Magenta TV with teletext via IPTV
Following Waipu, Deutsche Telekom is now also offering teletext with its live streaming of linear television. The pages should be particularly fast to access.
The teletext from May 21, 2024 on a MagentaTV One. Deutsche Telekom has opted for classic 4:3 scaling, which does not distort the fonts.
(Image: Telekom)
"For nostalgia buffs and children of the 90s", says Telekom in its announcement of the new teletext service, the old information service has been available via Magenta TV for a few days now. The Munich-based competitor for IPTV, Waipu, had already announced a similar function a month ago.
At Telekom, all first and second generation MagentaTV One set-top boxes are to be made fit for teletext via an automatic firmware update. However, unlike the corresponding device for televisions, the remote control of the boxes does not have its own button for calling up teletext. By pressing "OK", however, a new menu item in the device's user interface should provide access. The numeric buttons on the remote control are used to call up the individual pages, as with conventional devices.
According to Telekom, the pages can be called up particularly quickly using an "innovative technical process" that is not described in detail. This presumably refers to a block-by-block storage of the broadcast pages, or a cache, as has been offered by televisions and set-top boxes for decades under names such as "teletext memory". Even with digital reception via cable or satellite systems, teletext is still broadcast with individual pages. Depending on the memory and speed of the device, you still have to wait a few seconds for the desired page to appear.
10 million teletext users per month
By offering teletext via Magenta TV, Telekom is apparently responding to the fact that teletext, which has sometimes been derided as "pensioner Internet", is still heavily used. According to Telekom, 10 million people use it every month. In its announcement of the new function, however, Telekom does not specify which playout channels were considered. Telekom as well as Waipu, Vodafone and other providers are currently courting new customers and are therefore placing a lot of advertising because cable TV can no longer be billed via the rent due to the abolition of the service charge privilege from July 1.
Depending on the broadcaster, the teletext services offered by German TV channels, which were launched in 1977 as "teletext", are more or less well maintained. For many private broadcasters, in addition to brief news and program pages, there is only a lot of advertising, mainly for erotic offers. However, some also offer additional information about the television program, such as short summaries of series episodes - but with good receivers, these can also be accessed via the standardized Electronic Program Guide (EPG) of digital television. Some public broadcasters also use teletext for additional information such as regional weather forecasts, snow depths or water levels.
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