Mailing list - Selected correspondence

Some snippets from the Teletext Mailing list.

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Dear Tarmo,

I am afraid that although the users still very much like analog Teletext and continue to use it in an extremely loyal manner, and although that it is a major user complaint not to carry it any longer (or face quality problems) in digital environments, classical Teletext will very likely and very unfortunately die much sooner than expected.If it is not the high user frequency and satisfaction ratings causing this.... what actually destroys Teletext?

Well any product or medium needs investment and updating, users environments and applications change or become outdated without change.... it are the broadcasters that largely do not take notice of this and who ignore the future potential of the medium.Next to being an extremely fast information tool; Teletext is still also the ideal tool for educating viewers to become more active, it can give interactivity to any (teletext) household and there are very many of them.... but almost no broadcaster is doing this because it requires.... investments.

The same is true for Teletext subtitling applications and ticker- tapes which are extremely flexible....The non-investment in the medium is currently killing it, CNN for example stopped its service whereas it could have been easily commercialized.

In the mind of broadcasters analog Teletext (which, I agree, actually is the first real digital medium) is meanwhile a non-topic. It is for them a medium of the past. A medium to not invest in.

I have been fighting to change or slow down this for the past seven years, gave many presentations and sent ten-thousands of Emails.... but due to a lack of interest, I am currently forced to give up and close down my Teletext activities after almost twenty years.

What replacement does Teletext have? This is my last big question..... my conclusion is that people are ignorant.... actually nothing really replaces it.... the UK might be an exception but in all other countries the replacement information sources/solutions are much more fragmented and therefore less universal than classical Teletext.

It therefore is a pity that the life cycle of Teletext can/could not be extended until a real replacement becomes/became available. We are throwing old shoes away before we have new ones.Viewers really do not like this happening.... but who cares in the times of triple play and IPTV where technology is becoming king again??

Hans van Nieuwkerk
http://tv-windows.com/
http://www.mobisub.com/
http://www.dvb-windows.com/

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Yupp,

Those where the days!

In Sweden we called the service “Interactive Teletext”, fairly successful, we created a multitude of services where people could play, order stuff or place ads in teletext etc. We tried the Adventure game a short period of time, but due to the high cost for premium rate services in Sweden, we closed it down. We did it by using either a teletext generator that we controlled with our own software or by using Subtitle protocols, later on all manufacturers built that service into their systems. I believe some of the services still run on TV4 in Sweden.

/Joakim

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Robert Law wrote:

I prefer analogue teletext it is far Superior and faster than the crap digital versions !

You and me too!

I'm dreading terrestrial going digital only. The loss of Ceefax and Teletext will be a wrench. These rubbish adverts on the BBC for digital make no mention of poorer picture quality (pixelating on moving images) or the total lack of proper teletext services. The digital versions have annoying little TV pictures on them and are less attractive to view and less clear text. Please provide conventional teletext on DTT at least, or better still, leave analogue on air!

Bryan Green

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