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Ein sparsamer Prozessor und Pascal-Grafikeinheiten in einem kompakten Gehäuse: Zotacs neue Zboxen verfügen über viel Leistung auf wenig Raum. Abseits von VR-Gaming eignen sich die Mini-PCs dank vieler Anschlüsse auch für andere Einsatzgebiete. (Zotac, Mini-PC)

To legally watch broadcast television in the UK, viewers need to buy a TV license. Currently, one of those costs £145.50 per year but there are signs that the numbers of those investing in one have been dwindling.

Aside from the usual license dodgers, some people have legally chosen not to buy a TV license due to increasing volumes of BBC programming being made available on its iPlayer streaming service.

The iPlayer is split into two types of service – live TV and catchup. People viewing live TV, BBC1 for example, have always needed a TV license. However, those watching only catchup TV have been able to do so without parting with £145. This morning all of that changed.

“The law changed on 1 September 2016,” says a notice posted today to the UK’s official TV Licensing site.

“You must be covered by a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand. This applies to any device and provider you use. Don’t forget, you still need a TV Licence to watch or record programmes on any channel as they are being shown on TV or live on an online TV service.”

With the so-called “iPlayer loophole” closed from a legal perspective, eyes are now turning to how this can possibly be enforced. To do so properly, the BBC could provide license payers with a password and username to log into the service. Instead, however, the BBC has chosen to maintain its trust-based service, shown in the image below.

Simply clicking “I have a TV License. Watch now” is all that’s required to access the service and it’s expected that at least hundreds of thousands will do so without having an appropriate license. So what enforcement options does the BBC and the UK’s TV Licensing body have?

“We know the vast majority of people are law abiding and would anticipate those who need a licence for the first time will buy one,” a TV Licensing spokesperson said today, adding:

“We have a range of enforcement techniques which we will use and these have already allowed us to prosecute people who watch on a range of devices, not just TVs.”

Just as they have been for decades, TV Licensing are deliberately vague about the options available to them, but one thing they won’t be doing is spying on the traffic flying around people’s home wifi networks. That rumor began to circulate earlier this month but the reporting was both sensational and inaccurate. That’s not to say there aren’t options available though.

In ordinary circumstances, anyone who connects to the iPlayer service does so via an IP address allocated to them by their ISP. At this point, the BBC often has a clear idea of which ISPs are being used and the rough geographic location of the IP addresses accessing their service. Useful perhaps, but not particularly so.

Even if your IP address is static (doesn’t change) and you do (or don’t) have a license, TV Licensing and/or the BBC have no easy way of matching that IP address to a TV License payer. Indeed, the IP address they know accessed their service could belong to almost anyone.

Only complicating matters is that a TV license covers an entire household and all of the people in it, regardless of what device they’re using to access the service. Indeed, many IP addresses could be covered under one license. Some of those IP addresses, used by mobile phones for example, could be in an entirely different geographic location.

These variables and numerous others mean that TV Licensing would have huge difficulty trying to use Internet technology to track down unlicensed iPlayer users in the same way that copyright holders might track down BitTorrent pirates.

While the latter knows for sure that no one has permission to be sharing files, the former has no idea whether there is a licensed person behind any IP address. On that basis, getting a court to force ISPs to hand over details would be unlikely, if not impossible. Even if that did happen, the chances of the person having a license or some other mitigating circumstance would be extremely high indeed.

But of perhaps more importance are the chances of TV Licensing and the BBC even trying. By their own estimations around 94% of households have a valid TV license, which means that around the same percentage of UK IP addresses accessing iPlayer are doing so legally. That is not a particularly good starting point for weeding out pirates.

But for those who are truly cautious (or simply using one anyway), accessing the iPlayer from a VPN service is also a possibility. In tests carried out this morning, a properly licensed TF tester accessed iPlayer from three separate VPN services without any issues whatsoever.

Not only did UK-based IP addresses work, but also overseas one too, meaning that foreign users who aren’t eligible to buy a license can also gain access to the service. Indeed, properly licensed UK viewers can also view from a foreign IP address which might initially appear unlicensed. It’s a minefield.

So in conclusion, it seems unlikely that the BBC or TV Licensing will be enforcing illegal use of its iPlayer service in any different manner than it already does for conventional TV.

All households without a license will be gathered into a database and presumed to be TV license dodgers. They will receive letters in the post warning them that not having a license is illegal. However, unless they get caught in the act of viewing, there’s little that can be done to stop them. TV Licensing has no power of entry.

Finally, catchup services offered by other companies other than the BBC aren’t covered, so people can watch ITV Player, 4OD, Demand 5 and any other service such as Netflix without needing any license. That being said, a TV license is just £3 per week and is hardly going to break the bank.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Gut eine Stunde Überlebenskampf soll eine Mod namens Vault 1080 bieten, die Nvidia für Fallout 4 entwickelt hat. Das Abenteuer setzt stark auf schick gemachte Licht- und Schatteneffekte - deutlich mehr als in der Normalversion des Rollenspiels. (Fallout 4, Rollenspiel)

DJI stellt die Gimbal-Technologie seiner Drohnen jetzt auch für Smartphones zur Verfügung: Der neue Osmo Mobile ist ein Stabilisator, in den einfach ein Smartphone eingeklemmt wird. In einem ersten Kurztest hat besonders die Tracking-Funktion überzeugt. (Ifa 2016, Audio/Video)

Lenovo hat wie erwartet ein neues Yoga-Tablet vorgestellt. Es ist vielfach besser ausgestattet als das vorherige Spitzenmodell, verzichtet aber auf den eingebauten Projektor. Das ermöglicht einen günstigeren Preis. (Ifa 2016, Lenovo)

400.000 Stück des neuen Smartphones Galaxy Note 7 sind von Samsung schon ausgeliefert worden. Parallel mehren sich Berichte über einzelne brennende Akkus des neuen Geräts und einen Auslieferungsstopp, der zumindest Südkorea betrifft. Über das Warum und Wie gibt es derzeit nur Spekulationen. (Galaxy Note 7, Smartphone)

Eines der ungewöhnlichsten Convertibles der Ifa kommt von Lenovo: Statt einer Tastatur hat das neue Yoga Book eine große berührungssensitive Oberfläche, die als Tastatur oder digitaler Block genutzt wird. Wir konnten schon auf dem Gerät tippen und kritzeln - und sind skeptisch. (Ifa 2016, IFA2007)

Der jahrelange Streit um die Netzneutralität in der EU ist beendet. Ist der Jubel der Internetaktivisten über die neuen Leitlinien berechtigt? Schon gibt es erste fragwürdige Zero-Rating-Angebote von Verlagen. (Netzneutralität, VoIP)

Archos hat seinen ersten Quadcopter vorgestellt. Der kleine Flieger kann sich mit knapp 30 km/h fortbewegen, wird über ein Smartphone gesteuert, filmt in HD und ist vergleichsweise günstig. (Drohne, Technologie)

HP is going modular with its latest business-class mini-desktop computer. The new HP Elite Slice is a tiny desktop that measures about 1.5 inches thick and 6 inches across.

The computer itself houses everything you need for a basic PC experience. But you can also expand its functionality by stacking a series of modules to add hardware such as an optical disk drive or audio module with a speaker and microphones.

HP has also developed a series of custom plates for the top of the HP Elite Slice, including one that allows you to wireless charge a smartphone and another with touch-sensitive functions for use when you’re making conference calls.

Continue reading HP unveils Elite Slice modular mini desktop at Liliputing.