BBC: What's 888? & What's with the Clock Shown All the T

Hi,

I love watching BBC World and BBC Canada.

I notice that in many screen captures of BBC News, there is always a clock on the bottom left corner. Is the clock always there?

I also notice 888 (subtitles) on some of the screen captures. Is this similar to "Closed Captioning' here in Canada and US?

Just want to let you know that I noticed that the aston? (the bottom title bar during the news) in BBC World do not touch the bottom of the screen. Today, when I watched a simulcast of BBC News on a Canadian channel, the Canadian channel adds a scrolling text with local Canadian headlines and summaries. I guess the aston allows for other channels to add scrolling headlines on the bottom of the screen.

Thanks in advance for your help!

G'day, and welcome to TVF. It's refreshing to see a newcomer who can actually write in proper sentences. Now, let's take a look at your enquiries...

1. Not all BBC NEWS services have a clock. BBC NEWS isn't a channel as such, it's the newsgatherer and provider, and is an umbrella 'brand' for all news (and some more generic current affairs) programming. You'll see the BBC NEWS logo on our terrestrial news bulletins, as well as on news in the Nations (individual news bulletins in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and the Regions (areas of England), BBC NEWS 24 (the domestic rolling news service), on BBC WORLD, and of course on BBC NEWS bulletins on affiliated channels. However, of these the only service to carry a clock is BBC NEWS 24 (as well as the 'Breakfast' programme simulcast on BBC ONE from 0600 to 0900). Additionally, one of the regional news services, BBC Midlands Today, adds its own clock to its early morning output, although this is not standard practice.

2. I'll let someone else with more experience of CC address that enquiry!

3. The information aston on BBC WORLD doesn't generally touch the bottom of the screen. If you see one that does, then you're probably watching a NEWS 24-led simulcast as N24's info aston does run all the way to the bottom of the screen, as well as running across the full breadth of the screen, where WORLD's leaves a gap to the left.

Another reason theres no clock on BBC World and BBC Canada because going to be a different time either side of Canada, thats not to mention the different time zones around the world that BBC World broadcasts to.

BBC Wales Today's early morning bulletins (during Breakfast) also have a clock, they've edited the LIVE icon and put a clock in it. I havent checked for a while but it was there a few weeks ago (usually not awake til 12pm )

Fraser

Some regions do however add their own clocks on BBC World as I've seen various captures with clocks placed under the BBC World dog.

I don't know if you've ever had such a thing as "teletext" in North America (?).

On what we would now call "analogue terrestrial" television, "teletext" is a very simplistic on-screen information service, called-up by your remote control. Images here: http://thetvroom.com/m-teletext.shtml

Sorry if this sounds patronising, but I'm going on the assumption that the whole thing's alien to you (?).

As you can see, on the top line of text on a teletext "page" there is a three digit number (just before the date and clock, which are in the top right corner).

Well, simply, going to "page 888" of any teletext service would mean, instead of having what you see illustated on the link I've provided, you'd see the programme on that channel, but with subtitles/closed captions (whatever you want to call them) at the bottom of the screen (i.e. black strips with white writing on them telling you all the dialogue as it occurs, for the deaf and hard-of-hearing).

Now that we're in the days of digital television, you are informed that the programme about to commence has subtitles available with "subtitles", rather than with "888". This is because, whereas the "888" warning is still applicable on analogue terrestrial television, on digital platforms, subtitles are called-up by going through on-screen menues and selecting the "subtitles" option, so the "888" warning is irrelevent.

Teletext didn't catch on in North America. There's a very good site on teletext in the UK and other countires here:
http://teletext.mb21.co.uk/ with a handy FAQ at http://teletext.mb21.co.uk/faq.shtml

Teletext subtitles are a bit like CC, but are displayed diffrently on screen and it has colours (which I don't think CC has) that are used to indicate who's speaking

Do not forget that it was Canadians who invented the far superior teletext service Telidon .

<http://www.friendsofcrc.CA/Telidon/Telidon.html>

<http://www.ewh.ieee.ORG/reg/7/millennium/telidon/telidon_twoway.html>

<http://www.wlu.CA/~wwwpress/jrls/cjc/BackIssues/16.2/devon.html>

From <http://www.mts.NET/~jjaworsk/Telidon/>


So Canadians can thank Lyin' Brian for the demise of their superior system.

The reason why teletext as a whole did not catch on in North America, is because broadcasting in North America for the most part, works according to market principles. In order for a local television station to provide Teletext, somebody would have to pay for it. Furthermore, advertizers did not like the idea that viewers might be reading teletext pages during commercial breaks.

CC has colour capability, its just not used very often.

When I was in America a couple of years ago I used CC on our Hotel TV and what I can say is that it is half way in between 888 and Digital Subtitles, as the quality is half decent and appears in the style of the way 888 is done during the News. I assume it is basic on most American TV's. Plus I think there were many options with CC, like CC2 or something, but it was just a button which turned them on and off, not like over here and pressing TEXT, then dialing 888, when you're done with them you either press TEXT/TV.

CC2 generally carries subtitles in Spanish, at least around here.

http://homepage.mac.com/robertpalmer/tvforum/sig.gif

Hi,

Thanks for the reply and information!

Canada does not have Teletext service. However, different cable channels have a dedicated news channel with just text.

Thanks for explaining 888 and subtitles.

In Canada (and in US), such features are just closed captioning, which you can activate if your television set supports this feature.

Thanks again to everyone who has replied to my inquiries.

Not Northern Ireland any more - it has the slightly different "BBC NEWSLINE" brand.