TARA Systems Enables MagentaTV Teletext in Germany
Many people know of Teletext, but who still uses it? Surprisingly, in Germany, Teletext remains widely popular even after more than 40 years. Last year alone, around 10 million users accessed it several times a week. Despite the introduction of new features like HbbTV, Teletext’s simple yet effective format has endured, continuing to provide quick access to news, weather forecasts, sports scores, stock prices, and TV schedules.
Comprehensive Teletext Solution
Unique to this project, we provided Telekom with an independent Teletext app for MagentaTV. This approach allows a clear separation from other system components. Integrating Teletext into an Android TV app presents significant challenges. Over-the-top (OTT) streaming protocols do not natively support Teletext. Our innovative client/server-based Teletext solution solves this issue effectively.
Furthermore, the remote controls often lack digit and/or colour keys. To address this challenge, we used the so-called page-catching feature, which allows users to directly navigate Teletext page numbers using the cursor keys and select pages with the OK button. Additionally, this intuitive navigation also enables users to select the colour fields at the bottom of a Teletext page. Read more about our Teletext App here.
Instant Access and Excellent User Experience
Our advanced Teletext solution processes thousands of pages per second, ensuring rapid and efficient data handling and loading significantly faster than classic Teletext pages. To further enhance the performance of our Teletext Converter, we overhauled the page caching system and optimized access to the backend servers.
Thus, with our new system, Teletext pages and subpages are instantly available with just a click. Gone are the days of waiting for the page to load after a TV channel change – our technology ensures that Teletext is now faster than ever.
Moreover, our proprietary TrueType font ensures the best readability on big screens independently from their size. Read more about all of our Teletext features here: