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Ceefax STILL GOING!

Last on 8/9th MAY on BBC ONE Scotland (March 2012)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
OV
Orry Verducci
denton posted:
Pages from Ceefax haven't been used (locally) by BBC NI as a filler for several years now. The last time, I think, was as a 15 minute filler on BBC Two Northern Ireland when Sesame Tree first started as a local programme and was being broadcast at 6:15am. That was eventually replaced by a menu and music.

I'm refering mainly to network, which could carry on using Pages from Ceefax for as long as Ceefax is generated for analogue viewers, which it will be until DSO in NI. After DSO in NI I wouldn't have thought they'd be much point keeping the encoders for Ceefax running given that it will no longer be transmitted.
DE
denton
James Vertigan posted:
denton posted:
Orry Verducci posted:

I wouldn't be surprised come DSO in Northern Ireland if it is replaced by News Channel. If they decide they do want to keep a Pages from Ceefax style service, I expect it would be replaced by something a bit more modern, even if it's as simple as webpage with the latest headlines on loop.


Pages from Ceefax haven't been used (locally) by BBC NI as a filler for several years now. The last time, I think, was as a 15 minute filler on BBC Two Northern Ireland when Sesame Tree first started as a local programme and was being broadcast at 6:15am. That was eventually replaced by a menu and music.


ISTR as recently as 2006-2007 (certainly before the current CBBC logo came in) that BBC Scotland and also BBC NI would show an hour of PFC on BBC TWO from 6-7am before joining a special summer holiday service simulcast from the CBBC Channel (as their summer holidays start earlier than in England) and BBC NI used their own music and Ceefax generator when they showed PFC as it looked slightly different from the network's.


As far as I can recall, the NI Ceefax generator died around that time. I think the Red Bee generator, via the switch-able clean feed, was used briefly after that. Towards the end of Sesame Tree's 2008 run 6-6:15am was filled by a menu and music. Ceefax hasn't been used on BBC 1 NI as filler though for more than a decade.
FL
flaziola
Thanks to tonights Being Human ceefax trended on twitter for a bit.
PC
Paul Clark
You mean it's not constantly trending? What is the matter with these people!?
JV
James Vertigan Founding member
denton posted:

As far as I can recall, the NI Ceefax generator died around that time. I think the Red Bee generator, via the switch-able clean feed, was used briefly after that. Towards the end of Sesame Tree's 2008 run 6-6:15am was filled by a menu and music. Ceefax hasn't been used on BBC 1 NI as filler though for more than a decade.


NI's did pretty much look like it was on its way out back then to me - I can remember it showed other page colours OK but when the Finance page popped up on the 152 newsreel the red of that page seemed to come out a very odd orange colour on the genny!
DA
David
flaziola posted:
Thanks to tonights Being Human ceefax trended on twitter for a bit.


Please explain.
BH
Bvsh Hovse
Inspector Sands posted:
I'd have thought they'll keep it going until the last analogue service ends and then quietly turn it off. I can't imagine it's actually costing anything to produce, it'll all be automatically converted from digital text

Of course. I mean it couldn't possibly still be the case that the Ceefax backend feeds digital text, and that the headline length on BBC News online is determined by Ceefax compatibility. Definately not. No way. Not possible. Very Happy
JO
Jon
David posted:
flaziola posted:
Thanks to tonights Being Human ceefax trended on twitter for a bit.


Please explain.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01dbhd8/?t=6m19s

Watch for 1 minute and you'll understand.

Great little line, great Blue Peter references and a generally funny episode.
IS
Inspector Sands
Bvsh Hovse posted:
Of course. I mean it couldn't possibly still be the case that the Ceefax backend feeds digital text, and that the headline length on BBC News online is determined by Ceefax compatibility. Definately not. No way. Not possible. Very Happy

Of course not.... but if that was the case do you think they would suddenly extend the writing format/word limit sometime in October?
GE
thegeek Founding member
This might be the best place to mention the International Teletext Art Festival, currently airing on YLE's text service. You can browse it online at http://www.yle.fi/tekstitv/html/P525_01.html until the 8th of April - or more easily, at http://fixc.fi/itaf/
BH
Bvsh Hovse
Inspector Sands posted:
Bvsh Hovse posted:
Of course. I mean it couldn't possibly still be the case that the Ceefax backend feeds digital text, and that the headline length on BBC News online is determined by Ceefax compatibility. Definately not. No way. Not possible. Very Happy

Of course not.... but if that was the case do you think they would suddenly extend the writing format/word limit sometime in October?

Not really my area, so don't know the definate answer. But I'm not aware of the digital text user experience being redesigned in a legacy free format, so I reckon the teletext formatting will be around for a while longer after Ceefax has closed.

9 days later

AY
ayrshireman
Hi, anyone know what date Pages from Ceefax is disappearing?.
I assume it will be the 30th of April?.

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