Back in the day one turned on the telly, waited for it to warm up, tweaked the dial, fiddled around with the antenna, and there was the BBC. Or perhaps the commercial ITV channel which was awful.
All I'm saying is that outside of the UK one cannot do that. Clearly over the air broadcasts don't travel and the beeb has yet to make it possible for one to view their output over the net, even if one was prepared to pay which I am.
Back in the day there was no Internet so if you were abroad there simply wasn't a choice. End of story.
While the Internet makes it somewhat technically possible to stream output anywhere, it's not realistic to think it's a simple matter of connecting a transmission cable to a server. Even in the US, there are few networks or pay channels that offer their content unrestricted for net access -- not that they don't want to. Those that do tend to be smaller, go through aggregators like Sling, or limit online access to only those who have a subscription through a traditional provider. Disney is moving in this direction with all their channels -- pay TV providers would love to bypass cable and satellite middlemen, and get all the money for subscriptions -- but the cost and infrastructure is tremendous. It takes time.
Don't you think a provider like BBC would like to take your money for watching over the Internet? Of course they would. I don't know the regulatory issues within the UK, but the lack of BBC output in any country is more dependent on the laws and restrictions of that country, not the BBC. As I said, we've gotten loads of BBC content here for decades. There are entire streaming channels that ONLY carry British TV. Between Netflix, Acorn, PBS, and Hulu Plus streaming, you could watch only UK content all day, every day. So obviously, the BBC is more than willing to license content when there's a willing partner in a country to buy it.
There will be a time when you can buy it directly, though that'll also be up to the host country you are in.
Personally, I see a huge difference between taxation for personal service or goods, versus taxation for public works. No one assumes they'll get a free ride to Mars because their taxes help support NASA. But if TV programming is subsidized by a TV licensing tax, there's less incentive for consumers to pay money for that service. Choice becomes more limited. Lacking resources at the time in order to rebuild after the war, the UK decided to implement a per-receiver tax to develop programming. That worked for many years, but it's hardly necessary today, and the tax has become a gimmick to fill coffers that should be filled by being more competitive.
In Germany we have also some public financed system. It is called GEZ.
It started like in the UK to provide public, quality TV. But it went south fast.
First you had to pay if you have a radio or a TV. Later on they decided radios in cars need a extra charge and those at workplaces also. Finally they came down with owning a computer requires a charge also.
Even living in the US of A since 2006 (and not visiting Germany) did not stop them from harassing me for money.
In Germany we have also some public financed system. It is called GEZ.
It started like in the UK to provide public, quality TV. But it went south fast.
First you had to pay if you have a radio or a TV. Later on they decided radios in cars need a extra charge and those at workplaces also. Finally they came down with owning a computer requires a charge also.
Even living in the US of A since 2006 (and not visiting Germany) did not stop them from harassing me for money.
Sad.
Mike
Hello!
Oh wow. Yes in that all important book "Cuckoo's Egg" we find out about those outrageous fees for using a telephone answering system there. That was because several crackers (hackers who broke into systems, and were illegal in their actions, were from that region. We are of course hackers in that we spend time in front of a computer constantly writing a program that works, and doesn't stop until both are satisfied. Which is of course the original definition.) Cliff was also clear in mentioning that phone service fees were preposterous over there as applied to the ones here.
In fact the first time I saw Doctor Who was on Channel 9, the ones that Time-Life added the voice over of a well known actor to introduce the Fourth Doctor to us. The Martians turn up in the one concerning the Ice Warriors, which is I believe the Second Doctor. We also see one in a later series when he and Amy Pond or he and Clara find themselves aboard a Russian Sub during the 1980s on their way back from visiting the South Pole. I suspect the Ice Warrior we meet is left over from the original series.
And yes indeed there is Gallifreyan a language which resembles Gaelic, the dialect sometimes spoken in Scotland, not the Irish one.
Actually I never did get my question answered regarding the attachment manager and thumbnails for photos.
Comments
Back in the day there was no Internet so if you were abroad there simply wasn't a choice. End of story.
While the Internet makes it somewhat technically possible to stream output anywhere, it's not realistic to think it's a simple matter of connecting a transmission cable to a server. Even in the US, there are few networks or pay channels that offer their content unrestricted for net access -- not that they don't want to. Those that do tend to be smaller, go through aggregators like Sling, or limit online access to only those who have a subscription through a traditional provider. Disney is moving in this direction with all their channels -- pay TV providers would love to bypass cable and satellite middlemen, and get all the money for subscriptions -- but the cost and infrastructure is tremendous. It takes time.
Don't you think a provider like BBC would like to take your money for watching over the Internet? Of course they would. I don't know the regulatory issues within the UK, but the lack of BBC output in any country is more dependent on the laws and restrictions of that country, not the BBC. As I said, we've gotten loads of BBC content here for decades. There are entire streaming channels that ONLY carry British TV. Between Netflix, Acorn, PBS, and Hulu Plus streaming, you could watch only UK content all day, every day. So obviously, the BBC is more than willing to license content when there's a willing partner in a country to buy it.
There will be a time when you can buy it directly, though that'll also be up to the host country you are in.
Personally, I see a huge difference between taxation for personal service or goods, versus taxation for public works. No one assumes they'll get a free ride to Mars because their taxes help support NASA. But if TV programming is subsidized by a TV licensing tax, there's less incentive for consumers to pay money for that service. Choice becomes more limited. Lacking resources at the time in order to rebuild after the war, the UK decided to implement a per-receiver tax to develop programming. That worked for many years, but it's hardly necessary today, and the tax has become a gimmick to fill coffers that should be filled by being more competitive.
It started like in the UK to provide public, quality TV. But it went south fast.
First you had to pay if you have a radio or a TV. Later on they decided radios in cars need a extra charge and those at workplaces also. Finally they came down with owning a computer requires a charge also.
Even living in the US of A since 2006 (and not visiting Germany) did not stop them from harassing me for money.
Sad.
Mike
Hello!
Oh wow. Yes in that all important book "Cuckoo's Egg" we find out about those outrageous fees for using a telephone answering system there. That was because several crackers (hackers who broke into systems, and were illegal in their actions, were from that region. We are of course hackers in that we spend time in front of a computer constantly writing a program that works, and doesn't stop until both are satisfied. Which is of course the original definition.) Cliff was also clear in mentioning that phone service fees were preposterous over there as applied to the ones here.
In fact the first time I saw Doctor Who was on Channel 9, the ones that Time-Life added the voice over of a well known actor to introduce the Fourth Doctor to us. The Martians turn up in the one concerning the Ice Warriors, which is I believe the Second Doctor. We also see one in a later series when he and Amy Pond or he and Clara find themselves aboard a Russian Sub during the 1980s on their way back from visiting the South Pole. I suspect the Ice Warrior we meet is left over from the original series.
And yes indeed there is Gallifreyan a language which resembles Gaelic, the dialect sometimes spoken in Scotland, not the Irish one.
Actually I never did get my question answered regarding the attachment manager and thumbnails for photos.