TV licensing (Manchester)

Hi all,

I just got the lovely letter from the service in charge of tv licensing. I've dealt with this particular issue in France and in Germany in the past, and i thought i'd ask about how it works in the UK since i've found that what is said officially and actual practice can differ significantly.

The short question is: do i need a tv license? I do not watch nor intend to watch live tv, nor record tv programs here. As in really, I'm not just trying to get out of the fee or whetever. I hate tv and particularly the state it puts me in when i have Protected content to navigate through from my couch. It does evil to me.
Now according to the letter i received, this means i can simply state this and they won't start harassing me (aside from a potential "short visit")

BUT I do have a tv, a nice big screen too. I use it for many things, from watching stuff on netflix or from dvds, playing games, etc. Only not to watch tv. I know that in Germany or France, that'd put me back under the group of people who are expected to pay their tv-license-equivalent, under the "oh you own a tv set but don't use it to watch tv? why don't you pull the other one, this one has bells on" doctrine.

So, in your experience or opinion, will it be like that in the UK? If so, I'd rather just pay this thing right away and avoid short visits of any sorts. But if things really are how they say in the letter, then i'd rather not pay for something i never use...