From: api053@cch.coventry.ac.uk (Garion)
Subject: Re: Teething probs for new teletext
Organization: Coventry University
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 19:46:25 GMT

In article <1ih4kcINN1ph@oak5.doc.ic.ac.uk> ijp@doc.ic.ac.uk (Ian Palmer) writes:
>
>>> > put on ITV and got teletext on 4 and on Ch4 there was none at all?
>>> > Teething problems?  I'll say!
>
>The best cock-ups that i've noticed are (Meidian region) :
>
>1) On day 1 (Friday 1st) from about mid-afternoon onwards the T.V.
>listing pages showed listings for the day before (a day when Teletext
>3/4 weren't even broadcasting).
>
>2) On the first day the schedule slicer was a 3 page multipage, where
>pages 2 and 3 simply tild you that they were pages of a multipage.
>Very useful.
>
>3) The cinema listings for the meidian region are totally stuffed, and
>still are as far as I can tell, almost a week later. For example the
>subdivition 'g' to 'p' in the region contains 6 pages telling you
>what's on in a cinema in Barrow-in-Furness. Two problems there 'B' is
>not between 'G' and 'P', and Barrow-in-Furness is not in the South and
>South East of England. 
>
>4) The shedule slicer seems to be updated about 15 minutes after
>programs start, so you can have a nice list of what you've missed :-)
>
>5) The thing that automatically adds the multi-page numbers to the
>bottom right hand corner on day one placed these numbers ALWAYS even
>when there was something already there, obliterating it.
>

That reminds of one day last week, when the TV listings for today and those
for "tomorrow" both showed todays listings - in the Anglia region.
The schedule slicer has (so far) always been ahead in the Anglia region.
Where it states now, it's usually referring to the programme which is going
to come on in fifteen minutes or so.

>>
>>> Also subtitles are not being transmitted properly for ITV programmes
>>
>>Given that the driving force behind the creation of teletext was to provide
>>sub-titles this is a very serious failure.
>>
>>> - the teletext providers are trying to blame
>>> this on the ITV companies, but the ITV companies says it's Teletext's
>>> fault!
>>
>>We can guess the back-side covering that's going on there can't we. My
>>monies on the Teletext providers being at fault. The data is being provided
>>by them afterall.
>
>I'm not sure that it is necessarily Teletexts fault. Subtitles WERE
>(in the past) the resposibility of the teletext supplier. But then
>there was an upgrade of the service to allow for regional variations
>(ie. subtitled programmes being shown a diferent times in different
>regions). It also allowed subtitles to be added live (as ITN did for
>their national news, and TVS did for their local news).
>

Our subtitles have been fine so far.

>>
>>> The organisation is also crap.
>
>Yep. What I really hate is the fact that the page numbers don't match
>between ITV and CH4. For example the TV listings, ITV 111-114, CH4
>551-554, even worse shedule slicer ITV 120, CH4 555 (I think, can't
>quite remember).
>
>And has anyone noticed that 4-Tel has survivedm you wouldn't think so
>apart from one small mention on the main index of Teletext on 4. Pages
>300-399 have been given to 4-Tel, 300 C4 today listing, previews from
>350-370 other bits above 370. But what does annoy me about this
>service is that there are no cross references to the previews so you
>have to walk your way through the pages 350-370 to find the programme
>you want to find info about. I know they are in time order, but that
>only gives you a chance to narrow it down to about 5 pages. I'm very
>surprised that even the listing on 300 doesn't give cross referencing.
>

No, I hadn't realized that 4-tel had survived, I must have missed the small
print on page 100.  However, I won't be heading back to the Anglia region for
a while yet.....


-- 
________________ Steven J D Graver - api053@uk.ac.coventry.cck _________________
 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken, but
 endures for ever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds
 his people, both now, and for evermore.  -----> Psalm 125:1-2
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv.uk
From: tfj@apusapus.demon.co.uk (Trevor Jenkins)