Mike Jordan

This is an amazing video on YouTube all about Ceefax hosted by Angela Rippon.

It contains some great shots of what went into producing Ceefax with all the old hardware (keyboards?) and software.

Well worth a watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICoj8mxG0ww

These 2 appeared yesterday. Ah back to my Ferrograph days doing sound at school and how a VT suite used to look – enjoy!

Alec Bray

I have been reading David Hendy’s history of “The BBC”.  The last third or so is an exposition of how politicians of all colours and vested commercial interests have tried and tried to kill off the BBC one way or another.  This is a bit of contrast to the first part of the book which looks at the development of the technology as well as the development of the BBC itself.

There are a number of omissions in David’s book which immediately spring to mind (and you will probably have your own lists!)

CEEFAX – an amazing innovation – of its own time, of course – but which led to thousands of people turning to their television sets to go “on-line” – or really “off-air” – to get up-to-date information on tickets, travel, troubles, tax  or whatever. This translated naturally over to use of the various web sites as they were developed.  I suggest that CEEFAX demonstrated to the populace the benefits of some instant information provision.

The Radiophonic Workshop – again, amazingly innovative, but no mention in the book.  Doctor Who gets a mention, bur not its music!

BBC Research and Development – barely mentioned but was again very innovative.  What was more, R&D welcomed ideas from anyone, it wasn’t a closed shop.  I submitted an idea for a single tube colour television pickup tube back in 64-ish: alas they turned it down, as it was based on old technology and would have been tricky (but NOT impossible) to manufacture. And in my last job – consultant for configuration management – I was back at TC with R&D – alas, now sold off to some company with no feeling for the job  –  in the very late 1990s working with R&D and BBC USA in the development of a video streaming protocol.

Digital Television – apart from the growth of the streaming services, doesn’t really get a look in – but that has changed the viewer’s experience beyond all measure.  Flat screen Telly – why how we joked about that in the 1960s….High Definition Telly – ditto! But these innovations have made an altogether different experience for the viewer – especially when allied to developments in sound and the soundscape that viewers experience.