[Sexbomb]

Originally Posted by The Wizard

What's with people going on about teletext? Has nobody heard of the internet?

Not everyone has got a pc or can afford the internet.

[chindley]

Originally Posted by Bill Clinton

This is how BBC TWO analogue ended its Winter Hill life after broadcasting for over 40 years in analogue format.
It just went off literally like flicking a switch in the middle of something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYoAF3qw5NI

I'd like to make a suggestion that they make more of an occasion out of the switch off. My suggestion would be to make a small 20 minute documentary about the history of television and analogue with a look ahead to the future of TV and to air that only on the analogue channel in the final half hour before the switch off. This would be a great way to mark the point in broadcasting history.

I thought they were going to be doing a show as well, even if its just a regional one! Although I had misread the Digital TV News announcement about Tess Daly, I thought it would be a TV show and not just a thing for Manchester for the 4th of November switch-over of BBC 2!

Doing a show for the Winter Hill/Granada region would be a great idea because its the biggest transmitter region (population, county & density wise) in Britain, with at least 3 or 4 separate counties served by at least one transmitter.

Let's hope some of the people in charge of the TV companies (or their "henchmen") read these Forums for ideas. Not likely though is it?

[emails]

i am sure there will a be thing on the last day of switch over

[ftv]

Originally Posted by chindley

I thought they were going to be doing a show as well, even if its just a regional one! Although I had misread the Digital TV News announcement about Tess Daly, I thought it would be a TV show and not just a thing for Manchester for the 4th of November switch-over of BBC 2!

Doing a show for the Winter Hill/Granada region would be a great idea because its the biggest transmitter region (population, county & density wise) in Britain, with at least 3 or 4 separate counties served by at least one transmitter.

Let's hope some of the people in charge of the TV companies (or their "henchmen") read these Forums for ideas. Not likely though is it?

Surely Crystal Palace is the biggest region ?

[The Wizard]

Originally Posted by Sexbomb

Not everyone has got a pc or can afford the internet.

I was just trying to make a point that both analogue and digital teletext are just as poor but maybe in different ways.

Ceefax might contain more content but unless you know where to look most of it is hidden and you have to go hunting through the index. Certain content is only available on either BBC1 or BBC2 so you can spend time looking for a page then find out your on the wrong channel. God knows how that works now BBC2 no longer exists. Digital text might have less content but it's more user friendly and accessible and loads instantly on newer STB's and has the ability to incorporate pictures as well as text. Navigation through the menus can take forever but there's still the option to punch in those all familiar 3 digit numbers if you know the page your looking for. Of course there will be things which we will miss about the old Ceefax like the live onscreen footy updates. On analogue text how many times have you sat there watching the number go around twice as it looks for your page, stopping and starting before it eventually finds the page your looking for about a minute later. It was so frustrating. This is why I never used it.

They said a while back that by the time the switchover happens most of the pages from analogue Ceefax/Teletext will be available on digital and you can still use the page numbers to navigate instead of going through the menus but it looks like most the Ceefax will eventually end up redundant. You can't keep a service going for the odd few people who need to know the latest crown green bowling scores but then again are people aware that there are pages on BBCi that are not on analogue? There are pages which use a new 4 digit code unique to digital text.

I agree, not everyone has a PC but then again not everyone has a mobile phone yet that didn't stop 90% of phoneboxes disparearing. Looking at a Ceefax page is like looking at an old BBC Micro or ZX Spectrum. It's so dated and ugly yet there's something about it that makes you smile nostalgicly and I think that's the main reason most people are gonna miss it. It's something that most people have grown up with as part of their TV and now that blocky it's going.

[klystron]

Originally Posted by ftv

Surely Crystal Palace is the biggest region ?

I think Crystal Place has more viewers (over 11 million) than Winter Hill (over 7 million) but with it's 70 relays Winter Hill covers a greater area. It seems that Londoners are denser than Northerners.

[hardylane]

Originally Posted by klystron

I think Crystal Place has more viewers (over 11 million) than Winter Hill (over 7 million) but with it's 70 relays Winter Hill covers a greater area. It seems that Londoners are denser than Northerners.

Mwahahahah! Absolutely

[VirginMediaPhil]

Originally Posted by Sexbomb

Not everyone has got a pc or can afford the internet.

If the government's plans go ahead, in time they will.

[OB racks]

Originally Posted by The Wizard

I was just trying to make a point that both analogue and digital teletext are just as poor but maybe in different ways.

