THE end of Teletext and Ceefax has left some viewers having to find their way around a quite different system.
The text service, which has been available for the last 38 years, has disappeared as a result of the digital switchover, which was completed on Tuesday when the old analogue TV signal was shut down.
The result may mean more annoyance for viewers, coming on top of the re-tuning of their sets after the digital switchover.
Joan Wallace, 75, from Larne, contacted The News Letter to ask what was going on.
Mrs Wallace said: “The first thing I do every morning when I come down is put the TV on and the text on. I watch it all day for different things.
“I’m just so disappointed, to be honest.”
Although her TV channels are working OK, she said if relatives were visiting for instance, she would use the now-vanished Teletext service to keep tabs on flight arrivals.
But although the old text screens have gone, subtitles should still be accessible to viewers, but how this is done depends on your equipment.
In addition, services including lottery results, weather forecasts and travel information can be operated using the Red Button service built into viewers’ remote controls.
Russell Keene, one of those heading the digital switchover for Digital UK, said: “It’s different in that you navigate it in a different way. But there’s more information, extra detail and it’s interactive.
“Essentially, people will still have access to similar types of information.
“It is just accessed in a different way.”
Learning how to use the new system may take a bit of trial-and-error though, it seems.
When recommended to use the red button on her television remote, Mrs Wallace pressed it – only to declare that something about Abraham Lincoln had come up on her screen, followed shortly afterwards by something else about the deaths of soldiers in Afghanistan – leaving her none the wiser about what was happening.
She said of the previous system: “It was very simple to use – this seems peculiar. I’ve been using [Ceefax] since it came out.
“It was very simply operated. You pressed the number and you were there.
“I am annoyed it’s gone. There was nothing wrong with the way it was before.
“I spent a fortune getting this [the new TV equipment] under way, and it’s no better.”
Mrs Wallace added: “Maybe if I had my grandson down he’d be able to show me quicker. The only trouble is he lives 60 miles away and I don’t see him too often.”
As reported yesterday, despite the massive publicity campaign about the digital switchover, a large number of viewers have still been confused by what it entails.
Essentially, for most viewers, it means buying a digital box to plug into their TV, or a new TV itself.
In addition to the end of Ceefax (the BBC service) and Teletext (the ITV one), the recent changes are likely to affect video recorders too.
Although they should still play back old videos, their ability to record new tapes off the TV is likely to be affected.
For advice on tuning issues or general enquiries, either call Digital UK on 08456 50 50 50 or visit the organisation’s website at www.digitaluk.co.uk .
n If you have had big problems with the digital switch, email us at newsdesk@newsletter.co.uk – but please bear in mind that technical enquiries should be directed to the number above.