Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first Ceefax transmission in September 1974.

Ceefax was the world's first teletext information service and a forerunner to the current BBC Red Button service. Ceefax was started by the BBC in 1974 and ended, after 38 years of broadcasting, at 23:32:19 BST (11:32 PM BST) on 23 October 2012.

To receive a desired page of text on a teletext-capable receiver, the user entered a three-digit page number on the device. The selected page was displayed on the user's screen as it was transmitted, requiring a wait of several seconds. There were many pages to choose from, and they could be displayed either on a black background or superimposed over the broadcast programme picture. This latter feature made it technically possible for the first time for British broadcasters to transmit subtitles that could be turned on or off by the viewer, rather than as part of the broadcast image.

Push-Button Instant Information

Push-Button Instant Informtion

Content Appeal

Seeing Facts

Three Colours & A Flashing Facility

Six Colours and a Flashing Facility

At The Touch Of A Switch

At The Touch of a Switch

A Revolution In Communication

A Revolution in Communication

Three Hundred Million Pages

It's Much More Than A News Service

It's Much More Than a News Service

The Wonders Of Modern Television

hardware, software, kitchenware

Making little impact on the world since 1965.

Push-Button Instant Information

Cathode Ghosts