TV Home Forum

Pages from Ceefax - what's the truth?

"NEWS 24 DURING BBC2 DOWNTIME" (September 2003)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
MB
Media Boy
Simon_Luxton posted:
Rumours are rife on MHP that, as of this weekend, News 24 will fill the gaps on BBC2 between the end of main programmes and The Learning Zone. I haven't yet seen the new Radio Times but the BBCi listings state otherwise, that nothing is billed between during such gaps at the weekend.

Someone please tell me, WHAT'S GOING ON? Is this the end for in-vision Ceefax? Please tell me this is a wind-up(!)


I'm afraid it is true, but ONLY when BBC1 has a late closedown. So, for example if BBC 1 is due to close at 0430 then BBC News 24 would go onto BBC 2 first and then transfer to BBC1 at close and BBC 2 would transmit ceefax for the remainder of the time till it opens up again.
So it depends on the scheduling, but I guess the schedulers will be willing to schedule later and later on BBC1 at weekends....
:-(
A former member
BillyH posted:
Come on guys! We can't lose Ceefax! Many often a time when it's 3.00am in the morning and I can't get to sleep, I just switch on BBC2 and the soothing music knocks me out like a trout. Plus, it'll mean the end of those fab closedown announcements when they bother to do them!


Buy a digital radio - one of the test channels has bird noise on it. That'll work.
:-(
A former member
BillyH posted:
Come on guys! We can't lose Ceefax! Many often a time when it's 3.00am in the morning and I can't get to sleep, I just switch on BBC2 and the soothing music knocks me out like a trout. Plus, it'll mean the end of those fab closedown announcements when they bother to do them!

Honestly! Someone who is actually Pro-analogue. I think they should show pages from bbci on freeview instead.
AD
Adam
Davester posted:
BillyH posted:
Come on guys! We can't lose Ceefax! Many often a time when it's 3.00am in the morning and I can't get to sleep, I just switch on BBC2 and the soothing music knocks me out like a trout. Plus, it'll mean the end of those fab closedown announcements when they bother to do them!

Honestly! Someone who is actually Pro-analogue. I think they should show pages from bbci on freeview instead.


But they'd need to redesign it because there would be nothing to show in the 'Current TV' box, unless they just put some ident or a big BBCi logo in it.
:-(
A former member
Bring back the testcard.
:-(
A former member
They could put [BBC] Two: Pages from BBCi as a dog in the right corner and blank out the little logo that appears there.

If someone could kindly provide me with a screengrab from BBCi , I will demonstrate..
SD
sda|
I REALLY hate HTV West posted:
Bring back the testcard.


Which would be more interesting than primetime BBC1 in terms of content.
BA
Bail Moderator
Simon_Luxton posted:
I'd have no objection to BBCi replacing Ceefax pages or even a downtime slide as per BBC3 and 4. This would at least allow the music to continue. But News 24 is already on BBC1 overnight and is a channel change away for digital viewers. What's the point in showing it on three seperate frequencies?


But what is the point of showing ceefax, a colorful version of DOS when most people have the internet and no-one that I know of actually used ceefax/teletext because it slow, and pointless. If you just want the music, then u'r going a little ott.

And showing N24 on lots of channels is common place for the BBC. Fame Academy was on BBC One, BBC Two and BBCi at the same time.
SD
sda|
People are forgetting majority of the nation with people who havent got "an internet microsoft" at home and little old women in skegness who love ceefax. it is not viable to force everyone onto the net for alternatives to ceefax.

and digitext has hardly any of teletext (c4's specialist sections especially) and ceefax's content.
TV
tvarksouthwest
Quote:
[I'm afraid it is true, but ONLY when BBC1 has a late closedown. So, for example if BBC 1 is due to close at 0430 then BBC News 24 would go onto BBC 2 first and then transfer to BBC1 at close and BBC 2 would transmit ceefax for the remainder of the time till it opens up again.
So it depends on the scheduling, but I guess the schedulers will be willing to schedule later and later on BBC1 at weekends....

I'm relieved and suppose I should be grateful. But as more and more people are going digital, this makes even less sense. It's as if N24 is desperate for viewers! Why not just have N24 overnights on analogue?

As for BBC1, why do we need repeats of TOTP/Question Of Sport et al late Fridays anyway?
:-(
A former member
Simon_Luxton posted:


As for BBC1, why do we need repeats of TOTP/Question Of Sport et al late Fridays anyway?


For the sake of my Tivo???

Aren't these late-night showings signed on DTT?
TV
tvarksouthwest
Quote:
For the sake of my Tivo???

Aren't these late-night showings signed on DTT?

Not as far as I'm aware.

Newer posts