The end of Pages from Ceefax

Not much of it will be left - RTÉ is switching off teletext on DTT and cable at DSO tomorrow at 10:00am (It'll be kept on Sky though for the moment). TV3 killed most of its teletext service a few years ago although there are a few adverts and of course subtitles left. That'll leave TG4 the only proper old style teletext service left on DTT.

Unlike the BBC, RTÉ is keeping the Aertel brand for its MHEG-5 text service though - and I'd argue there was no real reason the BBC had to bin the Ceefax brand, other than to distinguish between the WST and MHEG-5 services while both were simultaneously running. A digital text service from RTÉ is also to very belatedly launch on cable tomorrow (despite the fact that digital cable has been available in Ireland since 2000).

BBCi probably has a lot to do with it - by the time Digital Text came about the BBC had already made clear their intention to tie it in with their online services.

I believe subtitles being available on P888 is a feature of Sky boxes, not an intentional broadcast by the BBC. Not sure if the Sky+HD boxes do the same.

No, it is totally intentional. It's for the benefit of cable cos in Europe that source BBC services from D-Sat.

The DVB spec allows for it, nothing to do with Sky boxes per se

I wonder with Ceefax now gone (R.I.P. ), will we ever hear any of the music assoicated with it again? e.g. Bart There is Youtube but on-screen it's rare to see a breakdown now.

Aren't the breakdowns (on BBC1 at least) the ident music now?

Bart does have quite a notable position of being used in five consecutive decades as interval music (it was still just about around at the start of the 90s wasn't it?).

I think BBC2 tends to use "Ceefax" music when they have a breakdown.

I heard that BBC1 and 2 used it during Open University start ups, though not sure if they were using it in the 90's (although there isn't a lot of OU junctions around from that period, so for all I know they could have still being using it).

BBC1 also used ceefax music last year when they had a screwup when trying to broadcast a party political broadcast, although they always seem to play that one tune (which isn't very good might I add).

And in fact, I'm posting this from a hotel room in Belgium. BBC 1 and 2 are available on the hotel TV, (in 16:9 letterbox) and BBC 1 is (annoyingly) carrying burnt in 'Ceefax' P888 subtitles.

Only if Cwilliams1976 comes back to YouTube!

Did those analogue transmitters which were fed from DSat towards the end lose Ceefax at that point or was some workaround put in place?