At the other end of the age spectrum, people aged over 75 are entitled to a free TV licence. As licensing is one per household, if you live with a relative aged 75, you can get it for free. If the person who is over 75 isn't the current licence holder for your address, you first need to transfer the licence into their name.
If you only use a TV to watch videos/DVDs and/or as a monitor for your games console then you need to notify TV Licensing in writing that this is the case and one of their Enforcement Officers may need to visit you to confirm that you do not need a licence. Practical points: a) The TV in question should not be connected to an aerial. The only reason why a TV would be connected to an aerial is to receive broadcast feed. If a TVL visiting officer saw an aerial connected to the TV then both he and a court would assume broadcast reception. b) The TV must also show 'white noise' and not tv stations when clicked to various channels. Be aware that TVL visiting officers are commision based, so want you to get a licence or be 'nicked', so make sure your case is sound.
If you are using a PC and screen as your media hub, rather than a TV, then to be exempt from TV licensing you will need to limit yourself to watching recorded feed rather than live feed. For example recently launched is Peekvid, which is a website that catalogs links to TV shows and movies to make them more easily accessible. Peekvid does not host any video clip content itself. Users provide the links, categorize them, and upload them to the site. The result is over 20,000 movies, TV shows, cartoons, and the like, with no downloading required by the user - it is all viewed on-line. Video hosting sites that are linked to Peekvid include Youtube and Dailymotion, amongst others. However, the image resolution of Peekvid's content does not mirror TV, and this is the common problem with internet TV and video streaming to date. But solutions are arriving:
Broadband-quality internet TV
Joost is the first broadband-quality video network delivering near-TV resolution images, and it's free. It turns a PC into an instant on-demand TV without any need for additional set top box. Crucially there is no scheduling nor live feed, just channels of pre-recorded view-on-demand content for you to watch as you want, thereby making a TV licence not required. Whatsmore, news updates, discussion forums, show ratings, and multi-user chat sessions (often linked to the active stream/channel) are made possible through the use of semi-transparent widget overlays. The Joost service is ad-supported, with advertising analogous to that shown on traditional TV.
A word of caution: Joost is a streaming video application, and so uses a relatively high amount of bandwidth per hour. In one hour of viewing, approximately 320Mb data will be downloaded and 105Mb uploaded, which means that it will exhaust a 1Gb cap in 10 hours. Windows users should note that the application continues to run in the background after you close the main window. For this reason, if you pay for your bandwidth usage per megabyte or have your usage capped by your ISP, you should be careful to always exit Joost client completely when you are finished watching it. To stop using bandwidth, you need to exit the application entirely, as follows: Windows users: right-click on Joost icon in the system tray (at the bottom right hand corner of your screen) and choose Exit; Mac users: exit the application normally.
Simililarly, the BBC's iPlayer service is currently in BETA and is due to launch fully in the near future, allowing viewers to watch programmes online for seven days after their first TV broadcast. Episodes can also be downloaded and stored for up to 30 days. You can apply to join the BETA roll out here. At first the iPlayer will only be available on PCs but the BBC says it is committed to making it available on all platforms. All BBC catch-up content will be free. Again, crucially the content isn't live broadcast feed.
ITV is also gradually building up the scope of its own broadband media player. It allows viewers to catch up with shows for up to 30 days after they are broadcast, and currently offers catch up on its main soap operas and other programmes.
Channel 4 already offers hundreds of hours of programmes on-demand. Shows can be accessed on a PC (not a Mac) by downloading a small piece of software from the 4oD website. The download times are about twice the programme length and, once on your hard drive, files are valid for one month. However, downloaded programmes expire 48 hours after they have been viewed for the first time. Channel 4 charges initially charged much of its on-demand content, but due to the competition now arriving from BBC and ITV, now offers a broad range of programmes on a free catch up for 30 days after broadcast.
In summary, by late 2008, there should be sufficient mainstream broadband quality on-demand TV on-line for you to do away with a TV licence, with these two provisos: (1) you are happy to watch all your programmes some time after they are first screened live and (2) your home PC set up is suitable for it to be the main viewing screen. Before you rush into buying a large new screen for your PC, wait for the services to all come on stream and judge their quality, flexibility and reliability. But in anticipation of success, refrain from buying TVs, PVRs, recordable DVDs and video recorders - you won't need them...
And if you do decide to go without a licence...
There is a possibilty that TV Licencing will harrass you, either directly or through enforcement agencies, shameful though it is. Some households that are television-free have reported regular letters and calls threatening court action if no TV licence is purchased. Don't let this put you off - unless you are watching TV and pulling a fast one, then the law is on your side. If you are harrassed, write to TV Licencing by recorded delivery stating your reasons for not requiring a licence and stating that they are in breach of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and also that you withdraw the implied right for them to visit your property. If harrassment persists then contact your local police or MP.