TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England • Hacker News Board

Re: TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England

#131

Post by mellosouls » Tue, Jan 19, 2021, 8:54 AM UTC

Nux wrote: post #98

Unpopular opinion: I agree to and support the BBC TV license. I think most of their TV and radio programmes are as good as they come. The Brits are lucky to have it. "But Netflix, Prime!.." - sorry, that's 99% dopamine inducing mindless entertainment, Idiocracy-style. I want more than that, for me and my family. They can never replace quality programmes done without so much pressure for investment returns, engagement…

I agree with the Beeb being publicly funded too, though would prefer it being part of normal taxation rather than the license fee which is so controversial.

But I don't think attacking American providers is a strong counter at all, the days when the BBC led the world in quality are long gone, HBO set the standard for modern drama which no British service has come close to matching; Netflix and Prime provide plenty of quality programmes too.

The BBC/C4 still compete on non-fiction, comedy and radio, but not drama.

Re: TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England

#132

Post by raverbashing » Tue, Jan 19, 2021, 8:55 AM UTC

joosters wrote: post #120

raverbashing wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're thinking too much like an engineer Here's my TV detection method: look at their windows and see if there's a light flickering pattern that looks like a TV (if behind curtains) or maybe you can see the TV

'TV Light Simulators' are actually a thing: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=tv+light+simulator&atb=v172...

Your point?

If you're trying to avoid being suspected of having a tv, that sounds as smart as trying to rob a gun store with a fake weapon

Re: TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England

#133

Post by dsnr » Tue, Jan 19, 2021, 8:57 AM UTC

hef19898 wrote: post #129

dsnr wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A German explained to me once that the forced payment by non-watchers is justified as it benefits society as a whole. Do they really believe these things? This is the Kool-Aid you have to drink as a society, in order not to go crazy when you pay for things you never use and benefit from. If you ever move out, make sure to let them know, otherwise they will keep hunting you for ever.

Do we believe that the "household-fee" serves the greater good? No, I'd say not really. It was, IMHO, public broadcasts solution to the icreasing number of people preferring streaming and the internet over traditional television. And more importantly the decreasing revenue. Are these fees generally speaking a good thing? I'd say yes, because you get a non-add dependant news source. Is the implementation, especially i…

If it was just a news source it would have been fine, but it‘s not. The department that manages this tax alone has 900 employees. Then each of the two big channels has thousands of employees. How is that an efficiently run news source?

Re: TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England

#134

Post by spuz » Tue, Jan 19, 2021, 8:57 AM UTC

ohazi wrote: post #105

lqet wrote: post #38

> The United Kingdom is somewhat unique in the world for requiring those households which view broadcast television to purchase a licence for the privilege. I know at least three countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) which do the same (edit: according the Wikipedia [0], such a fee exists in basically every European country, Japan, Israel, South Korea and Namibia). In Germany, the situation changed a few years…

> no way for them to prove I was actually owning a television (Emphasis mine) This "playing fast and loose with language" that they do (and that you inadvertently did too, just now) makes me so irrationally angry. Why would the burden of proof be that low? They need ( should need?) to prove that you received broadcast television , not that you simply owned a TV. We hear these stories about TV detector vans as if find…

In the UK, you must pay if you are capable of receiving live TV, not only if you do receive live TV. Even if it was never switch on, a TV that is plugged into an aerial qualifies as meeting that requirement.

Re: TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England

#135

Post by lucian1900 » Tue, Jan 19, 2021, 8:57 AM UTC

mothsonasloth wrote: post #123

The article fails to point out that today the enforcement vans are replaced by harassing enforcement officers. These are contracted through slimey companies like Serco and Capita (Crapita). I don't normally say it but it really is an example of the nanny state. Check this video out, it's an eye opener https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXcLqvFjMhE&t=608

It’s more of an example of privatisation than anything else.

Re: TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England

#136

Post by midasuni » Tue, Jan 19, 2021, 8:58 AM UTC

boomboomsubban wrote: post #18

zapdrive wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't it make sense to just add the license fee/tax at the source of sale, just like electronic waste recycling fee etc.

In the UK, the fee is £157.50 a year, €160 in Ireland. Any workaround to try and tie it to the point of sale would make buying a TV cost a fortune.

You’d just buy the TV from the north of Ireland did it that way. If U.K. did it that way you’d buy it in the south. In Ireland you could also buy from the rest of the EU.

Re: TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England

#137

Post by midasuni » Tue, Jan 19, 2021, 8:59 AM UTC

secondcoming wrote: post #6

comprev wrote: post #2

Ireland also requires a TV license for each home. If you have any device _capable_ of receiving a signal you're required to pay.... even if you only use the TV for games consoles or Netflix.

The UK only requires you to have a TV licence if you watch BBC iPlayer, or watch any live TV / stream, even if that content is not produced by the BBC. Also, recording something live in order to watch it later requires a TV licence. So, if you watch something live on Amazon Prime or YouTube, you need a TV licence. I don't know if the BBC define what 'live' actually means, there's always a delay. I have a TV but don't…

Live is something as broadcast by a U.K. licensed broadcaster. YouTube lives wouldn’t count for example, nor do zooms.

Re: TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England

#138

Post by vonzepp » Tue, Jan 19, 2021, 9:00 AM UTC

BBC also does fantastic children's content including mobile games app's. Cbeebies is miles better then anything else. Also, you can trust young kids with the BBC. You know there is no targeted advertising, or in game purchases. Most shows are also educational (often secretly). Licence fee worth that alone for me.

Re: TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England

#139

Post by midasuni » Tue, Jan 19, 2021, 9:01 AM UTC

jansan wrote: post #86

Nextgrid wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the main question is whether the detection technology was real and worked as expected or they were just decoys.

It would be much easier to spot a TV flickering through a window. My guess is that's what they did, and then claim that they had detected it with their super duper high-tech antennas.

Neither of those would stand up in court. You have to actually see the actual program that was live (not a tape recording), or get an admission

Re: TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England

#140

Post by CodeGlitch » Tue, Jan 19, 2021, 9:03 AM UTC

Symbiote wrote: post #60

CodeGlitch wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No idea what any of those shows you listed are. My interests are science, history, computing, polictics - and there are numerous podcasts covering these subjects. To name just a few in case anyone is intersted: * Dan Snow's History Hits * Triggernometry * Lex Fridman Podcast * Atomic Hobo * Jason Scott Talks his way out of it * Darknet Diaries * Omega Tau * Rob Reid After On * Anatomy of Next * page 94 - Private Eye…

> No idea what any of those shows you listed are. My interests are ..., politics _Today_ and _PM_ are amongst the most influential media in the UK. Not knowing about them is almost wilfully ignorant -- other media will report that "on the _Today_ programme this morning, Minister for Vaccines, Nadhim Zahawi, said…"

Like I said elsewhere, I don't watch much broadcast TV, honestly have better things to do with my time. I've been successful in life so I don't see why you are insisting I need to watch this show.

I get my news and current affairs elsewhere.

Edit: I'd also like to add that no one in my circle has ever asked me "hey did you see that thing on the Today Programme last night?". In fact very little conversation about TV programmes in general. Rather conversation involves "have you watched xyz on Netflix yet". Perhaps this is a generations thing? (I'm 40.)