Black and White TVs in Fife

License Figures show vintage TVs still in use

Some Fife homes are shunning new technology and still enjoying their black and white TV sets.

There are still 10 in use in Dunfermline and 9 in Kirkcaldy despite the switch over to digital and the increasing use of tablets and smart phones to stream TV shows. 

It is been nearly 50 years since David Attenborough, who was BBC Two controller at the time, raced to broadcast colour TV first. But in Scotland there are 550 licences in force and more than 9,000 in UK. The black and white licence fee is frozen at £49. 

Jason Hill, spokesperson for TV Licensing Scotland, said: 

"It’s astounding that 9 households in Kirkcaldy still watch on a black and white telly, especially now that over half of homes access TV content over the internet, on smart TVs. Whether you have the latest 4K TV or a black and white set from the 1970s, however, if you are watching or recording live television, then you do need a TV licence."
 
According to this year’s figures for Scotland, Glasgow leads the way with 193 licences, followed by Edinburgh with 55 and Dundee with 18 and Perth with 12 and Inverness with 5.
 
Jim McLauchlan, from the Museum of Communications in Fife, said: 

"In general, younger visitors to the museum show very little interest in the black and white televisions but the occasional senior visitor will comment in a nostalgic way. It is now some years since I have come across anyone using a black and white television, though the occasional person has one tucked away in their attic. We certainly get them donated now and then to the museum and there are an increasing number of collectors throughout the UK collecting black and white sets from as early as 1940s onwards and, in fact, the older the better, with some now fetching good prices."