Ceefax 50 - the BBC radio interviews

In This Episode, Chris Bell of Super Page 58 dot com needs our help. The main feature today is a real treat and is a recording of a panel from teletext 50 form September 2024 at the centre for computing history in Cambridge. The two Gentlemen you are going to hear from were guests and kindly agreed to provide us with an impromptu panel on the Sunday morning. The panel was somewhat of an exclusive and luckily for all of us Jason Robertson was on hand to record the majority of the panel for prosperity by leaving his phone on voice record and placing it next to a speaker! The first 30 seconds or so is David Rayer's speaking to Jason just before the panel started in in foyer of the centre, I included it because it provided some context to Davis role.  David was the Principal R and D engineer at BBC research, Kingsford Warren-  his remit included Ceefax, telesoftware and data broadcasting. The next gentleman we are introduced to is Charles Hope, who worked for BBC R and D at Television centre, Lyme Grove and Henry Wood House, working in the field of Standard Conversion in Ceefax as well as marketing the technology to other broadcasters, more of this you will hear. Charles also worked on many newsworthy events, the 1966 World Cup, the Olympics in Mexico, the Winter Olympics in Grenoble and also the Assignation of John F Kennedy. The accounts from David and Charles provides a  great compliment to the recollections of John Adams, who I recently interviewed, it is available already just look for John Adams in my podcast feeds. If you want to see other panels that were hosted that weekend, you should visit Jamie Nemeth's YouTube page where he has provided recordings. I would urge anyone who has not as yet to visit there as there are many contributors who have never shared the experiences of Teletext and Ceefax before in that context and probably will not have the opportunity again for some time. So thanks again for Jason's quick thinking, we join the panel and apologies in advance for the varying sound quality but on this the episode!..

A small family run TV station based in Hertfordshire UK, regularly attracts audiences in their Millions, screening Archive TV that the Big broadcasters no longer care to show.   This was the motivation that Founder Noel Cronin and his Daughter Sarah behind Talking Pictures TV, now in its tenth year of transmission. Sarah was kind enough to share with me it's history, Achievements and challenges.   TPtv is free to air in the UK and to Astra satellite users Freesat 306 - Freeview 82 - Sky Digi 328 - Virgin 445  TPT encore the player show their entire archive, talkingpicturestv.co.uk    

  John conceived the idea and made the original design of Teletext in the early 1970’s whilst working at Philips / Mullard Central Application Laboratories (CAL) in London.   He left Manchester university in 1970 with a passionate desire to work in the field of electronic brains, (now called AI), digital computing and information systems. Though less than a year out of university, Philips promoted John in 1971 to Lead Designer for Computer Data Entry Terminals. This was a new field as computers at that time typically used mechanical machines (teletypes) for data entry. His development of advanced computer text displays was ground-breaking work in itself. However, John’s interest in the potential for a home information system continued. An obstacle was the high expense of the large amount of electronics that would be required by each home TV to make it possible. Unfortunately, the necessary technology to reduce the cost did not yet exist. Remember that this was the early years of the Information Revolution. Computers were very rare. Those that existed were the size of large rooms and found in a few big companies and institutions. Intel had only recently invented the microprocessor and PCs and smart phones were things of the future. The chips that John required and which would fuel the Information Revolution were yet to be invented. John has some very amusing anecdotes from his Teletext time at Mullard. Tales of sitting in a London pub in 1971 nursing a half pint of Guinness whilst hoping for inspiration to help him dream up a design that would both work on the old, mal-adjusted TV of his granny! and yet also be cheap enough for her to buy.   His first idea to add digital electronics to home TVs and create a UK wide information system was born in 1970 whilst working on experimental electronics for computer data entry. In fact, John’s design was prepared for an early implementation as reasonably priced modules to add to an existing TV and for a future low cost application when integrated in to chips. His designs became the base of the Mullard Teletext Decoder Modules, the Mullard Teletext chips and Teletext systems throughout the World.   Philips, as one of the World’s biggest TV tube manufacturers backed the Teletext idea as it had potential to increase screen sales. Mullard CAL Management had two additional requirements: It should be affordable to “the man in the street” and be able to work on very old black and white TV sets as well as on the latest colour ones. In 1971 John devised a design and plan that overcame all technical obstacles and achieved both these goals. He drew up a proposal for a complete Teletext system. Included were a receiver for installation on home TVs and other essentials for a nationwide information system. For example: How the TV broadcaster could transmit the information to users homes. How multiple information pages could be made available and selected and many other technical details. The proposal was sent to the BBC and to the UK Independent Broadcasters.   It lead to the launch of BBC Ceefax in 1974. The text display and fundamental design that John had devised became the basis of the World standard for Teletext. In the following years it was implemented in many countries under a wide variety of names. At Mullard, John went on to work on complex display systems and microprocessor designs. After that he worked as an independent digital design consultant at ITT Research Labs. In the late 1970’s he was headhunted by Intel where he worked for many years. He left Intel to start his own company in Spain where amongst other things he designed major testers for manufacturing lines producing electronics used by tier-1 automotive companies.   In 1990 we sailed our boat from Poole harbour to El Puerto de Santa Maria near Cadiz to start our new life in Spain and where we still live – but that is another story ! - Lorraine Bronny 2024

