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Post by Arthur Pringle on Nov 16, 2021 20:20:10 GMT
Little off topic but I came across this TV Times article from 1980 about the first tv show to be subtitled.
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Post by Sparky on Nov 16, 2021 21:53:57 GMT
Little off topic but I came across this TV Times article from 1980 about the first tv show to be subtitled.
And to think, someone had to manually transcribe the dialogue. RedBee - or whoever does it these days, used some kind of word recognition software to scan them.
From the photo, it looks like ITV's subtitling was done via an Aston Character Generator (the keyboard looks like and early one). Over on the BBC, they used BBC micros for a little while.
Didn't it used to be "Oracle 888" at one point?
Great article Arthur 
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Nov 16, 2021 22:41:12 GMT
Yes it was 888 for subs on all 4 channels though I'm pretty sure the numbers differed according to the channel prior to 888. I remember getting a new tv with teletext in the 80's & being excited at summoning up text pages on the screen & the beep noise when you pressed a button on the remote.
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Post by Sparky on Nov 17, 2021 14:03:50 GMT
Following on from Arthurs Teletext Article.
Two of the prototype keyboards, developed by the BBC - in conjunction with the IBA - specifically designed for realtime subtitling. When someone had to listen to the dialogue and type away.
These were developed around 1980.
The setup in use. No sure what the Computer Terminal is - for some reason I think it's a Commodore - as I am sure I ave seen something similar manufactured by Commodore. From what I can muster, the monitor on the LH side is the video input, the monitor on the RH side the output with captions - possible on a slight delay from the incoming.
BBC Ceefax / Teletext undergoing further tests - this from 1980/1981. In this, there is no BBC Micro; but an Aston Character generator - which at the time, was the industry standard for electronically produced captions.
The Teletext / CEEFAX office at TV Centre, this around 1981/82. This is where the pages are updated - again all using Aston Character Generators.
The Main computer system / mainframe running Ceefax and BBC Teletext.
The last page broadcast by CEEFAX...
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Post by Arthur Pringle on Nov 17, 2021 19:02:39 GMT
Very interesting Sparky, so the subtitlers are like stenographers.
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Post by Sparky on Nov 17, 2021 20:29:56 GMT
Very interesting Sparky, so the subtitlers are like stenographers.
Yes, I guess so. Don't Stenographers work in shorthand?
Not sure how the keys on the prototype keyboards are laid out though.
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Post by Three Litre on Nov 17, 2021 21:08:12 GMT
That main computer, its a PDP from DEC, those four units with lights on them are the RA80 hard drives I think.
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Post by Sparky on Nov 17, 2021 21:44:22 GMT
That main computer, its a PDP from DEC, those four units with lights on them are the RA80 hard drives I think. Thanks 3L. 
Let me guess, these days, your average mobile phone will have at least 10 times as much memory and disk space? Are the 4 boxes just Hard Disks - or an entire computer/motherboard?
So - these disks held all of the Ceefax pages and subtitling information.
Any ideas what the terminal type computer is in Picture 3?
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Post by Three Litre on Nov 17, 2021 21:52:35 GMT
That main computer, its a PDP from DEC, those four units with lights on them are the RA80 hard drives I think. Thanks 3L.
Let me guess, these days, your average mobile phone will have at least 10 times as much memory and disk space? Are the 4 boxes just Hard Disks - or an entire computer/motherboard?
So - these disks held all of the Ceefax pages and subtitling information.
Any ideas what the terminal type computer is in Picture 3?
That's right and "your watch has a bigger computer than Apollo 11" etc etc! Just the hard disk. The multiple circuit boards that performed as a current main motherboard are in the three units below I believe. The terminal is shaped liked an old Commodore PET pc although more rounded in style so not sure what it is. |
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Post by Sparky on Nov 18, 2021 8:28:43 GMT
Thanks 3L.
Let me guess, these days, your average mobile phone will have at least 10 times as much memory and disk space? Are the 4 boxes just Hard Disks - or an entire computer/motherboard?
So - these disks held all of the Ceefax pages and subtitling information.
Any ideas what the terminal type computer is in Picture 3?
That's right and "your watch has a bigger computer than Apollo 11" etc etc! Just the hard disk. The multiple circuit boards that performed as a current main motherboard are in the three units below I believe. The terminal is shaped liked an old Commodore PET pc although more rounded in style so not sure what it is. I thought the Terminal in Pic 3 was a Commodore - I had seen something similar years back.
I suppose the BBC, at least, would have used software they developed in house for creating the pages.
When the BBC Micro became widespread, the BBC/Acorn commercially released a piece of software called Editext, where you could create your own Teletext/Ceefax pages.
The idea was for anyone to create a page, and then display them on a network, so other computers connected could view them. Some schools had something called Econet - which networked all of the BBC Micros in the school - and you could post messages on message boards etc. All before the internet came along.
I used Editext while at school and managed to create one page; to use it was pretty simple to use.
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