Ceefax vs. Teletext — What's the Difference?

Ceefax (, punning on "seeing facts") 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, in line with the digital switchover being completed in Northern Ireland.To receive a desired page of text on a Ceefax-capable receiver, the user would enter a three-digit page number on the device.

Teletext, or broadcast teletext, is a standard for displaying text and rudimentary graphics on suitably equipped television sets. Teletext sends data in the broadcast signal, hidden in the invisible vertical blanking interval area at the top and bottom of the screen.

An electronic communications system in which printed information is broadcast by television signal to sets equipped with decoders.