Date   : Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:46:50 +0100
From   : rs423@... (Mick Champion)
Subject: Fw: Fwd: ITV Teletext to shut down in January

Phil Blundell wrote:
> On Fri, 2009-07-17 at 15:22 +0100, Mick Champion wrote:
>   
>> What else will ITV do to save money I wonder? How much extra does it 
>> cost to transmit in NICAM? That's another technology that will be lost 
>> following the 2012 analogue shutdown? Do any other countries use NICAM?
>>     
>
> I don't imagine NICAM costs much on a day-to-day basis.  The capital
> cost of the equipment would presumably have been sunk long ago, and
> unlike teletext there's no requirement for dedicated content authoring:
> the NICAM signal is generated by a purely mechanical process from a
> stereo audio input.
>   
Yes. That makes sense. What else can they cut then? Output? My Lords! 
Have ITv got anything decent left to cut? I would suggest they remove 
their daytime schedule and replace it with the test card (or pages from 
Oracle) and some music. However, playing music would probably cost them 
more in performance rights than the cost of the putting on the tat that 
they output during the day ;-)

> There are a few other countries using NICAM although I think some of
> them have already switched it off in favour of some kind of DVB.  As you
> say, NICAM is/will be redundant once analogue transmissions cease.
>
> p.
>   
:-(

Daniel Bowen Wrote ;
> They've said that in Australia, subtitles (page 801) will remain...
>
>   
I hope subtitles remain here too until the bitter end.


I will miss the teletext format when it totally disappears from here in 
2012. Its digital counterpart is a poor replacement.  Having to navigate 
away from the TV channel you are watching to get to it isn't much fun. 
Then when I get there, I usually have to wait half a minute or so before 
"Please Wait" appears! Some years later, I type in the page I want, only 
to find it isn't actually on digital teletext. Arrrgh!


It's a real shame the powers that be couldn't have simply decided to add 
the 12 teletext lines to the decoded picture, thus allowing analogue 
TV's to use text from a digi box. I suppose the adverts on text are just 
not glossy enough so it had to go. Oh well.......


[OT] Since the last TV franchise wars in 1992, all the ITV regions have 
been gobbled up by Carlton and Granada who later formed ITV plc, not 
sure if Channel TV is part of it?.  Does this mean there will be no more 
regional franchising?  If anyone knows where I can read up on this how 
the system works now, I'd be grateful. London lost Thames television in 
1992 - it was a very sad day when Carlton took over. It did have the 
effect of  making London Weekend seem good though.[/OT]

Cheers,


Mick.