Test card and tone – a window into the bleak world of the 70s
Occasionally inconsequential things offer a window into another world and another time. Last year I …
1982 BBC business programme provides useful insights into the launch of Channel 4
A report from BBC Two’s financial series The Money Programme provides a great insight into the …
Too much nostalgia can be a bad thing
History is the story of who we are and how we became who we are. Nostalgia is simply the yearning …
No trade test on Sundays
Occasionally an old clip of what was once unremarkable everyday television provides a gateway into …
How did TCF become such an iconic BBC image?
It is an iconic BBC image – part of the brand heritage and as much a statement of the BBC …
The history of the BBC trade test transmission (part 2/4)
Our history of the BBC trade test transmission continues.
The history of the BBC trade test transmission (part 3/4)
Our history of the BBC trade test transmission continues.
The history of the BBC trade test transmission (part 4/4)
Our history of the BBC trade test transmission concludes.
The history of the BBC trade test transmission (part 1/4)
This page contains examples of the various tuning signals and test cards used on BBC Television …
Early in-vision teletext in Ireland
Until the late-1980s, the test card filled most of the daytime hours on RTÉ One and RTÉ Two. Until …
Could some Covid-related broadcasting changes become permanent?
When do stealth changes made during an emergency become permanent? There are quite a few examples of …
The history of Pages from Ceefax (part 2/3)
New prominence for Ceefax in the daytime schedule On Monday 28th February 1983 at 6am, Ceefax AM was …