A detailed treatment of a subject.
Category: Features
The history of Pages from Ceefax
First published in 2008. Last updated: 17th March 2020. The world’s first teletext service, BBC Ceefax (“See Facts”), was launched on 23rd September 1974. The technology was developed out of a desire to create a subtitling solution for deaf viewers. …
Pres fans await the new look BBC One
Recently we looked at the benefits of a big relaunch – schedule changes along with a new look over a series of piecemeal changes. But what was the big day like for pres fans?
ATV brand needlessly consigned to history?
Today station rebrands are ten a penny but the most radical rebrand of all came at the instigation of the regulator. Central was not a brand new company when it took to the air in the Midlands in 1982 – …
Mid-80s BBC One: the benefits of one big relaunch over piecemeal changes
18th February 1985 was a red letter day for BBC One. A “new look” to the channel was heavily promoted. Leading the troops into action, Terry Wogan with his new chat show. The following night came the much anticipated launch …
Engineering information for the TV and radio trade
Last updated: 30th December 2019. Other than TV and radio tradesmen and engineers – and presentation enthusiasts – few members of the public will have known about, or paid much attention to, a short unbilled programme broadcast regularly by the …
General election treats for pres fans
General elections are big events for broadcasters. Huge efforts go into mounting the overnight programmes – reporters and crews need to be on hand at as many counts as possible and be placed close to party leaders and other major …
Archive footage provides evidence of early use of STV branding
A great little find from the archives was recently shared on Twitter by STV Footage Sales. Better Viewing was made by STV in 1957 to help their viewers understand how to get the most from their televisions – explaining for …
The BBC test card and in-vision teletext
TV Presentation has a cousin – trade test transmissions and in-vision teletext pages.
BBC Two clock goes electronic
Last Updated: 12th September 2020. The project to replace the Noddy-based clock caption device (where a camera was placed in front of a mechanical clock and colour added by a colour synthesiser) was initiated in 1979 after John Shelley spotted …
The mystery of the additional mechanical BBC clocks
Until the early 1980s, BBC One and BBC Two made use of mechanical clock devices as a means of introducing certain programmes, such as the news. The clock was also generally used to lead into live programming, such as Grandstand …