I beg to differ (teletext.co.uk)

Member Name: whitby

Product:	teletext.co.uk
Date:	06/10/02 (408 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You can see the News Poll results immediately unlike the TV version

Disadvantages: Lacking in extra information, Search engine is hopeless

I may be sticking my neck on the line here, but I totally disagree with the majority of opinions about teletext.co.uk that have been posted here at Dooyoo before. Previous opinions have classed the teletext.co.uk website as underated, quick and bright. Well I am sorry, but I do not agree - here's my experience:


Whilst I've been an avid user of the Television CEEFAX (BBC1 and 2) and TELETEXT (ITV1, C4, C5) pages since their launch in January 1993. It is only this year that I discovered www.teletext.co.uk which is the online version of the 24 hour television / Digital TELETEXT news and information service.


LAYOUT & DESIGN

If you had not visited the website before, you would probably have had pre-conceptions of the layout and design of the website. I had expected the black background and familiar white, yellow and blue text that is in line with the television branding. Instead viewers are met with a white background with pictures of computer monitors faintly in the background. Over this backdrop are three columns highlighting various aspects of the website.

The website is uncluttered and has a minimal amount of adverts. Generally a rotating banner appears at the top next to the familiar TELETEXT logo, and from time to time a pop up advert for the likes of Freeserve appears.

The site is spread out very nicely to enable the viewer to browse from subject to subject. Initially this made the website appear simple and basic, but over time I have come to appreciate this design as I can work through the welcome page (for example), and peruse the different topics of the day without getting distracted by snippets of information dotted elsewhere around the site.

The three columns of the welcome page are used to display brief incites into articles, the latest news headlines, the interactive aspects of the website and promotion of teletextholidays.co.uk.


NAVIGATION

The chosen font is Arie
l in black, whilst headlines appear in blue capital letters that provide a hyperlink into the subject matter. Navigation into the website can be from clicking these links from the welcome page or by selecting a category of interest from the main headings.

The main headings are News, Finance, Sport, Racing, Holidays, Entertainment and Pinpoint. Which relate to similar topics on the television service as depicted by the channel and page number in brackets below:

News (ITV P300)
Finance (C4 P500)
Sport (ITV P400)
Racing (C4 P550)
Holidays (ITV & C4 P200)
Entertainment (C4 P400)

Running your mouse cursor over each of the subject headings brings up a breakdown of the areas covered within that section. Here readers will notice many familiar pages from the television TELETEXT pages. Examples of this are the home and world briefs from the news section, or ask the experts from the finance section.

Whilst making these comparisons I think it is useful to note that the news headlines are not a mirror image of P301 on the television service, which is something I would have expected. An example of this at the time of writing is that P301 holds the headline 'Oil tanker blast could be terrorism' for P308, whilst the headlines section of the website has a slightly different heading of 'Tanker Blast may be attack'. The article's text however, is the same on both mediums. Only a small difference, I know, but it highlights how the online service is almost the same, but not quite!


SEARCH ENGINE

The website has a variety of navigational aides and search engines, many of which appear in a column down the right hand side of the welcome page. Many of them have quite narrow ranges such as entertainment or share prices. I have not yet come across a general website search which could be useful for people researching a particular matter.

So that aspect is quite disappointing, This is agg
ravated when readers play
around with the Pinpoint search facility that provides a directory enquires / yell.com kind of database. The search engine claims to allow the user to search through over 1.7 million businesses. The search fields which need to be completed are 'what, who and where'. For example Bank, Natwest, Ruislip. Great in theory but try entering those details and see if you get a response ? I know I don't!

I soon worked out that the requirement was either 'a what' or 'a who' and not both. So I resubmitted NatWest in HA4 (Ruislip). A couple of seconds later a search results page appeared that showed one response ? Lombard NatWest Commercial Services in Feltham about 10 miles away. Has my local branch of NatWest been wiped from the High Street, I ask?

The service also points out that should I wish to visit Lombard NatWest Commercial Service they are 'Sorry but a map is not available'. Dear me! If they don't have the map service then why flag it up! It just adds to my dissatisfaction.


PERSONALISATION

By registering with the website (name, location, email address, gender and year of birth) it is possible to personalise your teletext.co.uk pages. Now don't get too excited as this simply means that you can set your TV location (London / Yorkshire etc) and your weather location - Yippee! Sorry sarcasm doesn't become me!


QUALITY OF CONTENT

It?s strange but I have been really happy viewing the television TELETEXT pages over the last decade but I think I expected more from the website.

Comparing most of the pages, the content is like for like, exactly the same with the just the odd variation or tweak in the headings / titles. The papers category has the same words summing up the days press ? I've enjoyed this sneak preview when reading it on P326 but seeing the same one-liner on the web just doesn't seem adequate.

Yes i
t's good that when conducting the News Poll (P146) you can actually see the results on
the web, whereas television followers need to check back the next day, but it's not earth shattering?


WHAT THEY SAY

This is just information from the 'About Us' section of the website but I think that the company may be a little disillusioned in saying 'Today, teletext.co.uk continues to expand and offer innovative new services'.



I think it all boils down to expectation really.

At the time of it's launch the television text information service was new and innovative. The internet has bought about the 'information era' and I expect to look to the web to provide that extra bit of detail, those new snippets of information - and this is where www.teletext.co.uk seems to let me down. It's nothing new.

Now what was the url for CNN?

Or even ITN?






Teletext is owned by Harmsworth Media and Media Ventures International. Hamsworth Media is a subsidiary of the Daily Mail and General Trust.

Regulated by the ITC.

Summary: