# Goodbye red button!



## GarySargent (Oct 27, 2000)

Things are looking up!

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/article/ds28262.html


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## AMc (Mar 22, 2002)

Hurrah! 

C4 "We are the first broadcaster to recognise it's the emperor's new clothes and label it for what it is."

Thanks for that!


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## tonywalk (Sep 10, 2002)

Does that mean proper teletext will be re-introduced.

Fingers crossed.

I've always loved teletext even when it was one page/subpage at a time. Can't remember the stats on my (very ) new telly, but my previous Philips had a 1200 page memory and *flew*.

C'mon Beeb you can do it too....

Tony.


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## frogster (Jan 4, 2006)

I think that there are two issues here:

1) The ugly and invasive red button itself which often seems to combine with assorted other DOGS to occupy half the screen.

2) The content accessed via the red button.

Now I'm completely against permanent DOGS that can't be turned off (you can easily turn the red button off now) but I think that much of the interactive "red button" content is brilliant. Especially the BBC stuff. I would be sad to see it go.

"Big Brother" on the other hand can go today, interactive or not. I've never watched it and never would.


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## sanderton (Jan 4, 2002)

There is an element of smoke and mirrors in this. The BB red button just switched you to channel 704; but C4 have now used that bandwidth for more channels so they couldn't keep it even if they wanted to!


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## ericd121 (Dec 12, 2002)

frogster said:


> I think that there are two issues here:
> 
> 1) The ugly and invasive red button itself which often seems to combine with assorted other DOGS to occupy half the screen.
> 
> Now I'm completely against permanent DOGS that can't be turned off (you can easily turn the red button off now) but I think that much of the interactive "red button" content is brilliant.


There was a BBC executive on News24's *NewsWatch
 *programme who stated something along the lines of 
"*Not everyone find's the onscreen graphics a problem.*"

I *wrote to them* to say that if she believed this to be true, why not
a) have an online poll to test this belief, or
b) allow the onscreen graphics to be turned off via the *RedButton*.

No response, so far; maybe I should have *made a complaint*.

I seriously hate the News24 banner, which occupies about 10% of the screen, and often blocks important, or interesting things, including other graphics!


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## aerialplug (Oct 20, 2000)

The logic behind the banner makes some sense as far as the broadcaster is concered, unfortunately. It was observed that News24 was on display in many public areas (e.g. foyers of BBC buildings, airport waiting rooms etc.) either with the sound off or barely audible. The idea was to provide a basic one sentece summary of the news to provide information to this audience.

Notice that many other news stations have gone down this route as well.

I used to watch News24 quite a bit, but I hardly watch it at all now because so much of the screen is covered by the repeating ticker. As ericd121 commented, the banner now fewquently covers something in the picture that obviously the camera man didn't account for being covered by the banner.

Personally I'd like to see 2 versions available - one with the graphics and one without. The trouble is, who'se to say which version will be used on the telly in the public space. I think I've seen News24 in the wrong aspect ratio more times than in the correct one on many a plasma (mostly the reciever set to 4:3 on a 16:9 plasma) so the chances of picking the version with the text are slim I suspect...

As to using the interactive services to provide this - I don't think the interactive engine is powerful enough to drive the rapidly changing flashing, moving, scrolling, ANNOYING banners that the producers want.


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## ericd121 (Dec 12, 2002)

aerialplug said:


> the banner now fewquently covers something in the picture that obviously the camera man didn't account for being covered by the banner.


A recent example:-
*
Studio-bound NewsCaster - These are live pictures from the Thames. 
Oh, look, there you can see the whale surfacing.
Sofa-bound Eric - No, I can't, it's behind the bleedin' banner!
*
And, of course, we must mention the scrolling ticker.

Sometimes, the banner is turned off, but the grey ticker remains.

A few months back, I turned on News24 to see rioters attacking some official building, with the ticker saying 
*"European ministers meeting in Brussels blah blah"*

I thought, *"Bloody 'ell, what's goin' on here?"*

But, of course, the ticker never refers to the footage onscreen, and the riot was elsewhere.

I think we have a case for removing the scrolling ticker on the basis of sex discrimination, 
seeing as men can't concentrate on two things at once...


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## aerialplug (Oct 20, 2000)

tonywalk said:


> Does that mean proper teletext will be re-introduced.
> 
> Fingers crossed.
> 
> ...


Channel 4 never ran much of a teletext service of their own - Oracle and later Teletext Ltd, who won the franchise to use the Channel 4 VBI to deliver teletext were completely separate companies.

The only pages that channel 4 run themselves (600 - 699) are concered in delivering a basic tv schedule (which I preferred as the adverts on the Teletext during prime time meant that only 3/4 programmes were displayed per page) and transmitter information.


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