Date   : Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:33:47 +0200
From   : anders.carlsson@... (Anders Carlsson)
Subject: Fw: Fwd: ITV Teletext to shut down in January

Bah, I accidentally sent this only to Ian Wolstenholme. Damn mailing list 
settings! :-)

I would assume what is shut down is the teletext signal as broadcast 
together with the (analog) TV picture? As I mentioned earlier, here in 
Sweden almost all channels still have a teletext service despite being 
digital. I checked it as late as two weeks ago when I visited my parents' 
summer cottage. However it works in that way the digital box generates a 
teletext display itself and sends a rather blurry video signal to the TV, 
rather than letting the TV decode it. Thus teletext adapters like the BBC 
Micro one is pretty useless unless one can get a digital box that outputs an 
antenna signal with teletext signal overlay like in the old days.

 If the teletext service really is *completely* dumped, I wonder why. Are 
they saving as much bandwidth as possible for digital HDTV broadcasts? 
Generate a 40x24 text display and attach digitally to the picture can't rely 
on obsolete equipment, it must be doable even with a modern computer.

 Best regards

 -- 
 Anders Carlsson