prosecution over it.

My original point was that many people are perfectly happy to view movies on Youtube that they have not paid a penny for. These movies have been made available illegally if they are protected by copyright. Yet some people are winging about the use of iPlayer, which is 100% legal.

Peter

@ Guido:

This is no different from the TV Licensing site: if you watch or record, including "catch-up", a real-time broadcast then you should pay the linces fee, if not real-time then no licence required.

It is not difficult.

I might as well jump of the cliff now then .... a world without the BBC would be very sad indeed ... lots of great music programmes would be lost, I could no longer see sports broadcast, I would have no idea if Mrs Mergatroyd got her cat back, culture would die, the world would descend in to chaos, wars would ensue and there would be a great famine o'er this green and pleasant land as the totalitarianism and commercialism that the BBC keeps us safe from rolled its ugly tanks across our lawns ... is that you want, because that's what'll happen. 

In fact, this is not a new topic. It came up before and there were floods of letters to Points of View on the subject ... here is that very programme

 You can watch it even without licence and I think it echoes the sentiments of many of us hereon very well. 

So I can watch Sky Sports as long as it is not in real time - thanks .... 

I'd check with Licensing Authority on that.

Guy,

If you look in the BBC iPlayer terms of use and also on the TV Licensing website at the section I mentioned in a previous post the situation is totally unambiguous as Derry pointed out.

If you watch live TV on any device then a TV licence is required.

If you use a service such as iPlayer to view previously transmitted programmes (ie. not viewed live) then a licence is not required.

A licence is not required to own a functioning TV receiver, unless it is used to watch live TV.

Quite simple and straight-forward. I can't understand why people seem so reluctant to accept it. As I said, please don't take my word for it, check up on the websites for yourself and you will see.

Best,

Peter

Peter, if you'd have just bought a TV licence and a little Freeview recorder (dead cheap at Argos), you could have been watching the shows you wanted to watch at the time you wanted to watch them.

For the sake of a few quid you have wasted a day of your, and many other people's time arguing about T&Cs and copyright, as well as failing to get the solution to the technical issue you had.

Was it really worth it?

Anyway, got to get to work - books don't write themselves you know...

Kevin,

If I could afford it I would buy a licence, have a new aerial installed, buy a DVD recorder and just be done with it and watch only the material that interested me. Unfortunately budget is tending to zero so I need to implement a very low cost solution to be able to watch the odd documentary etc. After a little research it seemed that BBC iPlayer and ITV Player were the answer with just a few quids worth of cheap audio and video cables to hook up to our TV/hi-fi.

My post was a straight-forward technical query about using a free service which as yet has remained unanswered. I confess that I never expected to be cast as Public Enemy Number 1 for using a perfectly legitimate free service, and then to be subjected to accusations that I am a law breaker by not owning a TV licence!

Ain't life strange?!

Peter

Peter 

You are certainly not a public enemy nor is anybody accusing you of doing anything wrong ... seems I was wrongly advised by BBC or they have changed the T&Cs since they proffered this advice. Perhaps they were concerned over the granularity of control we could impose as I do not know if we can block down to widget level with iPlayer. So I apologise and hope your situation improves. 

Anyway ... enjoy your programmes ... I use a Nintendo Wii to view iPlayer content in full screen mode on the TV. I've never used ITV Player as apart from FA Cup football matches there isn't anything on ITV for me. Soap operas and X-factor and people eating worms are not really stuff I care for. 

On the Mac Mini you can plug a HDMI cable, DVI or a VGA cable in to a set to get whatever is on the computer on the screen ... if your computer and TV has either of these connections then that is one way. My Amiga has composite video out and works within any TV of any age, but there is no iPlayer available for it. So it is a question of finding the right connection. Sorry I know nothing about PCs. 

However, here is a video by someone who does and it explains how to connect a computer to TV 

Also 

Have a look at item # 35258 on the Maplin site .... I have never used one of these because they are for PCs, but it should work. I have an Apple equivalent that most definitely works. 

All the best, Guy

PS - I'm still a big fan of the BBC though like all large corporate and football team they waste money on so called stars who turn out to be Rosses (a.k.a. useless). 

It may not be perfect but I for one am very happy to pay 40 pence per day to keep the inane drivel of commercial advertising off the Beeb. Even if I only watch a few programmes every week, it's still fantastic value.

John.

Guy,

Many thanks for this - extremely helpful.

Best,

Peter