Many of us tuned in and valued the scrolling pages of Ceefax rolling onto our TV screens with up to the minute news and regional facts.

It all began in 1974 when it was first broadcast by the BBC.   Its’ name is derived from the phonetic “see facts”.  With the digital switchover completed 23:32:19 BST on 23 October 2012 in Northern Ireland the interactive service finally breathed its last analogue “breath” or should we say “dots”.  Its digital replacement is the “Red Button” – easier to use and with ability to show images as well as text and quite a different animal.

Many a breaking news  story was first put out on Ceefax – sometimes erroneously – see 10 facts that you are unlikely to know about Ceefax

Surprisingly, little is published about the much respected Ceefax but here are some articles which can be viewed on EbscoHost databases:

BBC News Lands on French Teletel Videotex Network

BBCi adopts page numbers for interactive TV to aid navigation

ETV in print

Auntie is a dab hand with the Web

Teletext and Viewdata Services In British Public Libraries

Televisions hidden resource

And here are some items to view in the IET library:

Broadcast and wired teletext systems - CEEFAX, ORACLE, VIEWDATA (IEE colloquium published in 1976)

CEEFAX (A series of information sheets 1975)

Let’s enjoy the good memories of ceefax!