Allow me little bit of self indulgence! During the week of the 50th Anniversary of Ceefax in September 2024, Myself, Nathan Dane, Jason Robertson and Graham Lovelace were interviewed on BBC local Radio Stations. Here are interviews from BBC Essex and BBC Radio Scotland. Find me on bluesky @bytehigh.bsky.social   

Discovered from some reel to reel tapes made in the early 1970s was an account of a Roman ghosts in West Mersea in Essex as well as the unfortunate treatment of 'Witches' in Thorpe Le Soken, Saint Osyth and strange goings on in Great Leighs in 1944! Enjoy a Rural Essex Accent and a well told story recovered from old technology!    The second recording was taken from 'Essex witches SA 6/289/1 side A part 1, Essex Records Office. Speaker was Peter Bibby 1970 Used under Creative commons BY-NC-SA 3.0

Teletext50: The Stories A Byte High No Limit / illarterate co-production   In 1974, a brand new technology called teletext was being rolled out. It would, over the next few decades, have far-reaching implications, not only in the UK but worldwide.   These are the stories of those involved in the production, restoration and art of the blocky medium that graced UK TV screens until 2012. You’ll hear from the pioneers, those who made teletext tick, and the newcomers keeping the medium alive 50 years after its inception.   This is a social record of teletext, and these are the teletext people. Sonic credits Sound effects courtesy Pixabay “Seesaw” by Aretha Franklin, cover by Pixelblip “Tip Toes” by Myuu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJKeIzPzrWE  “Waltz For a Cat” by MondayHopes https://pixabay.com/music/introoutro-waltz-for-a-cat-8089/ “Wicked Annabella” by The Kinks, cover by Pixelblip “Jumping Jack Flash” by The Rolling Stones, cover by Pixelblip “The Ballad of Sir Clive Sinclair” by Mr Biffo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVnv1tVmmjk  “The Wozniak Song” by Mr Biffo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZvoFHkmolk  “Ambient Classical Guitar” by William King https://pixabay.com/music/solo-guitar-ambient-classical-guitar-144998/  “Dance Off” by All-rights-reserved https://pixabay.com/music/dance-dance-off-8843/  “Long Hot Summer” by the Jimi Hendrix Experience, cover by Pixelblip “Resistance” by Gvidon https://pixabay.com/music/beats-gvidon-resistance-170918/  “Orange Juice on the Table” by MondayHopes https://pixabay.com/music/bossa-nova-orange-juice-on-the-table-8024/ “Cognoscenti vs Intelligentsia” by The Cuban Boys (light mashup) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXJ5oaU940U  “Road to Nowhere” by Grand Project https://pixabay.com/music/dance-road-to-nowhere-long-188064/  “A Villain’s Redemption” by Katzen Tupas https://pixabay.com/music/solo-guitar-a-villain39s-redemption-12976/  “Bossa Nova Dreams” by HD-Studio https://pixabay.com/music/bossa-nova-bossa-nova-dreams-182163/  “Clock Cracker” by Caboose https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBcCts2nlbA  “Road Rash” by Octosound https://pixabay.com/music/rock-road-rash-172665/ “Heroes” by David Bowie, cover by Pixelblip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_HzlaIxnHg  “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” by Elton John, cover by Pixelblip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ_Ed-d2dD8    The Teletext People Carl Attrill (Episode presenter) Mort Smith (Ceefax, Intelfax) Julie Morton-Smith (Intelfax) Ian Irving (Ceefax, Intelfax) Colin McIntyre (Ceefax) - via archive interview from Channel 4 Steve Rosenberg (Intelfax, Russian Teletext, BBC) Gareth Herincx (ORACLE) Graham Lovelace (Ceefax, Teletext Ltd) Paul Rose (Teletext Ltd) Sara-Scott Rivers (Teletext Ltd, Videotron, Datasolve) John Earls (Teletext Ltd) Ricardo Autobahn (The Cuban Boys) Ian Westbrook (Ceefax, BBC News) Paul B Davis (VBI Microtel) Dan Farrimond (Teletext Artist, Episode Editor) Jason Robertson (The Teletext Archaeologist) Alistair Cree (ZXNet browser-based teletext editor) James Domestic (artist) Count Binface (Space Politician) Nathan Dane (NMS Ceefax) Additional clips courtesy   BBC, ITV, WFLD Channel 32, Teletext Holidays, Peter Kay Live at the Top of the Tower, Q Radio, Hit n’ Run Misc.   Eleven Labs (synthesised voices) All interviews from Teletext People by Byte High No Limit Steve Horsley Teletext Holidays segment from the Teletextr Podcast Colin McIntyre Interview courtesy Channel 4 Timecodes   0:00 ACT 1: Ceefax, the world’s first teletext service (Beginnings) 1974-1980 15:22 Teletext expands abroad (Keyfax and Russian teletext) 1980-1992 26:29 ORACLE, the UK’s other teletext service (Debbie’s Diary) 1992 31:15 ACT 2: Deregulation (launch of Teletext Ltd) 1992-1993 40:13 Digitiser and sick worms 1993-2003 47:25 Teletext Holidays 1993-2009 51:30 Emergence of the Web and Interactive TV 1993-1999 59:07 Princess Diana 1997 1:04:17 The Music Men: Planet Sound  1:11:15 Teletext sports and the Ceefax Striker 1:13:50 The end of teletext in the UK 2009-2012 1:18:06 ACT 3: Teletext rises again! Teletext art 2005-2015 1:25:58 Hidden teletext (teletext recovery) 2010- 1:30:46 Recreating teletext (Ceefax for the 21st Century) 2016-2024 1:39:50 Teletext today 2024 1:43:21 Tributes & memories  