Really? I disagree, IMHO the point you were really trying to make was that people who rely on teletext were living in the dark ages and should be using the internet, as if they were somehow fools or techno-dummies. Whilst at the same time completely disregarding that a lot of people can't afford internet access anyway, or WAP access, and some people, especially the older generation (your parents excluded of course) are either just unaware (least likely) or scared of the technology so wont touch it (most likely).

And I quote:

Originally Posted by The Wizard

What's with people going on about teletext? Has nobody heard of the internet? Even before the introduction of digital teletext I gave up and used the internet instead. I'm really amazed by all these people moaning about the loss of Cefax to digital text yet I can't remember since getting the internet over 10 years ago whether I've actually used teletext more than once a year.

Why not just put the shovel away?

[The Wizard]

Originally Posted by OB racks

Really? I disagree, IMHO the point you were really trying to make was that people who rely on teletext were living in the dark ages and should be using the internet, as if they were somehow fools or techno-dummies. Whilst at the same time completely disregarding that a lot of people can't afford internet access anyway, or WAP access, and some people, especially the older generation (your parents excluded of course) are either just unaware (least likely) or scared of the technology so wont touch it (most likely).

And I quote:



Why not just put the shovel away?

Why not stop being so rude and sarcastic and putting words in my mouth that I didn't say?

I didn't say that people who use teletext and dont use the internet are technophobes. But for the people on here moaning about Ceefax they obviously have access to a PC and internet don't they?

I was saying that for me, it's alot easier if I want to look stuff up to do it online. If other people choose not to do it this way and stay with a system that's slower and more inconvenient then that's up to them but they shouldn't complain cos they do have a choice.

And by the way, I've seen other people post similar things as me in other threads to do with the demise of teletext and they didn't get a mouthful of sarcasm for it so why should I? It's a perfectly valid point. You either keep up with technology or you don't but if you chose not to then you don't really have cause to complain. That's your choice. The reason teletext is now a limited service and doesn't contain all the rubbish it used to is mainly down to the fact that millions of people in the UK now use the internet and as sad as it may be, it's just not wort keeping a service going for a limited number of people who are in the minority. For exactly the same reason that BT have done away with most of their phoneboxes now that the majority of people have mobile phones. It's just too costly to fund a service that's only used by a minority of people.

[OB racks]

Originally Posted by The Wizard

Why not stop being so rude and sarcastic and putting words in my mouth that I didn't say?

Well that depends on whether you could curtail being so rude, sarcastic and arrogant, as displayed in your reply to my initial post?

[VirginMediaPhil]

There's no point in arguing because, as I said, if the government's plans go ahead, in time everyone will have broadband.

So, no need to worry.

[OB racks]

Originally Posted by VirginMediaPhil

There's no point in arguing because, as I said, if the government's plans go ahead, in time everyone will have broadband.

So, no need to worry.

A diplomat indeed - well said

[DVDfever]

I've recently set up a Freeview box in a room where I haven't got a proper aerial and it's rather impractical to do so, but I've used a One For All booster that's on full gain (which is the only way to get anything) and even on the boosted channels (BBC1, BBC2, etc) the signal strength is only about 1/5th, so these are hit and miss while the non-boosted ones are impossible to get.

When analogue goes on Dec 2nd, will the already-boosted channels get boosted further? If not, I'm stuffed for a reliable reception in that room. Ta.

[DVDfever]

Anyone know? It's still doing it. Is there any chance of them being boosted further because with the ever increasing bad weather, if this is the future, bring back analogue and 2k broadcasts!

[ariusuk]

Originally Posted by DVDfever

Anyone know? It's still doing it. Is there any chance of them being boosted further because with the ever increasing bad weather, if this is the future, bring back analogue and 2k broadcasts!

Your one-for-all booster is probably doing more harm than good, as unless it is connected to a proper aerial it will be boosting the noise just as much as the signal.

[DVDfever]

Just looked it up. Rather than booster (my bad use of terminology) it's this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000NW3PSO

One For All SV9365 Indoor Amplified DVBT Antenna (Brushed Alum.)

I was recommended it on this forum or another one recently and I was hoping it would be the answer but it isn't really. It worked okay for a few days but now has gone crap again.

Also, predicting where it should be pointed (since it has two aerials and the thing in the middle) is about as difficult as predicting the lottery! (and without Derren Brown's apparently ability!)

[old pilot]

Gromit has just told me we are having problems with the Light programme on the Long Wave.

The Welsh Region on 340 metres is powering our microwave cooker here at Washford but I am having problems with 208 Radio Luxembourg and Tony Prince who is fading.

[coopermanyorks]

Originally Posted by old pilot

but I am having problems with 208 Radio Luxembourg and Tony Prince who is fading.

TP is dying ?.........