| Ceefax | |
|---|---|
 Pages from Ceefax title card | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production company | BBC |
| Original release | |
| Network | |
| Release | 23 September 1974 – 23 October 2012 |
| Related | |
| Oracle (1978–1992) Teletext Ltd. (1993–2010) | |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
| BBC |
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Ceefax (/ˈsiːfæks/) was the world's first teletext information service and a forerunner to the current BBC Red Button service. Ceefax was started by the BBC in 1974 and ended, after 38 years of broadcasting, at 23:32:19 BST (11:32 PM BST) on 23 October 2012, in line with the digital switchover completion in Northern Ireland.[1][2][3]
To receive a desired page of text on a teletext-capable receiver, the user entered a three-digit page number on the device. The selected page was displayed on the user's screen as it was transmitted, requiring a wait of several seconds. There were many pages to choose from, and they could be displayed either on a black background or superimposed over the broadcast programme picture. This latter feature made it technically possible for the first time for British broadcasters to transmit subtitles that could be turned on or off by the viewer, rather than as part of the broadcast image.[4]
- ^ Pete Clifton Points of View 9 November 2008
- ^ Test Cards and Ceefax Archived 23 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine BBC Archive
- ^ "Ceefax: A love letter". BBC. 18 April 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ "The Teletext Museum". teletext.mb21.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 August 2001. Retrieved 24 December 2021.