Videotex – SpeedyLook encyclopedia
He videotex , in Spain marketed by Telefónica as Ibertex It is defined as an interactive application that allows to disseminate, through a telecommunication network, information paginated by a computer system and visualized on a terminal and a telephone line.
The decoder, which is the characteristic software of videotex applications, tends to present information on pages also called screens, which are transmitted or received in block. Each screen usually contains a menu of options whose selection controls the following operations to be performed. An important limitation of the current generation of terminals is the low speed of their connection to the telephone line, of approximately 1200 bit per second.
In Spain it was replaced by Infovía.
Background and expectations [ To edit ]
Making a little history, the Videotex was born in the 70s in the United Kingdom, with the initial objective of providing general information, conceived for leisure or useful for daily life, making teams fully integrated into computer media into computer media , such as the phone and the TV.
The United States also wanted to participate in this experience. In the early 80s, Videotex spread through several of its stores. However, he did not meet the expected expectations. Barely generated sales.
In France, the Videotex began to be used in 1983 and was offered through the France Télécom telephone system. Users used it to access the information of public directories and to establish interpersonal communications. In 1980, in the Bretona town of Saint-Malo, 55 Videotex were given as an experiment. In
1983, the minitel (denomination he received in this country) extended throughout the territory. It is estimated that in 1993 there were more than six million terminals in France.
Some of the French newspapers who used this electronic device were the newspaper Dernières Nouvelles d’Alsace and the Libération newspaper. In 1989 Liberion offered 27 services through the Minitel. These services were distributed in several markets: news service, games, education, astrology and advertisements.
At present, the initial informative contents of Videotex have expanded considerably, oriented to professional sectors and gradually covering areas that were the heritage of traditional databases.
In Spain [ To edit ]
The first tests carried out in Spain with this system were somewhat doubtful.
Videotex was used with Norma Prestel in the 1982 World Cups and in the 1983 regional elections, which triggered a transformation to adopt the most advanced standard of those promoted by the European Community: CEPT1, derived from the
German BTX. Another of the changes introduced was the adaptation for use with Iberpac packets switching networks as a data transport vehicle. [ first ]
Videotex has a characteristic economic orientation in which the user connects without any requirement, invoicing the services that depend among other time factors through the phone.
In Spain, the Videotex Telematic Service, provided by Telefónica from 1990, receives the commercial name of Ibertex , which can be accessed through a telephone line through a specific terminal or a personal computer with the appropriate modem. The telecommunication network used for the transmission of information from the server centers to the user’s terminal is the Ibertex Network, which when combining the basic telephone network (RTB) and the Iberpac Network (Public Data Transmission Network), offers coverage national of the first and the most advanced benefits in data transmission and independent tarification of the distance, characteristics of the second.
These networks are the two telecommunication supports of the Ibertex service. The basic telephone network (RTB), through which the terminals access the Iberpac network through the Ibertex Access Center (CAI), and this Iberpac network, which provides the necessary means for communication between the CAI and the servers centers, Through the Iberpac X-25 Iberpac Package Switching Network.
The Ibertex service allows access to a large number of databases located in server centers and consult information on diverse topics, carry out transactional operations such as purchases and orders, travel reserves and hotel places, banking operations, etc., through a simple phone call, connecting the computer or terminal to the telephone line in the same way to how the conventional phone is connected.
Videotex is a service that is expected will have a very widespread use with the RDSI
since it is like interactive access to remote databases for a person with a terminal. In France, where it has depended on Minitel de France Telecom, both telephone directories and information provided by operator have begun to be suppressed (this operation has resulted in a large cost reduction) by supplying small terminals to each of The subscribers to access the telephone directory. The telephone directory is just a small sample of the application of the Videotex. Among other possible applications offered
By the basic videotex system, reserves in air lines, hotels, theaters and restaurants, as well as the performance of banking operations, could be mentioned.
Videotex system components [ To edit ]
The operation of the Four Elements Videotex system. Sometimes when access to the service is done by PC these parties are emulated with specific software, thus achieving these essential components:
Basic ways of accessing a Videotex terminal [ To edit ]
First, it must be mentioned that the standard use in Spain of a terminal
Specific videotex through the network belonging to Telefónica, Ibertex, allows the
Use of the service known as 031 and the subsequent marking of *27102511840#.
Another of the subsequently developed methods is access through a provided PC
of software for the emulation of a terminal together with a modem that meets the
regulations arranged by the CCITT V23 Telefónica standard (1200/75). These services
will be available and will be permanently updated by Codefoc in order to
that the user can have them 24 hours a day.
Characteristics [ To edit ]
The Videotex presents basic characteristics: being accessible from any terminal connected to the RTB, being an open and interactive open service, whose use does not require a previous contract with Telefónica (only when you want to access international services paid , for which an IUI -Identification of Ibertex User is required), the ease of use by means distance, establishing the cost of the call based on its duration and depending on the level by which the information is accessed, and the normalization of the user interface.
Existing problems [ To edit ]
Videotex is a slow system. The information obtained is static, and has become obsolete in relation to the advances that occur in computer technology, manifested above all in personal computers. Likewise, the lack of capacity and reliability of the network of access centers as well as the lack of interest of possible users,
Information suppliers and terminal manufacturers if compared to the French
or those of the main countries representing these technologies is another inconvenience
To point out.
Personal computers technology is not taken into account by regulations
videotex. The main reason lies in the high price presented by the
components (memories and processors) at the time in which it developed and not
He anticipated the enormous diffusion that he could have in the not too distant future. For
Solve the problem made the decision to provide the computer with a small
device and a program that would allow him to communicate with the Videotex world.
Regarding the attitude that a user must present when using this
Service, the Videotex system imposes an active attitude in that it is the own
User who should use the information you want.
Finally a normalization of keyboards and functions that make
Transparent normalized commands to the user. It is also necessary to
Videotex Services Guide, updated and easy to use, and with consultation systems in case
of doubt available to users, many of whom will ignore the
technologies that are supposed to handle.
Advantages of the Videotex System [ To edit ]
Regarding the simplification of use. The kiosk systems, which do not need a fertilizer
special or user identification, and that can be billed with the phone, are
An ideal solution already adopted in Spain. All these points are basic for the
Videotex system is perceived as an integrated service, and not as a series of
individual contributions.
The Videotex has a series of advantages that are summarized in its immediacy, speed and comfort in the consultation. In addition, the Videotex has the advantage of being bidirectional, that is, it is not an exclusively unidirectional means of communication such as television or radio, but the user can say what he wants, he can comment.
The availability and stability of the network that seek to meet the expectations of the
Users with high reliability constitutes a cheap communications medium for
Socialize computer science, so it is an inherent need for interconnection
International among the different networks.
THE VIDEOTEX AND THE USERS [ To edit ]
Users who had their first contacts with Videotex felt that the system was intended for selected information rather than as a means of communication. This occurs because in the Videotex it is the user who has to look for the information, as opposed to the radio or television, in which it simply consumes the information that is transmitted.
Although it has a simple handling, the disadvantage is that it implies the compression of teleinformatic language and this can produce a rejection by users who do not have this knowledge. Another disadvantage is that in order to use it, a specific device had to be had for it. Therefore in Spain he suffered great failure.
References [ To edit ]
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