James Domestic grew up in Essex, is a compulsive songwriter, a musician, occasional DJ, painter, poet, and punk. He holds a doctorate from the University of Essex, has toured the world and elsewhere with The Domestics, and made records with more bands than is healthy or sensible. He was kind enough to speak to me in his Local, The Brewers Tap, Sudbury. We cover a range of subjects and when it came to edit, I unashamedly did not leave an awful lot out as I found the whole interview engaging.  Look out for the exclusive teletext Poem! You Can follow James on his facebook, or go to jamesdomestic.com for updates and books.

Bob Pape's Dead Lights, Bob and I discuss Curious, Forgotten and Unusual films. In this Episode 12:01pm (1990) He Never Died (2015) The Giant Claw (1957) I Woke Up Early The Day I Died (1998)   Please do leave us feedback on the discord or X twitter  You can also support the show via ko-fi.com/bytehigh 

This Episode I had the pleasure of the host of Floppy Days, Randy Kindig. 11 years and 141 episodes so far and his quest to cover every home computer chronologically has only got him to 1984's Grundy Newbrain! what dedication. Randy Speaks to me about his motivation and collection of vintage computers and we share our observations on how computing has changed since the days of individual quirky machines.   Please visit www.floppydays.com to listen to his show. Thanks also to Warren (Woz) Pilkington for the opening segment. Theme is by Mr Nissness, get him on youtube and bandcamp @mrnissness You can support the podcast with hosting costs by buying me a kofi www.ko-fi.com/bytehigh  if you wish, but a like or a rating is just as welcome.   Keep it blocky!

Yes, The Unpublished chapter!! Bob Pape is a computer game coder that came into prominence in the 8 bit world with his conversion of the Irem coin-op R-type to the humble ZX Spectrum. Around ten years ago he wrote an account of how he made the game and described a less than glamourous world of coding that surrounded it in 'It's Behind You'  This book is available on www.bizzley.com for free and is highly recommended. Part two covers Bob's views on the games industry, the magazines and also his humble appraisal of his other projects and also his love of Cinema.   I hope you enjoy, please do leave feedback in the usual places.