Teletext, a recap for a recent form of art
So I was looking over some old blogs when I found this post talking about Telext and I couldn't help but wonder, wow, people still remember this silly thing?
Alright, so I am assuming that those who either lived with the newer models of TVs in their lives or were born in the late 2000's may not have heard of this sort of thing so I'll explain it.
Teletext was this sort of like User Interface for TVs that could be accessed using a special button and it would usually display the information of the channel that you were currently watching, sort of like the guide function that modern TVs have.
And if you want to learn more about how it actually worked, here's a pretty good piece of info that I found from this site :
Teletext works by transmitting the text and graphics data as part of the vertical blanking interval (VBI) of the television signal. The VBI is a period of time during which the television display is blank,
and is used to transmit various types of data that are not part of the actual video signal. The teletext data is
encoded in a special format called “teletext packets,” which can be decoded by a teletext decoder built into the television or other device.
Yet, Teletext has been used for other purposes as well: from ordering pizza or just other goods and NOW AS A FORM OF ART. Not a popular one, but nonetheless still art.
With a limited colour palette and overall size, anyone could try out making some silly art based upon teletext. Here is a site full of teletext art if you're curious .
Still, despite how trivial it might seem and how simplistic it may seem teletext is stil a form of art
And, hey most of the art does look catchy with the limited palette because it makes the colours stand out, plus it tests the limit and the patience of the artist.
So if you'd like to make some of this sort of art as well, there is an editor with a pretty comprehensive set of instructions .
I recommend giving it a try since it seems fun, I even managed to make something myself.
