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Originally Posted by Whirled One
By the way, is there any way to actually use the Teletext function of these sets these days..? Were there ever any videocassettes recorded with the Zenith-style Teletext signals in the vertical-retrace interval in the years before Closed-Captioning became popular..? (I know that the Teletext system used on these sets is different and more complex than the seldom-used "Teletext" mode that's part of our current Closed-Caption standard)
Zenith's promotional description of the Teletext feature is somewhat amusing from today's perspective. For example: "Zenith Digital gives you a subscription to the ultimate TV magazine via World System Teletext. Teletext is an electronic newspaper you read on TV. Get the latest sports, news, weather, or business information at the touch of a button." Zenith also offered an optional thermal printer as an accessory. "Prints Teletext 'pages' while you see them on the screen. Recipes, coupons, news stories, or any Teletext broadcast can be printed and retained for future use."
Well, we can do all that and more today, but it doesn't involve the TV.  Well, not unless you're using a WebTV or similar device. |
I have a Zenith Sentry 2 19" TV with two teletext modes. I have never once seen anything in either mode since I've had the set except a blank black box overlaid on the picture, even on TBS. My set was made in 1995. When was TBS experimenting with teletext, and what was being carried in those experiments? I'm thinking perhaps my set was made after TBS discontinued its teletext service.
I agree with your statement about now being able to do all that teletext offered, and much more besides, with a computer and an Internet connection; one can do more yet with a fast broadband connection and an equally fast computer. Heck, with the webcasts and Netcasts available on the Web today, not to mention video podcasts offered by NBC (via msnbc.com) and possibly other networks (I think ABC also streams on-demand news via the Internet, which is why they changed the name of their nightly world news program to "World News" from "World News Tonight" a month or so ago), you don't need a TV to watch the news (or NBC's signature public affairs program Meet the Press) anymore; just call it up on your computer, any time. I often watch NBC's video podcasts when I miss the news on TV for any reason, and like it.
Teletext probably would have taken hold in this country, IMHO (at least until the Internet age got fully underway), if it had had such capability as I described above when it was introduced.
Was Zenith the only US television manufacturer to put teletext decoders in their sets, or were there other makes with this feature as well? Also, what was the purpose of two teletext modes in Zenith TVs? Were there two different teletext standards being tested in this country in the early to mid-1990s?
My RCA CTC185 TV (and very likely other recent-model RCAs, not to mention their flat-panel LCD/plasmas and projection sets) has two closed-caption modes, CC1 and CC2. ABC's World News is closed-captioned in Spanish as well as English, with the English captioning on CC2 and the Spanish captions on CC1. Also, I think NBC captions certain of its programs (but not their Nightly News, at least not yet) in English and Spanish. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is captioned in both languages, available on modes CC1 and CC2 on RCA TVs; it wouldn't surprise me if this is done the rest of their late-night schedule as well. The Spanish captioning is probably greatly appreciated in areas of this country with large Spanish-speaking populations, such as California, Texas and Arizona. It could be very popular here where I live as well (Lake County in northeastern Ohio), as there is a small population of Spanish-speaking folks in a town about ten miles east of me, and another in a town five miles south of here, not to mention elsewhere in the county and in the greater Cleveland area besides. This was likely why channel 61 in Cleveland went from home-shopping to Univision a couple of years ago, although I think this is just because most major US cities have one or more Univision affiliates, to accomodate the increasing numbers of Spanish-speaking immigrants in our major cities these days.